8 in 10 Filipinos Seek Career Change Amid Burnout, Work-Life Balance Issues

MANILA, Philippines — Approximately eight in 10 Filipinos wanted to change careers in the past six months, seeking better growth opportunities and healthier work-life balance as they became exhausted with their current working environments, a recent study revealed. A nationwide survey of 1,111 working Filipinos nationwide conducted by Agile Data Solutions Inc. showed that one in three Filipino workers described themselves as “generally” or “completely” exhausted after the first half of the year. This, the market research technology firm noted, suggests that burnout is “building well” among Filipinos before the second half of the year started. The survey found that 84 percent of the respondents remain satisfied with their careers but 60 percent also believe that their careers have stalled. “Nearly one in three workers say they only began feeling stuck within the past month, indicating that fatigue is not simply a long-standing workplace issue – it is accelerating as the year progresses,” Agile Data Solutions said. Agile Data Solutions disclosed that difficulty in maintaining a work-life balance emerged as the leading contributor to workers’ burnout, ranking ahead of compensation, workload, management issues and unclear supervisorial directions. “The study also found that nearly half of workers experience physical symptoms such as headaches and body pain, while one in four say work-related thoughts regularly interfere with their sleep,” it said. “Taken together, the findings suggest that many Filipino employees are not simply overwhelmed by their jobs. They are struggling because work increasingly leaves little time or energy for family, rest, hobbies or personal life,” it added. At least 44.73 percent of the Filipinos who considered changing careers after the first half of the year are actively taking steps to leave their current employment, according to the survey. And for their next move after leaving their careers, 28.78 percent of the respondents chose to start a business, 21.56 percent opted for a completely different industry and 16.51 percent became self-employment or freelancers, the survey results showed. “The findings suggest that many Filipinos are not simply searching for a better employer. They are searching for greater control over their time,” Agile Data Solutions said. “For many respondents, entrepreneurship appears to represent something larger than owning a business – it represents autonomy,” it added. Most of the respondents were young adults aged 18 to 24 (39 percent) and 25 to 34 (37 percent), according to Agile Data Solutions, indicating that they were in the early stages of their careers. At least 21 percent of the respondents were from Metro Manila and 20.75 percent from Southern Luzon.