Visiting relatives from Down Under recently came back from what was supposed to be their dream beach vacation in Bohol, one of our renowned island getaways that has been under the unwanted glare of criticism for its degradation of the world-famous Chocolate Hills, with disappointing news about the algal bloom affecting the island and the reckless disregard of local government authorities about the safety of beachgoers.
Unfortunately for my visiting Aussies, what they had expected to show off and boast about to their friends and family through a gorgeous tan and added poundage from gorging on Philippine cuisine will be quite the opposite - no tan and a bout of upset stomach.
When I met up with them last Sunday after their return from Bohol, I was surprised that they had not gotten a tan after their four-day stay on the island. My cousins revealed that they were disappointed that the beach and sea were full of green slimy “seaweeds” and that there were too many big bancas anchored near the beach, making it hazardous to go into the water just to dodge the arriving and departing seacraft ferrying island hoppers and numerous scuba divers.
Likewise, their resort of choice turned out to be a flop, with three of them suffering from upset stomach due to the food, with one cousin swearing never to return to Bohol again.
Perhaps the Departments of Tourism and the Environment and Natural Resources should start inspecting, just like they did in Boracay a few years ago, the discharge of wastewater from the beachfront resorts that may be the cause of the algal bloom during the hot summer season.
The two government agencies should also crack down on the well-known abuse of local bancas to anchor near the beach shoreline, with total disregard of beachgoers who like to sunbathe and play near the shoreline.
Hopefully, though, since they are scheduled to go to Boracay this week, they will have a better experience to tell, since Boracay has already instituted reforms and measures to address the same problems that Bohol is now experiencing.
Fancy, schmancy
According to a recent survey conducted by Robert Walters Philippines (a headhunting and recruitment agency) which used data collected by LinkedIn polls, there has been a noticeable rise in job title inflation among employers over the past year in the Philippines.
In reality, however, the so-called job title inflation has been a common practice since who knows when, although each generation generally comes up with its own modified labels.
Even in our vernacular, it is no longer politically correct to call our house helpers as katulong, maids or boys...they are either called kasambahays or more professionally as household staff.
In almost all big corporations and even in government, there are quite a number of secretaries, managers, assistant vice presidents and vice presidents for all imaginable divisions, leading to a much bloated bureaucracy.
More often, young professionals introduce themselves as “specialists” for whatever vague area of business they claim to be representing although it is quite unclear what special training they have acquired to earn the title of specialists.
Another example is the misuse of the title “engineer.” By definition, an engineer is someone who is involved in inventing, designing and maintaining a variety of machines, structures and data systems.
Engineers are supposed to be responsible for adhering to their employer’s specifications for budget and timeline. They are supposed to be experts in their fields, creating and innovating constantly.
Unfortunately, the term engineer has been denigrated to some extent in some sectors, specifically for a more professional representation of what would otherwise not actually need a four-year college degree or professional training.
Thus, what is arguably an important job for the community or a corporation, which is garbage collection, and maintenance and janitorial work, have been bestowed with the concocted titles of sanitary or maintenance engineers, but with salaries normally at the bottom of the corporate pay scale.
Even the post of receptionists have been elevated to the more respectable title of Guest Relation Officer, with the GRO label again connoting a less than desirable position.
The use of fancy-schmancy job titles extends even to the promotion of entrepreneurial enterprises with young professionals and entrepreneurs labeling their small or start-up business with grandiose descriptions.
A young couple who wanted to impress me regarding their business skills and possibly interest me in writing about their endeavor described their investment as being in the logistics sector.
It turns out, they are delivery subcontractors for an e-commerce platform and their delivery vehicles were a couple of bicycles and one delivery van, specifically to deliver smaller packages to crowded neighborhoods.
Then there is the overused and very misleading financial planner or investment consultant, or property advisor labels for professional affiliations, which to naive investors often end up in scams or bogus investment or financial placements.
According to Jayson Mendoza, manager of human resources and industrial at Robert Walters Philippines, “using overly inflated titles may lead to disillusionment among employees if their job titles do not accurately reflect their duties or level of seniority.”
He clarified that the use of fancy job titles is commonly seen in technology, startups, digital media, marketing, advertising and professional services sectors due to the intense competition for talent.
It thus comes as no surprise that the Gen Y (those born roughly between 1981 and 1994) and Gen Z (those born between 1995 and 2009), prefer to carve out their own profession independently than join a corporate structure that leads to a false sense of growth or advancement upon the bestowal of a glorified job title that really oftentimes does not result in a significant promotion.