Clint Jan Salvaña

2012-51494

A Reaction Paper on the Senate Bill 1571

by Senator Joel Villanueva

Labor has long played a major role in the economic advancements of a

country. A definition from the business dictionary entails that labor is a primary factor
of production which implies that it is the aggregate of all human physical and mental
effort used in the creation of goods and services. Driving this factor could lead to
further advancements and development.

Senator Joel Villanueva authored a bill which I think a move to drive and
promote labor and may give way to the idea of efficient and productive working
environment. This bill is called the Senate bill 1571 or otherwise known as “AN ACT
AMENDING ARTICLE 83 OF THE PRESIDENTIAL DECREE NO. 442
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE LABOR CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES, AS
AMENDED”. The bill was geared into the aspect of growing recognition on the
benefits of deviating from the conventional work setup and into a more flexible work
arrangement. The senator further emphasizes that flexibility in the workplace allows
employees to find an arrangement where they can fulfill their work obligations with
above expectations given their respective situations. Overall, the senator wanted to
convey the idea that by having a flexible workplace, both the employer and employee
would be able to have a setting that might work best for them thus increasing
productivity.

I worked in an environment where we can just do our work at the comforts of

our house. The idea behind the Senate bill is primarily focused on the well-being of
the employees as part of the concept work-life balance. I strongly believe that this bill
will be able to promulgate an idea of efficiency and productivity to the minds of every
employee. In this regard, I am a pro implementor of this bill.

I believe that there are a lot of advantages associated with this bill is
implemented. Our company is a multinational organization where we need to work on
daytime and nighttime to cater the needs of our customers and business. Currently, we
faced the challenge of not being able to render more than 8 hours of work per day due
to the current labor code. The company fosters a work-life balance mentality thus they
discourage employees to incur overtimes just to have meetings with clients. This
concept affected our operations and productivity daily because we cannot work
overtime because the company dislikes it. On the side of the client, it is a good thing
that they understand the culture and policies in the Philippines, so they just adjusted
our meetings depending on our work schedules on an 8 hours basis. Assessing these
aspects of the company, I can think of the following items as the advantages of
implementation of the policy:

1. Flexibility to meet client meetings, family needs, personal obligations,

and life responsibilities conveniently;
2. Increased feeling of personal control over schedule and work
environment and could promote human capital; and
3. Reduces employee burnout due to overload.

If a flexible schedule is implemented in our workplace, lots of other

responsibilities and accountabilities can be made by the employee. The employee can
effectively do time management and weigh the most important tasks and things that
matter. A study by Barney (1991) shows that one reason employee like to work for
themselves is the control issue so for the company to have a competitive advantage,
they must promote the well-being of their employees by eradicating the controlling
issues of its superiors like imposing different matters. Furthermore, by allowing
employees to determine their own schedule and work environment, the idea of
entrepreneurial spirit can be fostered. Overall, this kind of working environment gives
rise to the idea of employees taking a break when they need it without incurring the
wrath of their managers, which is flexibility. These would really be a great addition to
the working environment in our company and may lessen attrition, productivity and
quality problems, and trust towards the management and the business.

The bill also highlighted the idea of compressed workweek scheme in the
workplace. According to a section in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, this scheme
promotes business competitiveness, work efficiency, and labor productivity.
Technically, the idea of this scheme paves the way for a 4-day-12-hour work week. It
also allows employees to vary their arrival and departure times which gives them the
liberty to control their time and be accountable for their work.
 Talking about this scheme, aside from the above-mentioned advantages that
the employees may get in our company upon implementation, it would also give
additional advantages like these:

1. Compressed Time Benefits;

2. Energy Savings; and
3. Customer Service.

In a compressed work schedule, the 40-hour workweek will be compressed

into four days instead of the usual five. This means that it will now be on a four 10-
hour to 12-hour workdays basis. A study from Zehira et. al (2016) says that
employees often prefer compressed work schedules because it means an extra day off
for each week and less commuting for them. Upon implementation, this policy may
save employees’ money with their gasoline expenses and may reduce the stress of a
long commute. Also, since employees have more free time, they tend to be healthier
which means they will take fewer sick days and in turn increases productivity rather
than unavailability to work. Furthermore, since we are a customer-oriented company
the business will greatly benefit from a compressed work schedule by staying open
longer each day. The business can offer longer opening hours and provide access to
customers and return meetings to clients in a flexible manner.

In a competitive environment, change is considered inevitable. Businesses

must be flexible. The flexibility meant involves looking at labor and workforce
practices to identify new and better ways of responding to the different needs of the
business and the economy. The need for flexible work often drove employees’
choices about the kinds of work they engaged in. Measures that give employees more
freedom with their time and location enables them to take better care of themselves.
This employs the concept of the human capital building by organizations to help
foster a strategic human resource environment. Overall, if policies are to be
implemented while its good aspects were emphasized rather than bad then employees
will most likely have a positive mindset towards it. As Moen et al. (2011) put it in a
news release, "Emphasizing actual results can create a work environment that fosters
healthy behavior and well-being".
References:

Barney, J. (1991). Firm resources and sustained competitive advantage. Journal of

management, 17(1), 99-120.

Compressed work week Bill is anti-worker. Retrieved from

http://opinion.inquirer.net/106853/compressed-work-week-bill-
antiworker#ixzz578367w93

Labor. In BusinessDictionary.com. Retrieved from

http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/labor.html.

Moen, P., Kelly, E., Tranby, E., and Huang, Q (2011). Changing work, changing
health: can real work-time flexibility promote health behaviors and well-being?
Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 52(4), 404–429.

Villanueva, J (2017). An act amending article 83 of the presidential decree no. 442
otherwise known as the labor code of the Philippines, as amended. Retrieved from
https://senate.gov.ph/lis/bill_res.aspx?congress=17&q=SBN-1571.

Zehira, C., Gurolb, Y., Karabogac, T., Koled, M (2016). Strategic human resource
management and firm performance: the mediating role of entrepreneurial orientation.
Social and Behavioral Sciences. 235(2016), 372 – 381.