Filipinos rethink overseas jobs as work from home becomes norm

MANILA, Philippines — The coronavirus pandemic has been prompting more Filipinos to abandon their desire to work abroad and instead look for jobs onshore that allow their employees to work from the comforts of their homes.

A global report released Wednesday by JobStreet, an online job portal, showed a majority of 54% of Filipino respondents still expressing willingness to work overseas. However, the figure was dramatically lower than 75% recorded in 2018, and getting closer to the current global average of 50%.

At the same time, 49% of Filipinos were found preferring working from home as the pandemic drags on. This, in turn, increases the urgency for employers to provide flexible working arrangements to employees so they can attract more talents, Philip Gioca, country manager for JobStreet, said in a statement.

"The COVID-19 crisis has reduced the willingness to travel abroad for work, considering the uncertainty and traveling being perceived as unsafe. However, as virtual work becomes a trend, people may not need to move abroad anymore to find work but can do so remotely with foreign or local employers," JobStreet said.

JobStreet polled over 208,000 respondents across 190 countries for the report. While on a decline, the survey results showed Filipino skilled workers are still the ones more likely to find jobs abroad during the health crisis. This includes engineers, IT professionals and media workers, among others.

Canada and Australia remained the top two choices of Filipinos looking for jobs overseas, while New Zealand secured the third spot. But Filipinos have also started considering Japan, Singapore, South Korea, and United Arab Emirates as destinations in a bid to stay closer to home.

“In 2018, many Filipinos preferred western countries to pursue their careers. With the pandemic, we have seen that more Asian countries have grown in popularity among jobseekers likely due to better management of COVID-19,” Gioca said.

JobStreet recommends hirers to adapt to the virtual talent pool. Employers should consider having a specialized human resource team for global insurance and payroll, shift toward asynchronous communication for varying time zones, and enforce a trial period to ensure foreign employees' suitability.