Following the Israel-US war against Iran and the resulting tensions across the Middle East, concerns over energy security have revived discussions around fuel-saving measures and reduced energy consumption.
Earlier this month, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged Indians to revive Work From Home (WFH) practices, buy less gold, and limit foreign travel as part of austerity measures aimed at easing pressure from surging global energy prices linked to the continuing Middle East crisis. India, which imports around 90% of its oil requirements, has seen its crude import bill rise sharply amid disruptions associated with the conflict.
A similar discussion has emerged over whether Sri Lanka could realistically adopt or expand a WFH structure for both the public and private sectors as a means of managing fuel demand.
Sri Lanka too introduced a one day per week WFH arrangement for the public sector during the early stages of the Israel/US-Iran war and broader Middle East tensions, with the aim of reducing fuel consumption. However, the measure was later withdrawn and no official data has been released indicating whether the policy resulted in measurable fuel savings.
With geopolitical tensions still weighing on global energy markets, questions remain over whether a broader or renewed WFH model would be practical in the current context.
Vehicle import predictions offset WFH
University of Peradeniya (UOP) Department of Economics and Statistics Senior Professor Ananda Jayawickreme questioned the viability of reinstating WFH arrangements as a solution to Sri Lanka’s increasing fuel prices and strain on foreign exchange reserves, arguing that the Government’s present economic policies lacked coherence and long-term planning.
Speaking to The Sunday Morning, he said that the Government was trying to solve the nation’s fuel and dollar crises by taking contradictory actions.
According to him, while officials are debating WFH as one of the solutions to cut fuel consumption, vehicle imports have increased significantly. Sri Lanka had spent about $ 1.6 billion on vehicle imports last year, which was already higher than in normal circumstances, and this year, imports are predicted to exceed $ 2 billion for the first few months of the year.
“From March 2025 to March 2026, vehicle importation has risen threefold. The majority of these imported vehicles are high cost, high-capacity vehicles with low mileage. When such vehicles are imported, it drains out our dollars and the fuel cost increases exponentially,” Prof. Jayawickreme said.
He contended that the Government should temporarily halt importation of vehicles in order to reduce future fuel demand and conserve foreign reserves. “They continue to import vehicles while increasing tax rates to increase Government revenue, even at this critical time. People will not die without vehicles, but they will if essential food items cannot be imported.”
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development has officially announced the implementation of a temporary 50% surcharge on applicable Customs import duty for specified imported goods from 16 May for three months.
Questioning efficiency and practicality
Despite seeming like a sound plan to reduce daily travel costs, WFH options are not just impractical for most sectors, but could also have a negative impact on productivity.
Reflecting on his own experience as a university lecturer during the Covid-19 pandemic, Prof. Jayawickreme claimed that online lectures reduced efficiency and interaction.
“You cannot do every job from home. Only some work can be done from home. WFH is not the best option for an economy; productivity will be lower and there will be a lot of lapses and inefficiencies,” he explained. “These policies the Government has chosen are not viable, cohesive, or coherent. They are creating more issues rather than addressing the problem. It seems like the Government is choosing policies without any coordination or cohesion, hoping something will work out. That is not how policies work; you need to be precise.”
He warned that implementing a large-scale WFH approach for both public and private sectors could disrupt various other industries dependent on daily commuters, like transport operators (buses and trains), three-wheeler drivers, and other small businesses like eateries. Therefore, a WFH approach, similar to what was implemented during the pandemic, could cause more disruptions instead of helping solve the country’s economic problems.
“Asking people to work from home is the start of another disaster. It will definitely reduce output and people’s income will drop. Certain people will lose their jobs. Then the Government will have to give them subsidies,” Prof. Jayawickreme said. “The economy is about exchanges, transactions, and people meeting, interacting, and living together,” he opined.
The WFH approach has also seen pushback from private sector representatives, who largely express scepticism about its potential reinstatement.
Former Chairman of the Ceylon National Chamber of Industries (CNCI) Canisius Fernando voiced concerns about the potential reintroduction of WFH, warning that such a move could have a negative impact on productivity and economic performance within private companies.
“There’s a serious issue with this. Whenever you are working from home, both productivity and output, among other things, can be seriously impacted,” he told The Sunday Morning. He also noted that the absence of proper supervision and monitoring in remote working environments could diminish employee efficiency, ultimately impacting the companies.
While WFH agreements are often considered as a method to cut operating costs, Fernando argued that reduced productivity may outweigh any financial benefits. “If you really look at the output and productivity of a person working in the office, there can be better productivity when there is supervision by superiors. Our people are not really used to this type of system and many misuse it,” he said.
He also claimed that employers had additional burdens when confirming work conducted remotely, describing the procedure as being time-consuming, especially when the incomplete backlog piled up.
Relatedly, Fernando said that several parties had sent in requests for a four-day work week to the National Labour Advisory Council (NLAC), which he stated would be more feasible than full WFH arrangements.
Meanwhile, speaking to The Sunday Morning, National Chamber of Exporters Secretary General/Chief Executive Officer Shiham Marikar said: “If it is office staff or clerical staff, a flexible working method is always okay, but at the end of the day, it is all about productivity.”
He expressed concerns regarding the practicality of reviving WFH arrangements for the export sector, particularly in companies that rely on manufacturing and production activities. He noted that WFH arrangements were unlikely to be viable in the export sector due to the industry’s nature and reliance on physical operations and production procedures.
Post-pandemic decline of WFH
Marikar however acknowledged that advances in digital technology had enabled remote work in several industries, saying it was welcome as long as employees were able to preserve the same level of efficiency as they would in a physical office environment.
Despite such advancements, many businesses gradually moved away from WFH systems following the Covid-19 pandemic, with companies increasingly preferring physical human interaction and in-person engagement.
“Companies are not encouraging WFH. Even for meetings, sometimes instead of having Zoom meetings, we prefer physical meetings because productivity is higher,” he noted.
Logistics within public sector
Speaking to The Sunday Morning, Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) President Priyantha Fernando expressed opposition towards the reinstatement of WFH arrangements in the educational sector, pointing out that online learning had caused a significant decline in educational standards during the Covid-19 pandemic.
He said that while discussions were allegedly underway on the reintroduction of a WFH approach as a solution to minimise fuel consumption and relieve pressure on foreign reserves, adopting such a system for school education would be incompatible.
“Even when it was introduced to control the situation during the Covid period, education suffered a significant decline. The impact on education can be seen in students’ exam results even today,” Fernando said.
The CTU President further cited issues with internet accessibility and unequal access to online learning tools and facilities across the country. “In Sri Lanka, in rural areas, about 70% have poor internet connectivity. Therefore, it does not ensure fairness regarding the educational rights of many children,” he said. “Primary education, in particular, collapsed severely during that past period. The CTU stance is that even if the WFH concept is introduced, it should not apply to schools.”
Several State sector representatives The Sunday Morning reached out to expressed their inability to comment in this regard since an official announcement regarding a WFH approach is yet to be made.