THE Mandaue City Government will continue its four-day workweek as officials assess if the policy delivers cost savings.
City Administrator Gonzalo Malig-on Jr. said the arrangement, introduced three weeks ago, remains in place while the City gathers data.
The measure allows government offices to operate on-site for four days.
Policy evaluation
Fridays are work-from-home days with a skeletal workforce required to report physically. Malig-on said the City is taking a cautious approach before making changes.
Mandaue City hosts activities for its fiesta and the Asean Leaders’ Summit this week. Abrupt adjustments, he said, could cause confusion among residents who rely on government services.
A final decision on whether to retain the schedule is expected within the next week. Changes may take effect later this month or in the following month.
Operational impact
The evaluation will be conducted with Mayor Thadeo Jovito “Jonkie” Ouano. It focuses on whether the policy led to reductions in operational costs, such as electricity use and motorpool expenses.
“We still need to gather the data to determine if there is really an impact,” Malig-on said. “If there is no impact, then we will go back to the usual schedule. If there is an impact, we will assess whether it is substantial.”
The City introduced the four-day workweek to conserve resources amid rising fuel costs linked to the conflict in the Middle East.
National directives
The policy supports a memorandum issued by President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. The memorandum encourages government offices to adopt alternative work arrangements to reduce energy consumption.
Not all local governments sustained similar measures. Some, including the Cebu Provincial Government, discontinued their four-day workweek schemes.
This underscores the importance of evaluating if such policies produce benefits for the local government unit.
Data collection
The city administration remains focused on balancing employee welfare with the efficient delivery of public services during the trial period.
If the data shows minimal savings, the City will revert to the standard five-day on-site schedule to maintain full operational capacity. / ABC