WFH Policy Prepared to Curb Fuel Consumption, Expert Warns of Unintended Effects
An energy economist from Gadjah Mada University (UGM), Fahmy Radhi, stated that the government faces a difficult position amid the potential global energy crisis. In a situation of high energy prices, Fahmy said, the government faces a tough choice between raising subsidised fuel prices or not.
“With those high prices, the option must be to raise subsidised fuel. However, if raised, this will increase inflation, reduce purchasing power, and slow economic growth,” Fahmy said when contacted by Republika in Jakarta on Thursday (26/3/2026).
On the other hand, Fahmy continued, the subsidy burden in the state budget will swell further if the government maintains subsidised fuel prices. Fahmy suggested that the government relocate budgets from other areas to sustain energy subsidies.
“The government should relocate some budgets to maintain the subsidies, for example, the MBG budget or other budgets,” Fahmy said.
Fahmy also highlighted the plan to implement work from home (WFH) for one day per week to reduce energy consumption. According to Fahmy, the WFH policy is unlikely to be effective.
“If (Minister) Purbaya states it can save 20 percent, in my opinion, the maximum saving is 10 percent,” Fahmy continued.
Fahmy warned that the WFH policy could have unintended effects. If WFH is done on Fridays, Fahmy said, people could use it for long holidays.
“This would actually add long weekends so they don’t WFH, but work from anywhere, perhaps to Puncak or going back to their hometowns. In the end, fuel consumption will also increase,” Fahmy said.
Meanwhile, the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) of Central Java Province admitted to objections if the government’s planned work from home (WFH) policy is also applied to the private sector. They consider it inefficient for the business world.
Chairman of Apindo Central Java, Frans Kongi, said that implementing WFH is still possible if applied to civil servants (ASN).
“If it’s civil servants, it’s fine. For us? To be honest, we object. Moreover, how about production working from home?” he said on Thursday (26/3/2026).
According to Frans, employees in the administrative division of a factory might still be able to implement WFH. However, he reminded that their numbers are far smaller compared to workers in the production section.
“The point is, working from home is not efficient. It’s easy to talk about, but difficult in practice, it can hinder productivity,” Frans said.
He stated that production activities in a factory must continue to run.
“The factory must not stop. If it stops, we lose, the market can be lost because there’s no stock. So stopping (production) is most appropriate during maintenance,” he said.
According to Frans, if the purpose of implementing WFH for the private sector is to save energy consumption, including fuel, the government must find more realistic solutions. He added that industrial activities always require fuel in their production processes.
Previously, the government had announced plans to implement WFH for ASN, including the private sector, for one day per week. The aim of the policy is to save energy consumption amid soaring world oil prices. That condition is inseparable from the ongoing conflict in the Middle East region.