WFH for Civil Servants Every Friday: Between Working from Home and Extended Weekends

The policy of work from home (WFH) for civil servants (ASN) every Friday presents two sides to the coin. On one hand, WFH is expected to save fuel oil (BBM) and reduce the burden on Jakarta’s roads due to the war in the Middle East. On the other hand, there are concerns that this policy could shift into a gateway to long weekends. If ASN truly work from home without additional mobility, the impact remains present, albeit limited. However, it warns of potential biases in its implementation. Friday is often perceived as the start of a long weekend, thus opening opportunities to work from anywhere or even travel. “WFH on Fridays is seen as a long weekend. If this happens, it means they still travel, possibly to malls, cafes, friends’ or relatives’ homes, or even on tours,” said Deddy when contacted by Kompas.com on Friday (10/4/2026). Instead of curbing mobility, WFH could shift travel patterns to different times and destinations. Deddy also highlighted the scale of this policy’s impact. With around 5.3 million ASN, compared to 58.05 million private and informal workers, ASN’s contribution to daily traffic is deemed non-dominant. “If only ASN are WFH, it will certainly reduce usage, but it remains minimal because the ratio of ASN to private/informal employees is 1 to 50,” he said. This comparison makes the reduction in fuel consumption insignificant. Amid this, the low usage of public transport, which is said to be below 10 percent, makes the dominance of private vehicles hard to shift. The roads remain congested, even if a small portion of users no longer commute to the office. Ultimately, WFH for ASN every Friday becomes a policy at a crossroads: between measurable efficiency efforts and potential uncontrolled laxity.