Government Explanation on WFH Schedule for Civil Servants

The government is still drafting regulations for one day of work from home, or work from home, for civil servants. Minister for State Apparatus Utilisation and Bureaucratic Reform (PANRB) Rini Widyantini stated that the government is preparing a circular regarding the technical provisions for work flexibility for civil servants. She explained that the government is still in the study phase together with relevant ministries and agencies, including coordination with the Ministry of Manpower and the Ministry of Home Affairs. “The technical details of implementation or the time of its application have not yet been finalised,” Rini said when contacted on Wednesday, 25 March 2026. Rini stated that the substance to be regulated in this rule is still under discussion and technical deepening. She emphasised that its preparation considers the diversity of the characteristics of tasks and roles of civil servants. Therefore, the approach will not be uniform, but proportional and contextual according to the needs of each agency. “Essential public services remain the top priority that cannot be compromised,” Rini said. Furthermore, Rini explained that the framework for this flexibility is already available through regulation in Presidential Regulation Number 21 of 2023 on Working Days and Office Hours for Civil Servants and Minister of PANRB Regulation Number 4 of 2025 on the Implementation of Civil Service Duties Flexibly in Government Agencies. “The government will announce it officially to the public after the final decision is set,” she said. Previously, in a cabinet meeting at the State Palace in Jakarta on Friday, 13 March 2026, President Prabowo Subianto encouraged steps to save oil fuel consumption and consider the work-from-home policy as an anticipatory measure for the impact of the global crisis. It is known that the surge in world oil prices occurred after the war between the United States and Israel versus Iran broke out at the end of February. Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto stated that the work-from-home policy to save energy applies to civil servants and is also encouraged for the private sector. The plan is for the work-from-home policy to be implemented after the Eid al-Fitr 1447 Hijriah holiday or 2026 AD. With this scheme, workers will work from home for one day in a week, namely on Friday. Energy economist and lecturer at Gadjah Mada University (UGM) Fahmy Radhi assessed that it will be very difficult to demand compliance from civil servants and private employees in implementing work from home. Because this policy concerns changes in employee work patterns. He stated that if the one-day work-from-home scenario is applied on Friday, employees might not work at home, but work from anywhere (WFA) at tourist spots while enjoying a long weekend. “Thus, fuel consumption cannot be saved significantly,” he said in a written statement on Sunday, 22 March 2026. During the Covid-19 pandemic, work from home was quite successful in saving fuel because there was a coercion variable to avoid contracting Covid-19. This variable does not exist in the one-day work-from-home policy to be implemented. Without coercion like before, it is very difficult for work from home to be implemented consistently. In addition, he assessed that one day of work from home risks reducing income for the transportation sector, including online motorcycle taxi services or ojol, and small, micro, and medium enterprises (UMKM) stalls that have so far provided lunch for civil servants and private workers, and other businesses.