WORKING FROM HOME ARRANGEMENT IN DELIVERING PUBLIC SERVICE DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: INNOVATION OR IRRITATION?

Abstract

The COVID-19 outbreak forced the government to impose lockdown and change working arrangements. As a result, government employees must work from home (WFH) - a task they were hardly prepared for. While WFH arrangement has been typical in many developed countries, it is not for some Asian countries, including Indonesia, where leadership and organizational culture emphasizing strict supervision and punishment are still preferable. This paper examines determinant factors influencing public servants' productivity in performing public service while working on home arrangements during the covid-19 pandemic. A survey of 551 public servants' from the big cities of Kalimantan, the island where the new Indonesian state capital will be located, was conducted as the data collection method. The completed questionnaires were analysed using Path Analysis. The result indicates that WFH is problematic for Indonesian public servants as from variables of digital orientation, management support, IT training, technology infrastructure, and collectivist culture, only digital orientation was found to significantly impact the individual's productivity. The findings suggest that the government uses digital orientation as a selection criterion for government employees who will be transferred to the new state capital.