More incentives boost government workers’ productivity

A FORMER chairperson of the Civil Service Commission (CSC) challenged the government to come up with more health and wellness packages, performance incentives, and increased pay to help boost productivity of government workers.

Former CSC chair Corazon Alma De Leon, who was the guest speaker in Tuesday’s regional Health and Wellness Summit, stressed while they recognize a government worker as a public servant, there is also the need to provide them increased pay, incentives, and other privileges.

And this dignity to the government workers, she said, could only be achieved through boosting productivity in the form of incentives, either monetary or in the form of recognition, she said.

“If you take care of public servants, they will also take care of you,” De Leon said.

For De Leon, coming up with health and wellness activities is one way of breeding quality civil servants.

She also lauded the Cordillera region’s government workers as they have been in the periphery yet they are self-reliant and ably independent without needing much help from National Government.

Another concern of government workers is the lack of financial security when they retire.

She added that the only way to address the needs of government workers is to rationalize government offices and purge unnecessary employees and instead spend the money on the health and wellness of core employees.

The CSC-Cordillera, during their Summit on Health and Wellness in the Workplace, focused on promoting healthy lifestyle, physical and medical wellness, spiritual wellness, brain and laughter yoga, handling toxic emotions in the workplace.

To prepare government workers for retirement, the CSC also trained more than 100 participants from different government offices like money placement, financial management, and entrepreneurship and livelihood programs to prepare civil servants on their retirement.

Furthermore, she said local chief executives play a significant role in improving services extended by city and municipal halls to the public.

“They should lead by example as government workers tend to be challenged to work harder when their leaders are hard working,” she added.

With the devolution of powers from the National Government, local chief executives, she said, have important roles in ensuring quality service for taxpayers and their constituents.

“If mayors or governors are good, the expectations of leaders will serve as the challenge for employees to improve their service,” she said.

She said that it is time to give awards especially in the local level of outstanding employees to challenge and motivate government workers to perform and in turn give quality service which taxpayers deserve. (JM Agreda)