EXCERPT

The issue here has two sides. Employers want to bring back workers to the office to increase productivity now that operations are normalizing. On the other hand, employees who are now accustomed to the work-from-home (WFH) setup argue that no productivity is lost as they don’t have to endure traffic and waste time on the road. There is no right or wrong side as both employer and employee have their valid reasons.

This has become more contentious as workers from the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry and businesses registered with investment promotion agencies (IPAs) are now requiring the majority of their workers to go back to the office or to report onsite. This has raised some questions considering that a year before the pandemic, there was already a Republic Act 11165 or “Telecommuting Act” signed by the President.

In the Act, telecommuting is defined as “work arrangement that allows an employee in the private sector to work from an alternative workplace with the use of telecommunication and/ or computer technologies.” Overall, it encouraged employers to offer this form of work, and also mandated that no employee be discriminated against or disadvantaged because of this arrangement.

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