Let us try the four-day work week
While all others are talking about problems, the Civil Service Commission Chairman has come up with the solution. Instead of listening to the proposal and understanding the objectives that moved the proponent, a lot of people have started to criticize the matter and even attribute bad motives to the proponent. This is the malady that afflicts the Filipinos. Many of us are too focused on the negative side of things that we can no longer see the silver lining behind the cloud, so to say. Those who are negative about the four-day work week have never even tried to come up with their own proposed solution to the problem.
If this were a debate, let us use the modified Oxford-Oregon style and discuss the NECESSITY, the BENEFICIALITY and the PRACTICABILITY of this proposed solution. First of all, let us start with an agreement that there is a problem besetting at least Metro Manila, and perhaps Cebu and Davao during peak hours. Millions of pedestrians have to report for work, go to schools, the supermarkets and malls and many other destinations all at the same time. Hundreds of thousands of vehicles are using the same limited space also at the same time. People are delayed, work hours are wasted, productivity is going down and both people and vehicles end up losing.
This is a simple problem in physics, the interplay of space, time, volume of people and vehicles and velocity, speed and frequency of movement to and from all directions. A simple problem with very much complicated and complex implications and ramifications indeed. And so, the proposal to adopt a scheme of limiting the volume of people in the streets and managing the timing of their ingress and egress into the urban centers is NECESSARY, rather than leaving the dynamics of movement and volumes to collide at the same place and at the same time, the only consequence would be chaos. There is a need to allow people to go to office only four times every week.
Then the BENEFICIALITY. The personnel will have longer office and working hours. They can serve more customers and focus more without having to rush and compete with all the rest of humanity at 8 AM and at 5 PM. These people will have three days free which they can use to engage in a supplementary means of livelihood. They can also have more quality time with family and loved ones or take a second course via the internet. They can expand their horizon by doing internet marketing and engage in cyber business. They can engage in some fulfilling community services by way of doing some social responsibility projects.
On PRACTICALITY, the Civil Service Commission has installed mechanism that assures that the quality of public service will not deteriorate. This is not compulsory. Only those that have adequate safeguards will be allowed to adopt the scheme. All stakeholders will be consulted. And so, the detractors should wait for the right time to be asked. There are people who have always opposed all proposed solutions but are the noisiest in raising howls concerning the problem. Why don't we learn to "light just one little candle, instead of just cursing the dark." Above all, if some people are really congenital non-conformists, then let them shoot down the proposal, without shooting the proponent. Above all, they must offer a better alternative, or shut their mouth and forever keep their peace.
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