Since the temporary imposition of the four-day workweek in government offices in response to the oil crisis last March, there has been a growing clamor among some sectors to make it the norm not just in government but also in private business as well.
The argument for a four-day workweek is nothing new – even before the Covid-19 pandemic made “work-from-home” mandatory for almost two years, the idea of a four-day workweek has been floated time and again, only to founder on the shoals of opposition from the business sector.
Of course, the pre-pandemic times were times when we hadn’t had gotten a full grasp of how technology can be utilized to maximize business performance, much less our civil service.
And let’s face it, our business culture, not to mention our bureaucracy, is still rooted in outmoded “paper-based” methods that some claim is an ideal setup in preventing corruption but also slows down government transactions to an unbelievable level.
Anybody who has had their business permits renewed before the pandemic can understand the frustration of having to go through multiple departments just to get this or that permit or document.
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Fast forward to 2026, and many private companies have adopted the flexible working arrangements that were developed during the pandemic as a way of life.
It has certainly proved to be a blessing for many who need not report to their offices everyday – a factor that some charge is partly responsible for our current transportation and traffic woes.
My elder sister, for one, has been working from home since the pandemic, which she says is a refreshing change from having to endure traffic from Laguna to Makati and vice-versa.
Some of her officemates, she related, had even decided to return to their provinces to work remotely, opting instead for the occasional meetings and trainings in Metro Manila.
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If they could do that for the business sector, why couldn’t we do that in our national and local governments?
Of course, I can understand that there are some government functions that still demand that employees report to work personally, particularly in the so-called “frontline” services.
Pero kung kaya naman, hindi ba parang mas makatitipid para sa pamahalaan na tuluyan nang gawing mandatory ang flexible work arrangements kaysa paikliin ang araw ng trabaho?
Let’s look at it this way: if our goal is saving electricity costs, wouldn’t it be more cost-efficient to let some employees work from home instead of reducing the number of working days (and, may I point out, increase the number of working hours)?
Not only that, think of the savings our civil-service employees can accumulate by eliminating the need to commute everyday or eat outside, particularly today when every peso now counts a lot due to rising inflation?
Simply put, if we really want our government to be run efficiently like a good business, why don’t we adopt business practices that will enhance productivity among our civil service?
Ah, let me guess: because such practices are also a great deterrent to corruption and incompetence that has become the way of life in our government?
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