Indonesia has extended its work-from-home (WFH) policy for civil servants, state-owned enterprise employees, and private sector workers by two months, citing escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. The announcement was made on Friday, 22 May by Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto, who said the government had not yet fixed an exact implementation date for the extension.

How the WFH Policy Works

Under the existing arrangement, civil servants work from home on Fridays, with in-office attendance required from Monday to Thursday. Private companies and state-owned enterprises are permitted to implement one WFH day per week.

The government has confirmed the policy will not affect employees' salaries, benefits, or annual leave entitlements. Sectors requiring on-site operations — including healthcare, energy, infrastructure, public services, retail, manufacturing, and tourism — are exempt from the arrangement.

Why the Middle East Is Driving Policy in Jakarta

The extension reflects Indonesia's concern that rising regional instability could have economic spillover effects. Minister Hartarto said the government was closely monitoring developments and indicated the policy could be extended further depending on how global conditions evolve.

This comes amid sharp warnings from US President Donald Trump, who on Thursday declared that Washington would not permit Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon. Trump framed the issue as his administration's foremost foreign policy priority, warning that failure to prevent it could trigger a wider conflict. 'We cannot let Iran have a nuclear weapon,' Trump said. 'You will have a nuclear war in the Middle East, and that war will come here, that war will go to Europe.'

Trump's Warnings on Iran and the Strait of Hormuz

Trump said negotiations with Iran were ongoing but insisted on a definitive outcome. 'Right now we're negotiating, and we'll see. But either we're going to get it one way or the other,' he said. 'They're not going to have a nuclear weapon.'

The US President also addressed reports that Iran was in discussions with Oman to formalise toll charges on vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most critical oil shipping lanes. Trump said the United States wanted the waterway to remain open and free. 'We want it open, we want it free. We don't want tolls,' he said, describing the Strait as 'an international waterway.'

Trump further claimed that US military operations had severely degraded Iranian capabilities. 'We wiped out their navy. We wiped out their air,' he said. 'I would say we knocked out 85 per cent of their missile capacity.' He also said the US had rapidly expanded its drone and anti-drone capabilities during the conflict.

On the question of Iran retaining highly enriched uranium under any future agreement, Trump was unequivocal: 'No, no, we get the highly enriched. We will get it.' He added the stockpile would likely be destroyed after being secured by the United States.

What Happens Next

Indonesia's government has left the door open for further extensions, tying the policy's duration to global geopolitical developments. With US-Iran negotiations still unresolved and the Strait of Hormuz under renewed scrutiny, the uncertainty underpinning Jakarta's cautious stance is unlikely to lift in the near term.