TheJakartaPost
Please Update your browser
Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.
WFH forever? Why not, say more and more employers and employees
Change text size
Gift Premium Articles
to Anyone
Share the best of The Jakarta Post with friends, family, or colleagues. As a subscriber, you can gift 3 to 5 articles each month that anyone can read—no subscription needed!
Work-from-home arrangements are blurring the boundaries between office work and private life. (Unplash/Nick Morrison). (Unplash/Courtesy of Nick Morrison)
W
ork from home (WFH) has grown into more than a tool to curb the pandemic. It has defined a new standard for Indonesian business operations, paving the way for long-term, even permanent, remote work.
Twenty-nine-year-old Satya, an employee from Bandung, told The Jakarta Post on Feb. 16 that he would prefer a company with an established WFH policy, even after the pandemic, and that he would consider resigning if such an arrangement was not offered.
In fact, he joined a start-up company just last month, after the managers of his previous firm unveiled their plan to order employees back to the office.
Time-consuming commuting was no longer necessary under WFH, he noted, adding that, before the pandemic, he would spend between two and three hours a day on the road.
Avoiding unnecessary interaction, he said, also allowed him to focus better on his work. A former employer of his, he recalled, required that staffers eat only what the office served and applied “peer pressure” for all to eat at the same time.
Working alone could be tedious at times, Satya admitted, adding though that several friends of his who were also working from home or freelancing often lifted his mood.
Syabha, 22, said working from home was far from perfect, as she was often disturbed by family members and did not have a proper workstation. Moreover, flexible working hours affected the quality of her sleep.
