Labour Minister Yassierli Warns WFH Policy Should Not Reduce Worker Productivity

Labour Minister Yassierli has warned that the policy of working from home or work from home (WFH) once a week must not reduce worker productivity. Previously, the government issued Circular Letter (SE) of the Minister of Manpower of the Republic of Indonesia Number M/6/HK.04/III/2026 on Work From Home and the Energy Optimisation Programme in the Workplace. “In that circular, we specifically stated that we do not want this circular to impact economic growth. So we still want economic growth to rise, fellow workers to be productive, and our industry to continue advancing. That is our hope,” said Labour Minister Yassierli after the Working Meeting of Commission IX of the DPR RI at the Parliamentary Complex in Senayan, Jakarta, on Thursday, 9 April 2026. He stated that the exhortation is intended to strengthen national energy resilience while encouraging productive, adaptive, and sustainable work patterns, thus requiring systematic steps in energy utilisation in the workplace. “The circular was made to encourage more adaptive behaviour regarding our attitude towards energy optimisation, especially fuel oil. So we are very aware that companies have unique characteristics, so we cannot generalise,” said Yassierli. The implementation of WFH, he continued, can be exempted for certain sectors such as the health sector, energy sector, infrastructure sector, and public services sector, retail or trade sector, industrial and production sector, services sector, food and beverage sector, transportation and logistics sector, and financial sector. “We have also determined the sectors that can be given exemptions, (namely sectors) that directly concern public services and so on,” said Yassierli. In addition, the Labour Minister emphasised that the policy is advisory for the private sector, taking into account the operational needs and policies of each company. He said that the implementation of WFH is entirely left to each company, considering the business characteristics and activities carried out so that they continue to run optimally according to operational needs and maintain employee work productivity. “For the private sector, we did not specifically write or determine the day. So once again, as I conveyed to Commission IX of the DPR, the work from home is advisory in nature,” he said.