MANILA – Almost half of Filipino employees prefer to have a hybrid work setup where they split their days between physically going to their workplaces and working from their homes, a recent study showed.

The 2021 PhilCare Wellness Index showed, 48.7 percent of employees prefer hybrid work arrangements, 35 percent were willing to go back to their workplaces, while 16 percent want to work entirely from their homes.

At present, 49.9 percent of survey respondents said they worked entirely in their respective work sites, while 36.2 percent work both at home and on-site. The rest, 13.9 percent, work entirely at home.

PhilCare President and CEO Jaeger Tanco said the study aimed to find out “how prepared employees are as they navigate the transition between the COVID-19 new normal and the prospective next normal.”

Filipino workers also overwhelmingly support the COVID-19 vaccination drive, with only 7.6 percent of survey respondents saying they don’t want to be vaccinated.

However, only 26.2 percent have been fully-vaccinated, while 17.1 percent have taken their first of two shots.

Almost half, or 49.1 percent of respondents said they have yet to be vaccinated.

ABS-CBN has been tracking the country's vaccination rollout, and after more than 7 months, the country has achieved only 28.5 percent of its target for the year.

Confidence in the vaccines meanwhile is high, with 82 percent saying trust the vaccines’ efficacy and safety, according to the PhilCare study.

Almost half, or 46.6 percent) of respondents said they personally knew someone who had COVID-19. In addition, over a third, or 36.6 percent said they personally knew of someone who died from the disease.

Despite this, the study also said fewer Filipinos were anxious about going out and attending to their daily needs this year compared to last year.

Former Health Secretary Enrique Ona, who chaired the study, said its findings were relevant “at a time when people are raring to return to their workplaces while conducting them in a safe manner since the virus.”

“At the end of the day, we want to help the economy and our fellow Filipinos move past our current situation into a healthier and safer next normal,” Ona said.

Economic managers are backing calls to lower the National Capital Region’s quarantine alert level this month, as the number of fresh COVID-19 cases continues to decline.

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The Philippines has been implementing what analysts say is one of the strictest and longest lockdowns in the world, which has already caused its worst economic contraction since World War 2.

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- Report from Bruce Rodriguez, ABS-CBN News

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