'TOL VIEWS
It is said that the wave of the COVID-19 virus would forever change the way we live our everyday lives. As the economy set to a halt for the first months of the enhanced community quarantine back in 2020, employers set out to establish remote working arrangements to adjust to the limitations imposed by the pandemic. Employers recognize that despite the uncertainty brought by the virus, life and work must continue. After all, Filipinos had adopted resiliency as somewhat a national identity in the face of tragedy.
At the onset, the work-from-home arrangement seemed a blessing to the typical Filipino city-worker who had to traverse the metro’s infamous traffic. For those living cities away from their place of work, this would mean more time for rest or extra hours spent with their families — made possible by the adjustment to working in the comfort of their homes.
As we enter the third year of the pandemic, reports of burned-out employees became rampant. The remote working arrangement, once considered a blessing, resulted to overworked employees brought by the thinning line between work and personal life. Technology, once a source of convenience, is now a means of power of control by employers over their employees. With the merging of one’s home with one’s place of work, there is no way of drawing the line when work would start and when work would end. The right of the employee to disconnect from his gadgets and have his own personal time should be respected.
Senate Bill 2475 or the Worker’s Rest Law which I filed last January 17, 2022 seeks to set the normal work hours not to exceed eight hours a day. For employees on a compressed workweek arrangement, the hours of work shall not exceed 12 hours a day. Any period beyond the normal work hours would be considered as rest hours of an employee. Further, an employee may not be compelled to render overtime work, unless otherwise allowed by the Labor Code of the Philippines or unless the employee freely gives a written consent to render overtime work. Any waiver of the right to rest hours or any advance consent to perform overtime work as a condition of employment, re-employment, or continued employment shall be void. Employers who would violate the measure would be penalized by monetary sanction and a fine, or with imprisonment if attended with violence, threats, intimidation or resulted in discrimination.
With the introduction of this bill in the Senate, it aims to serve as a demarcation of work with personal life in remote working arrangements. This would allow proper rest for employees and as a result, a productive worker for employers. After all, mental health should likewise be prioritized.
Truly, resiliency is indeed a trait we Filipinos should be proud of. Resiliency, however, should not be at the expense of rest and recovery of the Filipino workers.