A FOUR-DAY workweek can be implemented in the business-process outsourcing (BPO) sector, stakeholders from the industry said.
Teleperformance Philippines Senior Vice President for Human Capital Jeffrey Johnson said the company is already implementing flexible work arrangements, and adjusting to a compressed workweek will not be hard for the firm.
“We’re actually monitoring this, we’re looking at that and we are looking what options we have,” Johnson said on Friday, commenting on the compressed workweek bill passed in the House of Representatives.
“Currently, we now have flexible work arrangements. We have some employees working on four days a week, 12-hour shift, and that’s of course depending upon their availability,” he added.
He added that some workers prefer a four-day workweek because of the poor traffic and commuting situation in Metro Manila, where the majority of BPO offices are located.
“For the industry, it really depends on our clients, and we’re looking at our clients’ need. So obviously, we will respond what our clients need. Sometimes, clients would have certain days of the week, they have less call volume. It can help us, we can adjust to that,” Johnson added.
“So there’s a lot of opportunities to adjust to that. In terms of that specific bill, we see that is something that we can work around and [it is] something we can evaluate,” he said.
For 27-year-old Geraldine Donato, who has been with the industry for seven years now, the new legislation for a compressed workweek is welcome news.
She said an additional two-hour work on her daily job would be like an overtime work.
“Personally, a four-day workweek is better since expenses for fare and food would be lesser. With the hassle in commuting—traffic congestion and poor public transport system—workers will welcome this legislation,” she told the Philippine News Agency.
Donato’s sentiment was echoed by another BPO employee, Patrick Legaspi, who has been working in the sector for over a decade.
“Extending work hours during the four days of their workweek is something that can’t be felt. Instead being caught in the heavy traffic during rush hours, employees can work on these extra hours to earn additional money,” Legaspi said.
“This scheme can also lessen employees using up their leaves because this time they have three days out of work in a week,” he said, adding this promotes work-life balance in the BPO industry.