Expert Views ASN WFH Every Friday as Beneficial for Energy-Saving Efforts
Regional autonomy expert Djohermansyah Djohan believes that the work-from-home (WFH) policy every Friday for civil servants (ASN) is beneficial in efforts to save energy. The reason is that this WFH policy is considered capable of reducing ASN fuel use and government office operational activities.
This, he said, is based on data showing around 6 million ASN throughout Indonesia. They consist of 80 per cent in local government and 20 per cent in central government.
“It is considered able to reduce mobility and office operations, so there is no need to commute to the office using official vehicles, private cars, or motorbikes, which in turn saves energy. Then, office operational mobility means that if the office uses lights, air conditioning, computers, and certainly if we do not go to the office, it will save office operations,” said Djohermansyah in a conversation with detikcom on Wednesday (1/4/2026).
According to him, besides saving energy, this WFH policy for ASN can also serve as an experience in implementing a digitalisation work system in the government environment.
“There can be savings, as well as simultaneously a learning experience about the pattern of digital bureaucratic culture, which is positive. So we are trained to work digitally, thereby making work capacity easier with digitalisation; that is the blessing,” he said.
However, whether this policy can be significant? He admitted that this needs to wait for the government’s evaluation results, as the government has the calculations for fuel savings.
“So its effectiveness we will see first from its implementation, but from a policy perspective, it is quite beneficial for saving energy, because it involves a wide range of ASN employees spread across the centre and regions, thus resulting in reduced mobility and a decline in office operations,” he stated.
The former Director General of Regional Autonomy at the Ministry of Home Affairs also reminded that the state should not be wasteful. He urged the state to be cautious with expenditures.
“The state should not be wasteful in difficult times; do not issue unnecessary and non-urgent expenditures,” he said.
As is known, the government has set a work-from-home policy for civil servants (ASN) every Friday. This work scheme is implemented as a response to the impact of the Middle East conflict.
“The implementation of work from home for ASN in central and regional agencies, carried out for one working day per week, namely every Friday,” said Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto, in a press conference on Tuesday (31/3) evening.