NEDA's Balisacan says offices should assess if four-day workweek would affect productivity

National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Secretary Arsenio Balisacan on Thursday said agencies should assess if implementing a four-day workweek will affect their productivity.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has back proposals for a four-day workweek as a means for energy conservation.

"In general, that move is trying to address energy conservation because as you see, part of the optics of the sources of the inflation is the high cost of energy and we do think we can reconfigure our work environment so that we could reduce energy use," Balisacan said in a Palace briefing.

"The agencies would have to assess their respective circumstances whether that will affect their productivity," he added.

Balisacan said the COVID-19 pandemic has taught Filipinos that the work-from-home setup is possible, especially for those involved in research.

Earlier reports said Filipinos are divided in their opinions on the four-day workweek.

Discussions on shortening the workweek in the Philippines re-emerged after a recent study in the United Kingdom found 39% of employees working for only four days had lower stress levels than those working the traditional five days.

The same study also shows that 71% experienced reduced burnout.

Employers’ Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) President Sergio Ortiz-Luis said there are significant differences between the situation in the UK and the Philippines.

He said discussing the four-day workweek was “ill-timed” as the country’s industries were just starting to get back on their feet from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. —KBK, GMA Integrated News