East Java Provincial Government Implements WFH for Civil Servants Every Wednesday: If on Friday, It Would Lead to a Long Weekend

Governor of East Java Khofifah Indar Parawansa stated that her administration will implement a work-from-home (WFH) policy for civil servants every Wednesday starting next week. Wednesday was chosen over Friday to prevent it from turning into a long weekend.

“If it’s on Friday, there’s a tendency to slack off into a long weekend. That’s what we’re avoiding,” Khofifah said in her speech while leading the First Roll Call of East Java Provincial Government Civil Servants after the Eid al-Fitr holiday and collective leave in 2026 at the Governor’s Office, as reported by detikJatim on Wednesday (25/3/2026).

Khofifah noted that the WFH trend has already been adopted by several ministries since the beginning of the year.

“In Jakarta, it’s already starting now with WFH. Actually, since last January, almost all ministries have implemented WFH,” she said.

Nevertheless, she emphasised that the concept being applied is WFH, not work from anywhere (WFA). According to her, this distinction is important to ensure that employees’ work discipline remains intact.

“WFH, not WFA. If it’s anywhere, they could be at tourist spots, cafes, or wherever. But WFH at home feels like family members are also monitoring that the person is truly working,” she explained.

Khofifah assessed that the presence of family members at home actually serves as an effective social control. In this way, civil servants’ work activities remain monitored and are not misused for purposes other than work.

On the other hand, the East Java Provincial Government also conducted simulations regarding the WFH implementation day. Initially, the Friday option was considered. However, the evaluation results showed significant potential negative impacts.

“Initially, we measured Friday. But Friday could lead to slacking into a long weekend; instead of saving, it wouldn’t save,” she explained.

Therefore, the East Java Provincial Government decided to place the WFH scheme in the middle of the week. Starting next week, the policy is scheduled to take place every Wednesday.

“It will be announced soon; starting next week, our WFH will be on Wednesday. So it doesn’t trigger a long weekend,” she stated.