East Java Civil Servants to Work from Home Every Wednesday, Banned from Turning Off Handphones
The East Java provincial government has officially implemented a work from home (WFH) policy for civil servants (ASN) every Wednesday, starting 1 April 2026. Deputy Governor of East Java, Emil Elestianto Dardak, stated that the selection of Wednesday is based on a strategy to curb the consumption of petroleum fuel (BBM) for private vehicles amid the turmoil of the war in the Middle East.
“We base this on the desire and strategic directive to reduce BBM consumption for private vehicles. Therefore, WFH is applied on Wednesdays,” said Emil at the Negara Grahadi Building, Surabaya, on Wednesday (1/4/2026).
Emil explained that the choice of Wednesday was decided after observing community mobility patterns. According to him, setting WFH on Fridays, as instructed by the central government, risks increasing travel because it approaches the weekend.
“If it’s on Friday, there’s a tendency to increase the desire to travel. Meanwhile, the strategy of many countries currently is to curb BBM consumption amid global conflicts that impact energy,” he clarified.
Although taking a different approach, Emil emphasised that the East Java provincial government remains open to coordination to align with central government policies if needed in the future.
“We will see later whether it needs to be aligned or kept as is, awaiting further directives,” he said.
Governor of East Java, Khofifah Indar Parawansa, assured that the implementation of WFH on the first day is proceeding with strict supervision. She instructed the inspectorate and the Regional Civil Service Agency (BKD) to monitor ASN discipline to prevent misuse of the policy as a holiday.
“I have asked the inspectorate to deploy teams for monitoring. Even though staff are WFH, electricity and AC in offices must be ensured to be controlled,” said Khofifah.
She emphasised that the implemented concept is pure WFH, not work from anywhere (WFA). ASN are still required to perform digital attendance and maintain active communication during working hours.
“They must have digital presence, they are not allowed to turn off their handphones. Whenever coordination is needed, they must be able to connect immediately,” she stressed.
Khofifah also explained that this policy does not apply to the education sector, where teaching and learning activities continue normally. However, for other administrative sectors, this savings measure is targeted to reduce BBM consumption by up to 108,000 litres.
“We will measure this until 1 June, not just regarding BBM, but also electricity and other energy usage,” said Khofifah.