There Is A Petition To Return The WFH, Will The Acting Governor Heru Participate?

Photo by Muhammad Raufan Yusup on Unsplash

JAKARTA - Acting Governor of DKI Jakarta Heru Budi Hartono responded to the emergence of an online petition asking the government to restore the work from home (WFH) policy or work from home at this time.

Heru admitted that he did not plan to return to requiring the office in Jakarta to re-implement WFH to his employees. Considering that currently the implementation of restrictions on community activities (PPKM) has been lifted.

"The PPKM has been revoked. There is no plan to make a WFH rule," said Heru at DKI Jakarta City Hall, Thursday, December 5.

Heru previously discussed asking companies in the capital to arrange WFH for their workers during the rainy season.

Because, usually, the volume of traffic will be denser when it rains. The flooded road also causes more severe traffic jams, especially when entering and returning from work.

However, Heru simply gave an appeal to offices located at congestion and flooding points to implement WFH.

"Work from home depends on each policy giver. Please each cluster be affected (flood and traffic jam), like yesterday Captain Tendean or Warung Buncit, the office around there, take the WFH policy," said Heru.

Previously, an employee named Riwaty Sidabutar's petition was widely discussed on social media. On the change.org page, Riwaty uploaded a petition entitled "Return WFH Because the streets are More Dilute, Pollution, and Not Productive".

This petition started two months ago. At that time, the status of the implementation of restrictions on community activities (PPKM) throughout Indonesia was level 1. The essential to non-essential office sector can operate with 100 percent employee capacity working in the office.

The petition began to get busy when the PPKM in Indonesia was revoked by President Joko Widodo. The petitioner's office worker explained that the reason he wanted the work from home (WFH) rules to be reinstated was because he felt stressed when he traveled to his office and returned home.

"Two years can work from home, when going to the office again it feels even more stressful," Riwaty wrote in her petition on the change.org page, quoted on Wednesday, December 4.

Riwaty explained that she had to travel 20 kilometers to her office and 20 kilometers to return home every working day.

"Not to mention if it rains. It could be, I was stuck in traffic for a long time, one hour even using a motorcycle," he said.

According to the petitioner, work from office (WFO) does not necessarily make the work of employees more productive. Because, when you have to face traffic jams and the length of the trip makes you even more tired. Meanwhile, WFH allows it to work immediately without having to travel.

Therefore, the petitioner requested that the 100 percent capacity rule for employees working in the office be reviewed. As a worker, he feels better if given the option to work from home.

"Several countries, such as the Netherlands, have done it. I am sure that Indonesia can do it too. I am sure, with this regulation from the government, offices will be more flexible so that workers can be more comfortable," he explained.

As of this afternoon, the petition that voiced that WFH should be implemented again has at least signed more than 18 thousand people and the number continues to grow.