THE administration’s openness to a four-day workweek for government offices as an energy-conservation measure is fine, but needs a thorough review for certain businesses, Federation of Philippine Industries Chairman Elizabeth Lee said on Thursday.
“Manufacturing and other production-driven sectors typically operate on continuous production cycles and highly coordinated logistics systems. Any adjustments in work structures would need to be carefully designed to avoid unintended disruptions in output, delivery schedules and supply chain flows,” Lee explained.
On Wednesday, Malacañang Press Officer Claire Castro said President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. is open to studying a proposal to adopt a four-day workweek to save on energy amid war in the Middle East.
The proposed work scheme has yet to be tackled.
“Productivity and cost implications are critical variables. Pilot programs and data-driven evaluation may be useful steps before considering broader implementation,” Lee said.
While other countries have conducted pilot programs or trials of compressed or reduced work-week arrangements, Lee noted, “Within Asean, however, no country has adopted a universal, across-the-board mandate for a four-day workweek across all sectors.”
Also on Wednesday, Sen. Sherwin Gatchalian proposed a four-day workweek, with one work-from-home day, to help ease the burden on the public of rising oil prices.
The proposal came after Marcos ordered government offices and agencies to find ways to conserve energy as the United States-Iran conflict has spilled over to other oil-producing Middle East countries.
A four-day workweek is a nontraditional scheduling model where employees work four days instead of the standard five while accomplishing the same productivity level.
Although the concept had been applied for decades, it has gained renewed interest in the 21st century due to demands for more flexible work arrangements, longer weekends and reduced commute times.