WFA and the Overlooked Psychological Burden

When the government designs the Work From Anywhere (WFA) policy for Civil Servants starting in April 2026, the main calculations revolve around fuel efficiency and savings on official travel budgets. These reasons are valid and measurable. The policy also stems from the awareness that government digital transformation cannot wait—it must be accelerated. However, there is one variable that is almost absent from the entire calculation: the psychological health of millions of ASN who will bear the greatest burden of this transition in the history of Indonesian bureaucracy. That variable is called technostress. In contemporary human resource management literature, technostress is defined as the psychological pressure that arises when individuals cannot cope with the demands and complexity of digital technology in their work environment. Unlike ordinary work stress stemming from task burdens or interpersonal conflicts, technostress originates from the system itself: non-stop notifications, constantly changing platforms, and response expectations that breach working hours. Several studies show that non-participatory digitalisation in the public sector can significantly contribute to increased cognitive load, digital overload, and psychological fatigue among ASN. Three Layers of ASN Vulnerability Indonesian ASN face three layers of vulnerability that are not entirely the same as private sector employees in hybrid environments. First, the characteristic layered bureaucratic hierarchy of ASN causes coordination that was previously completed in one face-to-face meeting to now be translated into long chains of digital messages. Employees’ cognitive burden thus becomes much heavier: processing information simultaneously from meeting platforms, reporting systems, administrative portals, to official messaging groups that remain active throughout the working day. Second, the public accountability of ASN is permanent and layered. Pressure does not only come from the internal chain of command but also from the expectations of the society served. Without clear protocols, the boundary between “working hours” and “on-call hours” becomes blurred, and an always-on culture grows not because the policy mandates it, but because the absence of prohibition tacitly allows it. Third, and this is the most rarely mentioned, not all of the approximately 5.4 million Indonesian ASN start from the same point of digital literacy. The gap in digital access and competence between regions remains significant. ASN in remote areas often face limitations in internet infrastructure as well as pressure to meet digital work standards designed from an urban perspective. Forced adaptation to a complex digital ecosystem without adequate preparation has the potential to create feelings of incompetence in some employees: a psychological pressure that slowly erodes work motivation and, ultimately, the quality of public services that is the core of every ASN’s duty of devotion. What is Absent from the Five Strategies The five efficiency strategies prepared by the government—work flexibility, strengthening digital platforms, limiting official travel, building efficiency, and adaptive learning—all speak to infrastructure and procedures. Not one explicitly mentions the psychological ecosystem of its implementers. There is no roadmap on how employees are protected from digital fatigue, how work boundaries are maintained, or how the system supports those struggling to adapt. This is a dangerous gap, and experiences from other countries prove why this gap must not be left unaddressed. Experiences from countries that have previously implemented hybrid work in the public sector— the Netherlands with New Way of Working, New Zealand with the Public Service Act 2020, and Nordic countries—show that three supporting elements are always present in successful implementations. First, binding right to disconnect protocols: operational rules that ensure ASN are not evaluated based on responses outside official working hours. Without this explicit protection, technostress will become an unwritten norm that is hard to break later. Second, digital training that goes beyond technical skills. The use of applications needs to be taught, but equally important is literacy in managing cognitive load: how to set screen time limits, manage notifications, and maintain rest quality in a constantly connected work environment. Third, structured welfare monitoring mechanisms: not ceremonial annual surveys, but data-based early detection systems—with access to integrated counselling services and safe reporting channels. Research in JMIR Mental Health (2025) through an umbrella review of 14 systematic reviews found evidence supporting the effectiveness of digital interventions for various mental health symptoms in working populations, covering stress, anxiety, depression, burnout, and overall psychological well-being. WFA is a relevant policy. Fuel savings and operational efficiency are legitimate goals. However, a policy that changes the way millions of people work cannot be measured only by litres of fuel saved or official travel tickets not printed. It must also be measured by whether absenteeism due to mental health disorders increases or decreases. Whether the public satisfaction index for public services is maintained over time? Whether the productivity recorded by the system truly reflects real work capacity, not just fatigued digital presence? Whether the employees implementing this policy remain intact—not just present on screen, but psychologically able to give their best? Good public service does not arise from ASN