ILOILO City – Starting August 1, 2024, the Civil Service Commission (CSC) Region 6 has embraced a new “hybrid work arrangement” for its central and regional offices, featuring four onsite workdays and one remote workday each week.
The new arrangement mandates onsite presence from Monday to Thursday (8 a.m. to 5 p.m.), with an optional remote workday on Friday, aiming to ensure continuity in public services, especially those provided by external frontline offices.
Nelson G. Sarmiento, director of CSC Regional Office 6, detailed in an interview with Panay News how the arrangement is implemented locally in their six field offices.
“On Fridays, employees can choose to work remotely, but still ensuring they complete their eight-hour duty, with their activities monitored through our app,” Sarmiento explained.
He further clarified that on Fridays, while staff may work from home, those assigned to frontline services must still report onsite to ensure the delivery of services is not hampered.
“The intention is not to prejudice our very public, that is the reason for why we are here,” Sarmiento added, ensuring that essential services like exam scheduling and eligibility requests are accessible online.
CSC chairperson Karlo Nograles, who announced the change following the approval of CSC Resolution No. 2400579 on July 10, 2024, highlighted the uniform remote workday of Friday across all offices.
“As the central human resource agency of the government, the CSC is committed to leading the way in adopting sustainable HR management practices that contribute to climate change mitigation measures,” said Nograles.
He emphasized, “We shall set an example by ensuring that the service provided to our stakeholders and the general public remains uninterrupted, even amidst the hybrid work arrangement.”
The CSC has launched a three-month evaluation period to review the effectiveness of the hybrid arrangement and make necessary adjustments.
Will this innovative approach by CSC potentially inspire other government offices to adopt similar flexible work practices in the future?
“I don’t want to preempt the Commission but siguro that will be part of their evolution later on. For now, office memorandum pa lang ni sa amon, sa SCS and if turns out that medyo significant ang improvement of government offices and the health and wellness of employees, basi pa lang,” said Sarmiento.
CSC’s Internal Guidelines on FWA (Flexible Work Arrangement) is in line with the CSC Resolution No. 220209 or the Policies on Flexible Work Arrangements in the Government promulgated on May 18, 2022 and circularized via CSC Memorandum Circular No. 6, s. 2022.
These guidelines aim to institutionalize suitable work arrangements for government officials and employees while ensuring the protection of their health, safety, and welfare.
Additionally, the new policy aligns with the government’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Measures outlined in the Government Energy Management Program.
Specifically, the Inter-Agency Energy Efficiency and Conservation Committee Resolution No. 7, s. 2023 advocates for the implementation of FWA in government entities “to minimize the impact of steep global prices of petroleum products, reduce the consumption of both electricity and fuel of the whole government, and alleviate traffic congestion.”
Under the CSC FWA policy, CSC officials and employees may avail of the FWA and render 40 hours of service in a week regardless of employment status: permanent, temporary, coterminous, casual, and contractual. The FWA also applies to contract of service and job order workers, in accordance with the provisions allowed in their contracts and existing accounting, budgeting, and auditing rules and regulations./PN
