Conditions Affecting the Perspective Towards the “Work-From-Home” Setup Women’s Voices in the Philippine Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Industry
Main Article Content
Keywords
Women, Gender, Perspectives, Work from home set-up, BPO Industry
Abstract
Despite the economic downturn caused by the pandemic, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) in the Philippine industry is striving to achieve greater gains because they are able to employ 70% of their staff to work from home. However, within this economy that has been helping the country, inequalities are still present, especially in the work from setup in the new normal. It unfortunately highlights the notion that women’s contribution to domestic work is greater compared to men. From advancing this position, this study aims to describe the narratives of women BPO agents as they express the surrounding conditions that led to their gendered perceptions of the “work from home” (WFH) setup. The authors use qualitative descriptive design and purposive sampling of fourteen (14) women BPO agents working in Cebu as respondents. The paper uses thematic analysis and concludes that the following are the surrounding conditions affecting the views of women on the WFH setup: (a) The opportunity to do both productive and reproductive work; (b) the significance of the age of the children; (c) the impact of support systems; and the (d) consequences of gender stereotypes.
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References
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“Philippines: Workers face unemployment and militarist interference in democratic space during COVID-19”. (2019, May 4). Business & Human Rights Resource Centre. Retrieved May 2022, from https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/philippines-workers-face-unemployment-and-militarist-interference-in-democratic-space-during-covid-19/
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Ritchie, J., Lewis, J., Elam, G., Tennant, R., & Rahim, N. (2014). Designing and selecting samples. In: Ritchie, J., Lewis, J., McNaughton Nicholls, C., & Ormston, R. (eds) Qualitative Research Practice. A Guide for Social Science Students and Researchers, London: Sage, pp. 111–145.
Seedat, S., & Rondon, M. B. (2021). Women’s wellbeing and the burden of unpaid work. BMJ, 374, n1972. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n1972
Schaeffer, K. (2022). Working moms in the U.S. have faced challenges on multiple fronts during the pandemic. Pew Research Center. Available at https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/05/06/working-moms-in-the-u-s-have-faced-challenges-on-multiple-fronts-during-the-pandemic/
Schulze, P. A. (2004). Filipino Mothers’ Beliefs about Parenting: A Question of Independence. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 5(3), 391–395. https://doi.org/10.2304/ciec.2004.5.3.10
Asian Development Bank. (2013). Gender Equality in the Labor Market in the Philippines. https://www.adb.org/sites/default/files/publication/31194/gender-equality-labor-market-philippines.pdf
Awada, M., Lucas, G., Becerik-Gerber, B., & Roll, S. (2021). Working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic: Impact on office worker productivity and work experience. WORK: A Journal of Prevention, Assessment & Rehabilitation, 69(4), 1171–1189. https://content.iospress.com/articles/work/wor210301#ref072
Bird, K., Lozano, C., & Mendoza, T. (2021, June 4). Philippines’ COVID-19 employment challenge: Labor market programs to the rescue. Asian Development Blog. https://blogs.adb.org/blog/philippines-covid-19-employment-challenge-labor-market-programs-to-rescue
Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(2), 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1191/1478088706qp063oa
“Cebu BPO sector records 19% hiring growth in Jan-May”. (2019, May 21). BusinessWorld. Retrieved May 2022, from https://www.bworldonline.com/the-nation/2019/05/21/232054/cebu-bpo-sector-records-19-hiring-growth-in-jan-may/
DeCarlo, M. (2018, August 7). 13.2 Qualitative interview techniques – Scientific Inquiry in Social Work. Pressbooks. https://scientificinquiryinsocialwork.pressbooks.com/chapter/13-2-qualitative-interview-techniques/
Dominggo-Cabarrubias, L. G. (2012) Gender Matters in the Call Center Industry: A Review of Literature on the Effects of Call Center Work on Women. Review of Women’s Studies, 21(2), 72–95. Available at https://journals.upd.edu.ph/index.php/rws/article/viewFile/4282/3885
Farre, L., Fawaz, Y.,Gonzalez, L., & Graves, J. (2020). How the Covid-19 Lockdown Affected Gender Inequality in Paid and Unpaid Work in Spain. IZA Discussion Paper, No. 13434. http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3643198
Feng, Z., & Savani, K. (2020, September 7). Covid-19 created a gender gap in perceived work productivity and job satisfaction: implications for dual-career parents working from home. Gender in Management, 35(7/8), 719–736. https://doi.org/10.1108/GM-07-2020-0202
Ferrant, G., Pesando, L. M., & Nowacka, K. (2014). Unpaid Care Work: The missing link in the analysis of gender gaps in labour outcomes. OECD Development Centre, Issue paper. Available at https://www.oecd.org/dev/development-gender/Unpaid_care_work.pdf
Fisher, A. N., & Ryan, M. K. (2021). Gender inequalities during COVID-19. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 24(2), 237–245. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1368430220984248
Hultgren, A. K. (2018, February 6). Revealed: What sexism in call centres can teach us about sexism in society. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/revealed-what-sexism-in-call-centres-can-teach-us-about-sexism-in-society-90210
Igielnik, R. (2021, October 11). A rising share of working parents in the U.S. say it’s been difficult to handle child care during the pandemic. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/01/26/a-rising-share-of-working-parents-in-the-u-s-say-its-been-difficult-to-handle-child-care-during-the-pandemic/
Kim, H., Sefcik, J. S., & Bradway, C. (2016). Characteristics of Qualitative Descriptive Studies: A Systematic Review. Research in Nursing & Health, 40(1), 23–42. https://doi.org/10.1002/nur.21768
KMC Savills. (2019). Beyond Metro: Clark, Iloilo, and Cebu as top locations for BPO. Kmcmaggroup.com. https://kmcmaggroup.com/research-insights/2019/beyond-metro-clark-iloilo-and-cebu-as-top-locations-for-bpo/
Mendoza, R. U. (2021, August 2). The Philippine economy under the pandemic: From Asian tiger to sick man again? Brookings. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/order-from-chaos/2021/08/02/the-philippine-economy-under-the-pandemic-from-asian-tiger-to-sick-man-again/amp/?fbclid=IwAR3c5C8rIU4DoqttnmxGjxLWWUWnCIi6ZuEjNrLKgmPTKEBYk7Blv2eeBbs
Myers, M. (1997, May 20). Qualitative Research in Information Systems. ISWorld. https://misq.umn.edu/skin/frontend/default/misq/MISQD_isworld/index.html
Mudaliar, K. (2018). A Study of Women Employees in the BPO Sector. Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research, 5(9), 107-108. https://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIR1809020.pdf
“Philippines: Workers face unemployment and militarist interference in democratic space during COVID-19”. (2019, May 4). Business & Human Rights Resource Centre. Retrieved May 2022, from https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/philippines-workers-face-unemployment-and-militarist-interference-in-democratic-space-during-covid-19/
Pico, E. T. (2006). Employment in the Philippine contact center and business outsourcing industry: issue and concerns. Philippine Journal of Labor and Industrial Relations, 26(1-2), 123–142.
Pineda Ofreneo, R. (2005). Problematizing Microfinance as an Empowerment Strategy for Women Living in Poverty: Some Policy Directions. Gender, Technology and Development, 9(3). https://doi.org/10.1177/097185240500900303
Ramani, S. S., Suppramaniam, S., & Dada, M. (2022). An Exploratory Study on Challenges Faced by Working Women and Their Perceived Supports Towards Remoted Work in Malaysia. Electronic Journal of Business and Management, 7(1), 73–87. https://ejbm.sites.apiit.edu.my/files/2022/04/Paper-5-An-Exploratory-Study-on-Challenges-faced-by-Working-Women-and-Their-Perceived-Supports-Towards-Remote-Working-in-Malaysia.pdf
Ritchie, J., Lewis, J., Elam, G., Tennant, R., & Rahim, N. (2014). Designing and selecting samples. In: Ritchie, J., Lewis, J., McNaughton Nicholls, C., & Ormston, R. (eds) Qualitative Research Practice. A Guide for Social Science Students and Researchers, London: Sage, pp. 111–145.
Seedat, S., & Rondon, M. B. (2021). Women’s wellbeing and the burden of unpaid work. BMJ, 374, n1972. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.n1972
Schaeffer, K. (2022). Working moms in the U.S. have faced challenges on multiple fronts during the pandemic. Pew Research Center. Available at https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2022/05/06/working-moms-in-the-u-s-have-faced-challenges-on-multiple-fronts-during-the-pandemic/
Schulze, P. A. (2004). Filipino Mothers’ Beliefs about Parenting: A Question of Independence. Contemporary Issues in Early Childhood, 5(3), 391–395. https://doi.org/10.2304/ciec.2004.5.3.10
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Published
Jun 28, 2023
Article Details
How to Cite
Guino-o, K., Canada, D. C., Capaning, R. A. T., Monteclaro, J. K., Cadavos, R. J. A., & Dungog-Cuizon, A. L. (2023). Conditions Affecting the Perspective Towards the “Work-From-Home” Setup: Women’s Voices in the Philippine Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) Industry. Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, 11(2), 99–117. https://doi.org/10.18080/jtde.v11n2.680
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Special Issue: Women’s Participation in the Digital Economy and Digital Society
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