WFH on Fridays for Civil Servants: Budget Savings or Just a Change of Work Location?

The discourse on work-from-home (WFH) on Fridays for civil servants (ASN) is often associated with efficiency, but budget savings are not guaranteed simply because employees work from home. Sociologist from the University of Indonesia’s Faculty of Social and Political Sciences, Dr. Ida Ruwaida, M.Si., believes that the impact of Friday WFH on efficiency needs to be examined more carefully, as other factors, including workers’ lifestyles, also play a role. “Therefore, Friday WFH will not have a significant impact, especially in terms of budget efficiency, because other factors to consider are related to lifestyle,” said Ida when contacted by Kompas.com on Wednesday (6/5/2026). According to Ida, the Friday WFH policy cannot be simply interpreted as a shift in work location from the office to home. The way workers interpret flexibility, consumption patterns, and time usage outside the office can also determine whether the policy truly brings efficiency. She stated that the percentage of ASN from ministries or state institutions in Jakarta is relatively small compared to other worker groups. “If Friday WFH is only applied to ASN, in my opinion, it will not have much impact because the percentage of ASN from ministries or state institutions in Jakarta, in particular, is relatively small,” said Ida. With limited coverage, the social impact as well as the efficiency from the policy is also assessed to be not significant. Ida believes that the effects of Friday WFH cannot be assumed to be immediately felt on a wide scale if the group implementing it is only a small portion of the overall urban workforce. Ida explained that for some ASN, Fridays before the WFH discourse emerged were already known as relatively more relaxed days. Several agencies fill Fridays with sports activities, exercise, religious study sessions, or other activities. “For ASN, before the WFH policy was established, Friday was a sports day, a relatively more relaxed day,” said Ida.