Don’t Treat WFH for Civil Servants as a Holiday, Here Are the Risks If Workplace Culture Is Not Clear

The policy of working from home for civil servants (ASN) should not be interpreted as extra holiday. Without a clear work culture, WFH can instead generate misperceptions, from both employees and the surrounding work environment. A sociology lecturer at Airlangga University (Unair), Prof. Dr. Bagong Suyanto, Drs., M.Si., says that working from home, or work from home (WFH), is often not understood as a complete working pattern. He notes that there remains a tendency to view WFH as a more relaxed time than working in the office. “WFH is perceived more as a holiday than working at home. At home, people naturally feel they have other responsibilities,” Bagong said in an interview with Kompas.com on Tuesday, 19 May 2026. This statement shows that the WFH issue is not only about the place of work. More than that, the policy also concerns how employees, superiors, and the surrounding environment understand the boundaries between working, resting, and fulfilling roles at home. On one hand, WFH can provide space for employees to work more flexibly. On the other hand, home also has rhythms and responsibilities that differ from the office. Bagong assesses that this condition can lead employees to face other responsibilities outside office work. For some people, this can make WFH feel not as simple as imagined. Therefore, WFH should be understood as a working day with a different pattern, not as free time from work responsibilities. He notes that women, particularly those who have the role of mothers, can face greater domestic responsibilities when working from home.