Home Minister Claims One-Day WFH Proposal Will Not Disrupt Government Operations

Home Affairs Minister Tito Karnavian is confident that the proposal to implement one day of working from home (WFH) per week will not disrupt the functioning of government operations.

“It won’t be a problem, as this isn’t our first experience,” Tito said at the Presidential Palace Complex in Jakarta on Wednesday (25/3).

Tito noted that such a work scheme has been implemented previously, referring to the COVID-19 pandemic period. At that time, there was even a scheme where only 25 percent of Home Affairs Ministry employees worked in the office.

Tito stated that the government has held a meeting to discuss this issue. He mentioned that the meeting lasted nearly three or four hours to address the matter.

Nevertheless, he declined to elaborate further, stating that details would be provided by Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Pratikno or Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto.

“That needs to be reported back to the President from yesterday’s meeting; once there is direction from the President, it will be officially announced,” he said.

This WFH proposal coincides with the conflict between the US-Israel and Iran, which has led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, impacting a rise in global oil prices.

The government is thus reviewing various options to save energy usage amid the conflict. Several countries have already taken similar steps beforehand. One of them is the Philippines, which has previously implemented a one-day WFH policy per week.