Coverage by Jeline Malasig, Philippine Star
If you asked the Trade chief, he would not recommend employees to continue working from home under the loose pandemic restrictions, citing the need to stimulate the economy.
When more people return to their offices, they "will stimulate spending because there are more opportunities to spend going to work and going home," Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said.
Old normal: While the message on the need to recover economically from the pandemic, there was no mention of the billions of pesos in lost productivity on a daily basis due to road congestion and poor public transportation.
Filipino workers who have seen the benefits of remote work in the past two years expressed worry about commuting costs and hassles, long hours spent in traffic jams and poor workplace ventilation.
Public transportation is now allowed to accommodate up to 100% of its capacity, but vehicles and train units' conditions have had to force operators to regularly cram passengers and exceed capacity allotment.
Many are supportive of "hybrid" work arrangements. "There are jobs that really need to be done in the workplace, but it’s time for our country to evolve for different setups in working," an employee said.
