PDIP Notes on Friday WFH Policy, Warning of Long Weekend Effects

PDIP Deputy Chair of Commission II in the DPR and DPP Chairman Deddy Sitorus has admitted to being puzzled by the government’s policy mandating work from home (WFH) for civil servants (ASN) every Friday. Deddy assesses that implementing WFH on Fridays could potentially be ineffective.

“To be honest, I’m confused if Friday is chosen for WFH, because there’s a potential that it won’t be effective in suppressing fuel consumption,” said Deddy to reporters on Wednesday (1/4/2026).

“We’ll see just how effective the choice will be, and it’s very likely to be evaluated, especially if the Middle East conflict drags on,” he added.

According to him, the government should have a clear basis for calculation in determining the day for WFH implementation. This is because, he said, the policy not only relates to ASN mobility but also impacts various other aspects.

“I don’t understand the basis for choosing a long weekend as the WFH day; therefore, we’re waiting for the government’s explanation first. Because deciding on the WFH day must involve psychosocial calculations, projections of economic activities, public mobility and consumption patterns, as well as many other calculations based on various scenarios,” he explained.

Deddy stated that the policy needs to be tested for effectiveness through measurable data. This includes graphs of fuel consumption and public mobility movements.

“Then we can look at the fuel consumption graph, mobility data for residents/vehicles from distribution and intensity. Let’s see after two or three weeks ahead before conducting an evaluation,” he said.

Previously, the government has designated Friday as the day for implementing work from home or WFH for civil servants (ASN). Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto stated that the policy has been calculated based on experiences post-COVID handling.

“Why Friday? Because some ministries have indeed done that, working four days in a week with applications, this post-COVID last year,” said Airlangga during a press conference on Tuesday (31/3).

Airlangga also mentioned that the workload on Fridays is not as heavy as on other days. However, he emphasised that public services will continue to operate despite the implementation of WFH one day a week for ASN.

“We chose Friday because it’s half, meaning not full from Monday to Thursday. But public services will still run,” Airlangga said.