Working days should be reduced to five

It is not how many days government offices are open that should be given importance, but how they operate. Today, people are getting many services online without having to go to government offices. They can pay taxes, fees and electricity bills even in the middle of the night through their computers or smartphones. They do not have to worry about whether the office is open or not. Therefore, reducing the working days of government offices to five days a week will not affect the people as much as it did in the old days. Moreover, it will also bring great relief to government employees who reach offices from far away.

Travelling through Kerala will take only a one-night journey. If the working days are increased to five, a secretariat official from Kasaragod will have the opportunity to stay at home for two days and one night a week. This opportunity to take care of household and children's matters will naturally relieve the mental stress of the officials. However, they should also use this as an opportunity to work diligently. In foreign countries, it is customary to take the last two days of the week off. Those who leave the office on Friday evening will think about the office only on Monday morning.

Research also suggests that getting enough time for rest and fun has motivated them to do office work more diligently. The government will save crores in electricity bills when offices are closed for two days. In Paris and other areas, ACs are not allowed even in homes as part of efforts to reduce pollution and control climate change. Pollution will be reduced to a large extent by not operating the ACs in government offices for two days and by keeping government officials' vehicles off the roads. The second Saturday of the month is already a holiday. Government officials will get three additional holidays if Saturdays are declared holidays.

A discussion is being held with representatives of organizations in the Secretariat's Durbar Hall on the evening of September 11 in this regard. Organizations are generally in favour of Saturday holidays. It was the Administrative Reforms Commission, chaired by VS Achuthanandan, that recommended a five-day working week in government offices and a holiday on Saturdays. It also made recommendations such as raising the retirement age of officials to 60 years in a phased manner, extending office hours from 9 am to 5.30 pm, and allowing a half-hour lunch break between 1.30 pm and 2 pm.