Among the various factors that affect worker productivity, the obligation to take care of vulnerable family members, both children and the elderly, is one of them. For this reason, flexible work arrangements can be one of the tips, in addition to the provision ofdaycare facilities. SMBC Indonesia's success in creating flexible work arrangements is a successful example of increasing productivity in line with worker welfare.
These tips were revealed in the public dialogue"Flexible Working Arrangement to Support the Productivity of Working Parents" commemorating the International Day of Care and Support 2025 organized by the Indonesia Business Coalition for Women Empowerment (IBCWE) in collaboration with the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo) in Jakarta, Wednesday (29/10/2025).
Apindo Vice Chairperson for Sustainable Development Nurdiana Darus emphasized that the discussion onworking parents is very relevant in the Indonesian context, considering that family care responsibilities are currently a factor that limits the mobility and productivity of workers, especially women. This can be seen from the participation rate of women in the labor force, which still stands at 56.7% according to the 2025 National Labor Force Survey (Sakernas) data.
According to Nurdiana, the impact of reduced productivity of workers with family care responsibilities is very real for workers, companies, and even the state. The Head of Sustainability and Corporate Affairs of Unilever Indonesia cited a study by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) in 2023 that revealed the loss of an average of 4 days per worker per year due to family care responsibilities has a loss equivalent to 1.7% of the company's total payroll burden.
"If this 1.7% is multiplied by GDP, this is also a loss opportunity for our country. With the labor force participation rate still stagnant, Indonesia is losing the potential of half of its productive population," Nurdiana said.
Flexible work arrangements, according to Nurdiana, are one of the keys to answering the challenge of balancing family and career responsibilities without sacrificing productivity, especially with the availability of a number of legal-normative frameworks that provide support for such policies.
"There is already a Minister of Manpower Regulation that requires companies to have daycare, but its implementation in the field requires further collaboration so that companies of various scales can contribute optimally, creating an inclusive, productive work ecosystem, and increasing our competitiveness," he concluded.
Strong foundation
Loopholes in labor regulations can be suspected as one of the causes of company non-compliance with the obligation to provide office environment daycare infrastructure. Therefore, in addition to closing loopholes for defaulters, updating the rules is a crucial factor so that free work arrangements have an explicit legal basis.
Expert Staff of the Directorate of Industrial Relations and Employment Social Security Angga Yudha Zunivar stated that Law Number 13 of 2003 concerning Manpower has regulated welfare facilities in the form of daycare centers. The law regulates the place according to the company's ability and the needs of workers. This is a gap for companies to ignore these rules.
"Currently, we are working with the International Labor Organization (ILO) to improve the standard guidelines for daycare facilities, by providing alternatives not only to physical facilities, but also policies or programs that can be selected based on the capabilities and needs of workers, including flexible work arrangements," Angga said.
In addition to childcare facilities, there are a number of legal bases as the basis for proposals for flexible working arrangements, ranging from Article 23 of Government Regulation Number 35 of 2021 concerning Fixed-Term Work Agreements (PKWT) and Article 30 of Law Number 4 of 2024 concerning the Welfare of Mothers and Children in the First Thousand Days of Life.
"In Law Number 4 Year 2024, every working mother has the right to get enough time for the best interests of the child with the flexibility to be able to get freedom and discretion, with adjustments still paying attention to their performance achievements. This sufficient time can be regulated in work agreements and company regulations," she explained.
Discretion, not benefits
With a strong legal foundation, the experience of structuring flexible working arrangements is an experiment that combines creating a productive work environment while maintaining employee retention. SMBC Indonesia Strategic Human Resource Manager Denty Avianty explained that flexibility is one of the attractions SMBC offers to young employees.
"We created the Flexi-Style program and established the Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) division to provide an inclusive work environment. The most important thing is the trust from management to start a flexible work arrangement that we call Flexi-Hours, Flexi-Style, and Flexi-Location," said Denty.
By launching the Digital Working Life and Flexi-Office in New Normal project in 2020, SMBC Indonesia used special tools to organize employee check-in and check-out systems, set up systems that can be accessed from home, and worked closely with the risk management division so that the project became a corporate responsibility, not just the HR Department.
In addition to organizing employee attendance with a special application, SMBC also set a response time rule for phone calls and emails at a maximum of 30 minutes after receipt. According to Denty, this provision was later removed due to the realization that without management's trust in employee performance outside the office, the flexible system would not run optimally.
"In addition to communication, we also do a lot of campaigns to remind employees of the do's and dont's, create verbal and systemic surveys on an annual basis to ensure technology is appropriate, flexibility does not affect performance, and employees stay on-track," he said.
Denty revealed that the 1+4 formula, which is 1 day work from office (WFO) and 4 days work from home , has the impact of significantly reducing turnover rates , increasing employee retention, maintaining work-life balance, and reducing emissions from office operations. With measurable monitoring, Flexi-Location allows employees to work from home with specific indicators to ensure its effectiveness.
"To organize flexible work requires a very detailed mechanism. At SMBC, Flexi-Work remains formal, approved, and at the discretion of management which can be revoked at any time. Bosses still have the authority to ask their subordinates to come to the office. When an employee does Flexi-Work, it doesn't mean that they can do whatever they want and go anywhere," Denty emphasized.
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Even though the policy is a dream that makes other bank employees jealous, Denty does not deny that there are various challenges that must be faced by the HR department in developing the flexible work mechanism, ranging from delayed decisions, differences in work standards and schedules between departments, to irresponsible employees.
"We repeatedly emphasize to employees to always stand by and be ready to come to the office, because this is not a benefit, but a privilege and discretion of management, and is not in the employment agreement, so flexibility also needs to be closely monitored," he said.
Clear boundaries
In addition to internal mechanisms, the impact of flexible working arrangements for employees is the need to provide clear boundaries between work and family in terms of space and time. As a working mother, SMBC Indonesia's Benefits and Performance Manager Tiara Ardwi Saputri sees this as the flip side of the privileges she enjoys as an employee.
"Even without daycare or benefits, being able to work freely has become quite a privilege. My friends who are homemakers wonder how I can keep working from home, while taking care of my children and in-laws. Although there are also challenges when people at home ask if we're really working," Tiara says with a burst of laughter.
The flip side of this flexible working arrangement is that working hours can be longer and online meetings can be ongoing, as well as children who can interrupt in the middle of urgent work or important meetings. Tiara and her partner send their children to PAUD to give them the morning and afternoon to work optimally from home.
"Because not all companies apply the same policy, especially since my husband works as a WFO, I still have to take care of everything that happens at home. Everything is charged to me because I have the privilege of working from home. The downside is that I have to go back and forth for permission or give up certain days to work," she said.
Understanding such needs, Denty Avianty added that SMBC provides a parenting club that conducts seminar sessions on child health and a Mother Support Group that meets regularly to facilitate young mothers to share their stories and experiences.
"In addition to work flexibility, we also provide many support systems to help employees to not only be productive, but also have a safe space to share stories and obtain psychological, social, and economic enrichment through employee assistance programs," concluded Denty.
