WFA and State Efficiency: When Savings Shift to Citizens' Burdens

Amid an increasingly uncertain global landscape, efficiency is once again being elevated as the primary principle in state management. This policy manifests in various forms of restrictions, such as limiting official travel, implementing Work From Anywhere (WFA) for civil servants, and tightening spending by ministries and agencies. In fiscal logic, these steps appear indisputable. Budgets must be safeguarded, deficits controlled, and every rupiah demanded to yield optimal benefits. However, like many policies that seem straightforward on paper, efficiency harbours more complex consequences in practice. Data indicates that the pressure on state finances is indeed real. At the same time, work flexibility policies like WFA are expected to reduce office usage costs while boosting civil servant productivity. In aggregate, this approach has the potential to save budgets on a large scale. Yet, savings at the state level do not always equate to an overall reduction in burdens. Burdens often change form, shifting from institutions to individuals, from the centre to the periphery, from macro figures to micro experiences. When official travel is restricted, sectors like hospitality, transportation, and small businesses in regions that have long depended on civil servant mobility are also affected. Hotel occupancy rates in several administrative cities have reportedly declined, while economic activities reliant on such mobility have slowed. A similar pattern is evident in the implementation of WFA. For the state, reducing office facility usage means efficiency in electricity costs, maintenance, and other operations. However, for individuals, the home now becomes a workspace demanding personal infrastructure readiness. Electricity bills rise, internet needs increase, and the boundary between work and domestic space becomes increasingly blurred. Not all homes are designed as workplaces, and not all individuals have equal resources to adapt. Concurrently, society also faces pressure from price sides. Transportation costs are rising with fare adjustments, while fluctuating global raw material prices further influence consumer goods prices.