Filipinos are happiest employees

in Southeast Asia -- Jobstreet

Posted on September 01, 2016

FILIPINOS remained the happiest and

most satisfied employees in Southeast
Asia in July, according to Jobstreet.coms
happiness index.
Online employment marketplace
Jobstreet.com released on Wednesday its
2016 Happiness Index Report, which showed
73% of Filipinos were happy with their jobs,
followed by Indonesians (71%), Thai (61%),
Vietnamese (60%) and Hong Kong (57%).
On the other hand, Malaysians and
Singaporeans scored the
lowest on the Job Happiness
Index, with 47% and 48%,
respectively.
Filipino employees also had the highest
average satisfaction rating at 6.25 on a 10point scale, followed by Indonesia (6.16),
Thailand (5.74) and Hong Kong (5.54).
Employees in Singapore had the lowest

satisfaction rating at 5.09.

Jobstreet.com conducted the survey in July
with 12,796 Filipino respondents, of which
61% came from Metro Manila.
In a briefing in Makati City, Jobstreet.com
Country Manager Philip A. Gioca said by
industry, government employees were the
happiest with 6.66 rating out of the 10-point
scale, followed by education and oil sectors
with 6.53 rating and 6.49 rating, respectively.
Retail, banking & finance, and business
process outsourcing/call center scored the
lowest in satisfaction rating with 6.08, 6.03
and 5.99, respectively.
Mr. Gioca noted that employees who are just
starting out and those who have joined the
highest ranks are the happiest.
By specialization, employees in hospitalityrelated jobs were the happiest with an
average rating of 6.72, while the least happy
were marketing employees with a 6.01 rating.

In terms of location, employees in the Bicol

region were the happiest with a 7 rating, while
workers in the Negros Island region ranked
their job satisfaction with 6.09 rating -- the
lowest among all areas evaluated.
Mr. Gioca said it is important to note that the
lowest scores given by the respondents did
not go below the neutral rating.
GENETICALLY HAPPY
Jobstreet.coms third Happiness Index Report
also showed that majority of the respondents
predicted they would still be satisfied with
their jobs in the coming six months, with
Philippines ranking third (6.18), behind
Vietnam (6.30) and Indonesia (6.58).
Basically, Filipino workers are genetically
happy workers. So they see their future
brighter than the rest. These (happiness and
job satisfaction) would also help in terms of
the output produced by the company and
revenue generation, Mr. Gioca said.
The Jobstreet.com report identified three
major factors that boost Filipinos job

happiness: good rapport with colleagues;

convenient work location, and the companys
reputation.
These factors can easily be attributed to the
relational nature of Filipinos, the worsening
traffic situation that results in unproductive
hours for employees, and the need for
stability in the companies they work for,
respectively, the report said.
However, poor salary, benefits, and training
emerged as top factors causing job
unhappiness among Filipino employees.
Filipino respondents said a higher salary
(24%), a new job (21%) or a promotion (8%)
will make them happier on the job.
Mr. Gioca said the income tax rate was
unchanged during the survey. People seem
to be happy whether the tax is changed or
unchanged, he added.
The Philippines has a 32% income tax rate,
which is the second highest among the
member countries of the Association of

Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Across all ASEAN countries, we are the only
country that is progressing in terms of the
countrys output in the first quarter. All in all, I
can see a very positive trend that will
continue in the long run, Mr. Gioca said.
The Philippine economy grew by 7% in the
April-June period driven by the positive
performance of the industry and services
sectors. -- Monica M. Hernandez