Four-day workweek or 10-hour workday proposed in the Philippines

Four-day workweek proposed in the Philippines

A 10-hour workday or a 4-day workweek (10/4 formula) is now being proposed in the Philippine Congress.

Titled “Four-Day Work Week Act of 2011,” the proposal said the traditional 40 hours of work per week will still be implemented only that employees in both public and private sectors are to work for 10 hours per day instead of 8 hours and thus cutting the number of workdays per week to 4.

“It will still be 40 hours a week, but the work schedule will run from Monday to Thursday instead of until Friday. Public- and private-sector employees will put in two additional hours of work daily,” Quezon City representative Winston Castelo, its author, told ABS-CBN

The Congressman said the 10/4 formula will allow workers to save more money.

“If a worker in Metro Manila spends P200 a day in transport fare, food and snacks, and other expenses in going to work—or P1,000 every week, the 10/4 workweek will mean a savings of P200 per week. For workers in the provinces, who spend an average of P100 a day, the weekly savings can reach P100,” Castelo said.

Castelo added that the new formula will help workers become more productive and increase their morale.

“In the end, the 10/4 workweek can provide a positive impact on the worker’s morale and productivity in the workplace,” Castelo said.

According to Castelo, the 10/4 workweek has been enforced at the House of Representatives.

“Employees at the House of Representatives start at 8 a.m. and end up at 7 p.m. for a total of 10 hours of work every day. Yet service and productivity is never compromised by the shorter workweek and longer weekend,” Castelo said.

In the US, the state of Utah had experimented on the 10/4 schedule for a year which resulted to the following:

--13% reduction in energy use,
--$6 million savings in gasoline costs, and
--12,000 metric tons a year cut on greenhouse-gas emissions

Eighty-two percent (82%) also favored in keeping the schedule.

Meanwhile, another US state Ohio, which also tried out the formula, went back to the 5-day schedule after complaints about a lack of service on Fridays.

What do you think? Do you favor the four-day workweek schedule?