4-day work week for gov’t offices OK’d

Civil Service Commission (CSC) Chairman Francisco Duque. AFP FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Three-day weekends may soon be the norm for some government employees in Metro Manila after the Civil Service Commission (CSC) approved the four-day work week scheme as a response to the worsening traffic situation.

Under the arrangement, government offices in the metropolis can voluntarily implement the new work schedule from Tuesday to Friday or Monday to Thursday.

Employees covered by the scheme will be required to work from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., taking an hour off for their lunch break.

The new work schedule was outlined by the CSC in a two-page resolution promulgated on Sept. 8 where it gave “blanket approval” for government agencies which want to implement it as long as they meet the requirements.

The resolution was signed by CSC Chair Francisco Duque III and Commissioners Robert Martinez and Nieves Osorio.

To qualify for the new schedule, a government office must have a one-stop shop and its frontline services accessible through the Internet. It must also have a functioning call center or hotline system which diverts calls to the officers of the day should the person concerned be off duty.

Government agencies that meet the criteria and are granted blanket approval by the CSC may implement the four-day work week scheme initially for one year, starting this month.

But they will be required to monitor and evaluate their employees’ performance, frequency of absenteeism and tardiness, health and wellness, satisfaction, turnover rate in addition to their agency’s electrical consumption and client satisfaction.

The new office hours of the participating agencies will be posted on the CSC website and on www.gov.ph.

The CSC earlier conducted a survey on alternative work schemes “in response to the worsening traffic situation in Metro Manila brought about by major infrastructure projects.”

The new work schedule, the agency said, was also aimed at “promoting work-life balance among employees” and boosting their engagement, morale and productivity.

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