4-day work week may enhance work-life harmony (Sabong News)
Author
Manila Bulletin
Date
MARCH 21 2022
Just as the country is easing toward a possible nationwide enforcement of the least restrictive Alert Level 1 response, shock waves from the Ukraine-Russia war have disrupted the economy. The rapid surge in oil prices has brought on increases in prime commodity prices. Three hard-hit sectors — transport, agriculture and fisheries — have received government subsidies to cushion the impact.
Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Karl Kendrick Chua has also proposed the optional adoption by businesses and employers of a four-day workweek that would contribute to energy conservation and reduce fuel and transportation costs. Workers could work ten hours a day for four days a week — instead of the usual five days — thereby maintaining productivity and take-home pay levels.
The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP) has indicated its openness to this proposal, provided its not made mandatory.
On a parallel plane, it is not well known that there is already a law — Republic Act 11165, the Telecommuting Act of 2018 — that allows employers the flexibility to adopt an alternative work arrangement.
Employees could do their work without the need to endure heavy traffic while going to offices. An employee just needs to use available technology to be able to perform his task. This became the default mode during the past two years when quarantine measures were enforced to curtail the transmission of Covid-19.
Alternative proposals include adopting a four-day workweek, then allowing work from home on the fifth day; and delaying the start of work so that more work could be shifted toward evenings to achieve lower energy costs. Moreover, some experts opine that this could not be a one-size-fits all approach. There are jobs, firms or industries for which it would be more suitable.
Baguio Representative Mark Go, who chairs the House committee on labor and employment, has filed a bill on Compressed Work Week that enables employers and employees to adopt options for reducing the normal work week to less than six days, but the total number of regular work hours shall remain at 48 hours. This involves amendments to Articles 83, 85 and 91 of Presidential Decree No. 442, or the Labor Code of the Philippines.
Presently, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) allows some companies to go on compressed work week schemes that give both employers and employees flexibility in fixing hours of work “compatible with business requirements and the employees’ need for a balanced work-life.”
Now that many companies and businesses are steadily resuming back-to-normal work routines, it is imperative that new ways of working and doing business are considered. The pandemic has accelerated the adoption of digital solutions that have enabled greater efficiency in achieving vital tasks in health care, service businesses, manufacturing and even in promoting community building and the well-being of families.
Beyond coping with the exigencies arising from the Ukraine-Russia conflict, there is need to seize the opportunity for reengineering work such that heightened productivity and enhanced work-life harmony are attained.
