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