The leader of the Employers Confederation of the Philippines (ECOP) said it is up to the individual companies whether to continue their work-from-home (WFH) scheme or make their employees return to the workplace, but he noted that only a few firms now still have WFH arrangements.
In a live interview on DWIZ-Aliw 23 on August 24, 2023, ECOP president Sergio R. Ortiz-Luis, Jr. gave his views not just on the WFH program but also on the issue of K-12 graduates being supposedly the least prioritized among candidates by employers.
Ortiz-Luis said there is no actual order to employers to stop the WFH scheme, and it is up to the individual businesses to see what works best for them.
He pointed out that WFH is an extraordinary arrangement that sprang from the lockdowns of the pandemic.
“Kaunti na lang talaga ang work-from-home. Wala namang exact order na tigilan ang work-from-home. Iyan ay nasa pasiya ng individual companies kung ano ang epektibo sa kanya,” he said.
[“Few are now into work-from-home. There is no exact order to stop. It is the decision of individual companies on what is effective for them.”]
However, Ortiz-Luis expressed understanding for the workers’ plight when they must trudge back to the office again: the terrible traffic, the hours wasted on long commutes, and the increased expenses that come with returning to the workplace. For many workers, WFH has proven to be a boon.
At the same time, Ortiz-Luis said employers have also found some advantages in WFH, including the smaller office space requirements and reduced overheads.
But a number of reasons also prompt most firms to cease their WFH program, including security issues when information is brought home, unreliable Internet service, inability to monitor their home-based employers that well, and worker isolation that comes with a WFH program.
“It is the decision of the company based on their particular situations. There cannot be a formula for everybody. They will be the ones to balance what is right for them,” Ortiz-Luis said in mixed English and Filipino.
Meanwhile, asked if there is truth to the perception that K-12 graduate are the least preferred or prioritized by employers, the business chief said the decision of employers on who to hire is influenced by economics and what is good for the business.
He said that every year around 800,000 to one million new graduates and older workers enter the market. When companies choose who to hire, they have a number of factors to consider.
For those who had to let go of their employees during the pandemic, they will prioritize hiring those laid off, he said.
Also big factors for recruiters are experience and educational attainment, as Ortiz-Luis noted that companies would understandably prefer those who reached college and those who won’t need too much training.
“Siempre pipiliin nila ung palagay nila di mo na i-tre-train. Yung may eksperiyensiya na ang preferred nila,” he explained.
“Depende yun sa trabaho pero without any specific design…. For the same work, for the same salary, maraming aplikante. So pipiliin nila the best that they feel would serve them. So ang nangyayari naiiwanan ang mga K-12 dahil may experience na ang iba at wala ka nang masyado ite-train,” he added.
[“It depends on the work but without any specific design. There are many applicants for the same work and the same salary. So they will hire the best they feel would serve them. So the K-12 graduates are left behind because others have more experience and need less training.”]
But Ortiz-Luis said it would also depend on the industry, as K-12 graduates would have an edge when it comes to computer-related jobs. Those who graduate with top honors will likewise have leverage.