Expert: WFH Every Friday Could Potentially Become a Long Weekend for Civil Servants

Public policy expert from Trisakti University, Trubus Rahardiansyah, has warned of the potential for the work-from-home (WFH) policy on Fridays for civil servants (ASN) to turn into long weekends or extended holiday periods at the end of the week.

“There is a potential for long weekends, because the supervision will certainly be weak,” said Trubus when contacted on Thursday (2/4).

According to him, the goal of saving fuel oil (BBM) may not be achieved if ASN end up engaging in more activities outside the home.

On the other hand, he noted that if ASN remain at home, other energy consumption such as electricity will increase.

“The policy is good in terms of savings, but to achieve the savings stated by the government of Rp6.2 trillion, in my opinion, it cannot yet be said to be successful; it depends on how it is implemented in the field,” he stated.

Trubus said that clear regulations are needed in implementing the WFH policy, starting from implementation guidelines (juklak) and technical guidelines (juknis).

In addition, there must be strict sanctions for violators.

“If the sanctions are only mutations or just verbal reprimands, written reprimands, I think that’s not effective,” he said.

Furthermore, he assessed that the government must conduct periodic evaluations of the policy to ensure its effectiveness.

“There is a compliance issue. Will they comply? They might comply for a week or two. But by the third or fourth week, they probably won’t comply anymore because it might be boring to stay at home,” he said.

Previously, the government officially implemented the WFH system for ASN one day a week every Friday to improve energy efficiency in the face of global conflicts. The government also limited the use of official vehicles and encouraged the use of public transport.

Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto estimated that the WFH policy would save the State Revenue and Expenditure Budget (APBN) up to Rp6.2 trillion.

“The potential savings from this Work from Home policy that directly affect the APBN is Rp6.2 trillion, in the form of fuel compensation savings,” he said during an online press conference on Tuesday (31/3).