Wazzup Pilipinas!
Finding a job today typically presents challenges that we could not have imagined just 20 years ago. Of course, some long-running trends jobs also clearly show the direction the Philippines jobs market is heading. Here are some of the things we can reasonably expect to affect local job-hunters in the coming decade:
1.) Automation
Since the emergence of the Industrial Revolution 200 years ago, we have become less and less reliant on human labor. The process of removing human labor from the production process is still ongoing, often in areas we don’t expect. When we think of jobs being lost to automation, we often think of factory jobs. However, the emergence of advanced AI has also threatened the stability of a wide range of customer service jobs in the Philippines.
As BPOs with customer service openings are a valuable source of entry-level jobs for Filipinos, AI has the potential to seriously upend the job market. Jobs involving analysis, QA, forecasting, and even content creation are now also in the process of being highly automated very soon, drastically reducing the number of available openings in these fields. Even blue-collar construction jobs may soon be more automated as well.
2.) More work from home arrangements
Allowing workers to do their jobs from their homes has long been tied to better productivity and happiness. For the past generation, a small but growing number of workplaces found “work from home” arrangements beneficial due to the cost savings and heightened productivity.
This ongoing shift towards a workplace that was no longer bound by geography has long been inevitable, receiving an unfortunate boost during the 2020 Pandemic. This trend towards a more mobile or at least, homebound workforce is only going to continue into the rest of the decade as more and more Filipino businesses start to realize the advantages.
3.) More freelance setups
Another long-time trend from the past decades that will only continue is the reduction in the number of non-contractual jobs. Without more legislation from the Philippine government, it’s likely the contractualization trend will only intensify given the cost-savings to employers.
While contractual workers have long been heavily used for filling entry-level positions, this is not where these arrangements will end. Consultants working on a per-project or limited-time basis will become more commonplace, even at the management level. If you have the right skills and experience, this may indeed be even more lucrative than working in a conventional setup.
4.) Better pay transparency
One welcome trend for job hunters will be increased transparency on salaries and other compensation. This area has been opaque, given tradition and the idea that it’s somehow “rude” to inquire about salaries. Employers have thus, also used this as a way of paying some employees less than others for the same job.
However, job rating sites now commonly include salary ranges for different positions. As a result, the asking rates of most applicants have risen to more closely match these posted salaries. There is also a growing idea that it should be acceptable for coworkers to be more frank about salaries and other compensation as well. While old views on salary discussions will die hard, you can definitely expect it to be easier to find out the average compensation for different positions in your industry and geographical location in the coming decade.
5.) A stronger emphasis on “soft skills”
It’s becoming clear that technical skills are not a be-all, end-all predictor of professional success. This is especially true in the context of the first point regarding automation. Hiring managers today are far more likely to look past deficiencies in technical aptitude if candidates seem capable of excelling at all the other aspects of the job.
Technical aptitude is certainly still going to be incredibly important, and it will determine whether or not you’re able to get into certain jobs. However, soft-skills such as leadership, creativity, dependability, clarity of communication, and conflict resolution will do more to determine staying power in any field than raw technical aptitude.
6.) Less tolerance for workplace bullying and harassment
Speaking of soft skills, negative old school workplace attitudes are likely to be less-tolerated, particularly in less traditional businesses. As more Gen-Z people enter the workforce, they will exert more and more influence, making it impossible to ignore values their generational cohorts share.
Because of a more holistic view that Gen-Z tends to take when it comes to professional life, hiring decisions may eventually be more strongly based on personal opinions and the behavior applicants have displayed in their previous jobs, as well as online.
While change doesn’t always come quickly in the Philippines, it is nevertheless inevitable, and often predictable. What do you think will happen in the Philippine job market in the 2020s? Are you optimistic or pessimistic? Drop us a line or leave us a comment. We’d love to hear from you!
Ross is known as the Pambansang Blogger ng Pilipinas - An Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Professional by profession and a Social Media Evangelist by heart.
