On four-day workweek in Metro Manila

The Civil Service Commission has approved the implementation of four-day workweek in government offices in Metro Manila under certain conditions. Under the scheme, work will be stretched from eight to ten hours a day to be able to drop a day in the work week. The scheme though is only voluntary and available only to agencies which are qualified under its rules, according to Dr. Francisco T. Duque Jr., CSC chairman, who said the CSC must approve applications by agencies to enforce the plan.
.Duque, a doctor who studied in Harvard University and a former Secretary of Health, said that four-day workweek in government offices was in response to the worsening traffic situation in Metro Manila brought about by major infrastructure projects affecting the commuting public, including government employees. Having another one-day off and time re-scheduling would mean lessening stress traffic experience and avoiding other people exiting in their respective work places. The scheme also aims to enhance the employee engagement, morale and productivity, promote work balance, noting three more days of quality time with their family.
The plan, however, has caught the attention of Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo, the chairman of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines-Episcopal Commission on Public Affairs (CBCP-ECPA), who has expressed doubts if the implementation of the four-day work week for government employees would ease the worsening traffic situation in Metro Manila. Pabillo noted that what the government should do is to improve the mass transport system in Metro Manila that may help ease the traffic woes in the metropolis. Thus, he urged the government to thoroughly study the order, saying he does not believe that shortening the working days for employees would give them more time to spend with their families.
Indeed, there should be further study on the implications of the proposed four-day workweek scheme before it is implemented. There is really no assurance that government officials will spend their “extra free day” with the members of the family, given that their children maybe in schools during the off day.