Emotional Effects of Individuals

Experiencing Underemployment in the Call

Center Industry

Passed by: Daione

ASERON, Aaron Lambert C.
AVINO, Rhizalyn
COSTALES, Chelsea
CRUZ, Robielhyn L.
DELOS ANGELES, Sophia Anne P.
DIAZ, Daphne
GERONGCO, Lenz Janielle
 Emotional Effects of Individuals Experiencing Underemployment in
the Call Center Industry

CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM AND ITS SETTING

INTRODUCTION

There are a lot of things a person has to consider after graduating

college. One of such is the job that fresh graduates are about to take that is
connected to the degree they have finished. Being a fresh graduate, for some
reason, is never easy due to company standards like hiring employees who
already gained working experience. Moreover, peer pressure and financial
needs are one of the main reasons why these people sometimes have no choice
but to grab what is being offered regardless of the situation or circumstances
even if such means being enderemployed.

Underemployment occurs when a person does not work full time or takes
a job that is not in accordance to the Bachelor’s degree they have taken. This is
subject to people who ended up on a job that is not in line with their ability
and does not reflect their skills and education. According to Doug Maynard,
underemployment is not a new phenomenon. It refers to a few different types of
employment: holding a part time or contact role but preferring something full-
time; earning less than you typically would with your education and
experience; or being overqualified for your current position.1 On the other
hand, according to Jim Chappelow, underemployment is a measure of the
labor utilization that looks at how well the labor force is being utilized in terms
of skills, experience and availability to work. Labor that falls under the
underemployment classification includes those workers who are highly skilled
but working in low paying or low skill jobs, and part-time workers who would
prefer to be full-time.2

As stated by Maigne Cantos, the importance of underemployment is to

improve the analysis of employment problems and contribute towards
formulating and evaluating short term and long term policies and also to be
productive. One of the best examples of this issue is those working in the call
center industry or Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry. Most of the
people working there are afraid of looking for a job that is in line with their

1Maynard, D. (2019) Everything You Need to Understand About Underemployment. Retrieved Septermber
25, 2019 from https://www.themuse.com/advice/underemployment-statistics-facts-and-tips
2Chappelow, J. (2019) Retrieved September 25, 2019 from

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/u/underemployment.asp
course – some of them are afraid of taking the board examinations; some of
them want to have work experience while waiting for opportunities. Technology
will provide incredible opportunities, it creates openings that will be beneficial
for everyone who are willing to take it; this is what the BPO industry is. It’s a
chance for college graduates to sharpen their skills and be prepared for the
career they want to take with the help of technology.3

The rising of underemployment in the Philippines became much bigger

as compared from the previous years. Underemployment is the Philippines’
most important problems and the key indicators of the weaknesses of the
economy. About 4 million workers are unemployed and another 5 million are
underemployed. What happened in the economy reflects the Reserve Army of
Workers, particularly because of its inability to provide jobs to its growing labor
force.4 Because of this, the cause of underemployment is becoming rampant
due to the technological changes happening in the country.

Technological change occur a lot in the economy. One of it is from an

article that is discussed by Kimberly Amadeo, Underemployment has been
attributed to adverse economic conditions such as recession. It is the result
when the supply of workers is greater than the demand for workers - there are
layoffs or when there is a technological change. Technological change occurs
when a job is being replaced by machines instead of workers and yet this has
been slowly growing in some of the countries. An example given by Dana
Sanchez, is some of the fast food chains like McDonalds are replacing workers
with machines because it will cut down labor costs and increase profits.5 The
usage of technology in economy makes it possible to perform everyday tasks
faster and with less energy. The next topic tackles about what business cycle is
and how it is connected to underemployment.

Another reason for underemployment is the downward or upward

movement of Gross Domestic Products (GDP) around its long-term growth
trend which is the Business cycles. Seasonal staffing trends can result in more
workers opting for the easiest available job and staying on. According to some
estimates, nearly half of restaurant workers consider themselves
underemployed. An example is, ATM machines and mobile banking replaced
the need for many bank tellers. These used to be the entry-level positions for a
career in finance and banking. As a result, many college graduates who
are finance majors just take what they can. They may wind up as home
health aides, waiters, or even Uber drivers. These positions aren't easily
3Cantos, M. (2019) 7 Reasons Why You Should Choose the BPO Industry For Your First Career. Retrieved
December 04, 2019 from https://www.piton-global.com/blog/reasons-to-choose-bpo-career/
4Felipe J. Lanzona L. (2006) Unemployment, Labor Laws, and Economic Policies in the Philippines.

Retrieved December 01, 2019 from

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/304720599_Unemployment_Labor_Laws_and_Economic_Polic
ies_in_the_Philippines
5 Amadeo, K.(2019). Underemployment, Its Causes and How It Affects You. Retrieved December 01, 2019

from https://www.thebalance.com/underemployment-definition-causes-effects-rate-3305519
replaced by digital technology.6 Since it is already stated above the reasons of
why underemployment is being experienced by the graduates, the next to be
discussed is the types of underemployment.

Underemployment is not just about a job being taken by a person that is

not connected to the degree they finished. There are also different types of
underemployment as to James Chen. He stated the two types of
underemployment: visible underemployment and invisible underemployment.
Visible Underemployment is underemployment in which an individual works
fewer hours than is necessary for a full-time job in his or her chosen field. Due
to the reduced hours, they need to find another part-time jobs that will support
their daily needs. The second type of underemployment is the Invisible
Underemployment which refers to a situation where an individual is unable to
find a job in his/her chosen career. Consequently, they work in a job that is
not commensurate with their skill set and, in most cases, pays much below
their industry standards. Since underemployment is already growing vigorously
in the philippines, there are reasons as to why it grows too much in a short
period of time and the next topic will introduce the sudden growth of
underemployment.

There will always be a cause of why something has happened or occurred

in the present. The rise in underemployment as stated by Tevjan Pettinger are
due to: (1) low real wages, therefore, workers need more hours to make up for
low take-home pay; (2) firms cutting hours in order to cut costs and stay in
business; (3) underemployment might be seen as an alternative in making
workers redundant. It saves the firm of having the costs of firing and rehiring
workers; and, (4) it may indicate a more flexible labour market with firms able
to change working hours and not be tied to fixed contracts. In one sense, the
labor force benefits as underemployment is lower but it also contributes to
declining real wages. 7 These are the reasons why underemployment’s growth
became much bigger as the time goes by. That is why the researchers proposed
a topic regarding how underemployment will affect the emotional stability of a
person.

The purpose of the study is to determine what are the conditions that
will affect the emotional behavior of the graduate students who took a job that
is not totally connected to the degree they’ve finished specifically those who
were hired from the BPO companies. Aside from the researchers want to know
its different conditions to the Call Center Agents, the final result will be given a

6 James, C. (2019). Underemployment. Retrieved December 01, 2019 from

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/u/underemployment.asp
7TevjanPettinger(2017). Underemployment Definition and Index. Retrieved December 01, 2019 from

https://www.economicshelp.org/blog/2129/unemployment/underemployment-definition/
solution not just to help but to also give extra knowledge about what will be its
conditions to the emotional behavior of those who are going to graduate with
courses that is not in demand in the country.

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

It is a no secret that a lot of people consider their jobs as to what defines

them and that it really does a lot of contribution in their self-worth. Some has a
really low self-esteem and some even get shy whenever they are being asked of
what they do for a living. It also gets even harder because of some people that
put their respect on people based on how much their pay is which really leave
a lot of pressure to the underemployed people.
According to Miranda Marquit most of the underemployed people have
skills that are able to keep pace with others in their supposed field which
makes theb underemployed people most of the time feel unsatisfied with
regards to their job title and earning. 8
Visibly underemployed are those people that are working less than what
they want and deserve. This is the type of underemployed that would have to
participate in other part-time work to fulfill the spare time they still have when
they are not working at their first job. This could also mean that they are

8Marquit, M. (2019). How underemployment Can Impact Your Quality of Life. Live Rich Live Well. Doi:
https://liverichlivewell.com/how-underemployment-can-impact-your-quality-of-life/
working below their capabilities with them knowing that they could easily fit
their supposed field of expertise.9
Based on Jessica Lutz’ experience, when she was still underemployed
and earning a minimum wage. a lot of things went downhill for her. Health is
one of the factors that very much became her problem. Next is her finances
which made her living almost impossible. Then her social life which she
referred to as nonexistent because of her being ashamed to what job she was
doing. And lastly, is her mental health. She said that the cause of her unstable
mental health is underemployment. Such was putting her to a lot of pressure
coming from the shame she felt, hopelessness, and being unmotivated. Based
on her experience, one of the concerns that people should take notice is that
there are shame-based state that could be an additional emotional stress for
the underemployed people.10
As stated by Kimberly Amadeo, if a person is underemployed it is not
only that they are not using all their skills but this could also lead to their
capabilities to not improve or develop through the years. And, when they are
already given a chance to get back to their original field it will be hard for them
and it could also require them to undergo training for the second time around.
This usually happens to the fresh graduates wherein they are not able to grasp
a good start which makes them settle for less than what they are capable of.
Given the experiences of what was mentioned above, underemployment
does a lot of contribution to the people in this range. Such includes not being
able to make ends meet by earning unreasonable salary; the overall health of
these people may be at risk especially for those who work more than one part
time job a day; and, lastly, is them not being able to improve the skills they
developed according to the aligned expertise they have grasped before
graduating. All these conditions could contribute big consequences to the
emotional stability of the underemployed people. Such became the reason why
the researchers chose to focus on the emotional effects of underemployment to
the call center agents.

Avi Lewis believed that people are faced with different crises related to
employment and this include crisis of inequality, of joblessness and of
underemployment. According to Paul Osterman, co-director of the MIT Sloan
Institute for Work and Employment Research Underemployment occurs when
workers' jobs don't use all their skills, education, or availability to work. In

9 Department of Labor and Employment. (1997). Labstat updates Vol. 1 No.18 Doi:
https://psa.gov.ph/sites/default/files/vol1_18.pdf
10 Lutz, J. (2017). The Underemployment Phenomenon No One is Talking About. Forbes. Doi:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/payout/2017/07/21/the-underemployment-phenomenon-no-one-is-
talking-about/#6172a8d35a01
other words, underemployment includes employees who are working fewer
hours than is typical in their field even if they are willing and able to work more
hours, but cannot get full time employment. Osterman further said,
underemployed employees commonly are those who often work two part time
jobs to make ends meet or employees working full time jobs that do not use all
their skills and under employment also include those who work full time, but
live below the poverty level.

In year 2001, underemployment rate declined by 1.0 percentage point,

from 16.9% in January last year to 15.9% this year. In Region II, or the
Cagayan Valley, data revealed that the underemployment rate was
reported at 15.8% in Jul 2018. This record show a decline from the
previous number of 20.8 % for Apr 2018. Philippines’s Underemployment
Rate: Region II: Cagayan Valley data is updated quarterly, av eraging
15.80 % from Jul 2004 to Jul 2018, with 57 observations. In July 2006,
the data reached an all-time high of 25.30 % and a record low of 8.0 % in
Jul 2017. Philippines’s Underemployment Rate: Region II: Cagayan Valley
data remains in active status in CEIC and is reported by Philippine
Statistics Authority. The data is categorized under Global Database’s
Philippines – Table PH.G016: Labor Force Survey: Underemployment
Rate.11

According to the Labor Force Survey (LFS) conducted Philippine

Statistics Authority (PSA) last October 2013, three in ten of the underemployed
are women. Furthermore, the findings of the survey revealed that
approximately 7.0 million of the 38.5 percent employed population in the
country are considered underemployed. In October 2013 the underemployment
is estimated at 18.1 percent of the total number of underemployed persons,
30.4 percent or 2.1 million where women while 69.6 percent or 4.8 million were
men.12

The number of underemployed workers in 2010 was 6.8 million,

representing an annual underemployment rate of 18.7 percent.
Underemployed workers are persons who express the desire to have
additional hours of work in the present job, or to have an addit ional job,
or to have a new job with longer working hours. The lowest

11
Philippine Statistics Authority. (2002) Philippine Labor Force Survey January 2002 (Preliminary
Results). Retrieved December 01, 2019 from https://psa.gov.ph/content/philippine-labor-force-survey-
january-2002-preliminary-results

12 Philippine Statistics Authority. (2014) Three in Ten Underemployed are Women (Results from the
October 2013 Labor Force Survey). Retrieved December 01, 2019 from https://psa.gov.ph/content/three-
ten-underemployed-are-women-results-october-2013-labor-force-survey
underemployment rate was observed in Central Luzon (9.1%) while the
highest was noted in Bicol Region (36.8%). 13

In another study by the PSA, in 2018 as published in the Inquirer

Philippines, the rate of underemployment in 2018 translated to 6.7 million
people. The PSA defines the underemployed to be the persons to have more
work hours in their occupation or to have additional job, or to have a new job
with longer working hours. The PSA data also deduced that underemployment
increased by 0.9 percentage points to 17% in April, compared to April 2017
.This represents 6.9 million workers who, by the definition of the PSA, are
already working but are still looking for more work or longer working hours.
Underemployed individuals work for less than 40 hours a week.14

During the same comparable period, underemployment rose to 17

percent from 16.1. The official jobless rate is based on the number of Filipinos
15-years old and above. The underemployed represent those who have jobs but
wish to work additional hours or have an additional job.

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
The Control Theory by Walter Reckless
Goals are huge factor in a person’s life, they use these goals as motivation to
move forward in life without feeling unmotivated. These goals are also the
reason why an individual become a goal-oriented person. According to
Stephanie Vozza, there are six habits a goal-oriented person has: (1) they set
goals but don’t share them; (2) they are willing to take risks; (3) they expose
themselves to new ways of thinking; (4) they are focused on execution; (5) they
don’t compete with other people; and (6) they surround themselves with other
ambitious people. 15
With the things mentioned above, it is true that people tend to have at
least one goal in life, either in studies or in work. To achieve that goal it is vital

13
CEIC (n.d.). Retrieved December 01, 2019 from https://www.ceicdata.com/en/philippines/labour-
force-survey-underemployment-rate/underemployment-rate-region-ii-cagayan-valley
14
Philippine Daily Inquirer. (2018) Jobless Rate Eased to 5.3% in 2018; Underemployment up at 16.4%.
Retrieved December 01, 2019 from https://business.inquirer.net/262926/jobless-rate-eased-to-5-3-in-
2018-underemployment-up-at-16-4#ixzz66O6yfZCx

15Vozza, S. (2015), Six Habits of Ambitious People, Retrieved November 26, 2019 from
https://www.fastcompany.com/3048722/six-habits-of-ambitious-people
to exert effort and focus on it as much as people could. The Control Theory,
developed by Walter Reckless in late 1960s and early 1970s, states that a
person’s inner control includes internalized morality such as conscience,
religious principle, and ideas of right and wrong; and, outer control, consists of
people such as family and peers which work together to avoid deviant
tendencies because these deviant tendencies control impulse to break social
norms. 16
The stronger bond with the society is, the more effective our inner control
is. For example, if a person desires something and fails to achieve, such failure
will cause them to break the social norm and will fall into frustration or
depression. Travis Hirschi also made a significant contribution in developing
the Control Theory. The inner and outer controls of people work together to
form ‘self-control’. This self-control helps to prevent the person from
experiencing negative feelings or actions. Persons who lack this self-control
tend to have a weaker character and has a higher possibility in encountering
negative thoughts.
The Control Theory also suggests that an individual is dependent on
other people. The stronger the bond of an individual to his family or peers, the
more that he is less likely to experience frustration or depression. Strong bonds
initiate positivity in an individual. The lack of bonds in a person results to the
lack of ‘control’ in them. The more that they have weak bonds, the more they
tend to fall into hopelessness or misery. And the more they fall into misery, or
the more they experience frustration, the more that they will tend to execute
deviant acts, which breaks the social norms.17
Hirschi mentioned that there are four (4) different types of bonds: (1)
attachment, (2) commitment, (3) involvement, and (4) belief. Attachment refers
to the link between an individual and another individual. If an individual’s
attachment to others is strong, he will less likely to commit devious acts.
Commitment refers to the investment that an individual has on his work or
other social institutions or activities. Deviant acts are less tempting for an
individual who commits himself to his work. Involvement refers to how an
individual is engrossed in his activities. A person who is more involved in his
work has less time to commit deviant acts. Belief refers to how an individual
view the society’s norms and values. If a person strongly believes in the

16 Communication Theory, (n.d), Retrieved from https://www.communicationtheory.org/control-theory/

at November 26, 2019; Sociology Guide, Control Theory, (n.d), Retrieved November 26, 2019 from
https://www.sociologyguide.com/socio-short-notes/control-theory.php ; Fallon, (n.d), Control Theory,
Retrieved November 26, 2019 from https://www.chegg.com/homework-help/definitions/control-theory-
49
17 Andres, J. (n. d.). Control Theory (Sociology). Retrieved November 27, 2019 from

https://www.academia.edu/25908779/Control_theory_sociology
society’s values and norms, he will less likely to break them or carry out
deviant acts.18
An individual is influenced by the people around him or by the persons
that he is connected with. A person’s personality will depend on how strong his
bond is to others. When the bond he has is weak, he will tend to be weak as
well and if the bond is strong, he will be strong. Having a weak character will
lead an individual to easily encounter negative thoughts or feelings. Being able
to experience these negativities, like depression or frustration, will most likely
destroy an individual’s determination in pursuing his goals. It can also degrade
a person’s self-confidence and ruin a person’s motivation.
Underemployment is an unavoidable cost that is why people within this
phase may experience a challenge of emotional stability. According to Reckless,
an individual’s goals and desires are connected to the inner and outer controls.
Moreover, these controls must work together to be able to have control in
things.19 If an individual’s desires or goals cannot be pursued due to some
certain circumstances these controls may not work efficiently. In connection to
this study, underemployment may lead to deviant tendencies as
underemployment is labor that is not related to the workforce’s training
background. A person may choose freely his bachelor’s degree to be able to
have a profession that is in line with his passion. However, there are certain
constraints with profession that people may encounter such as lack of
opportunity, company standards, financial need, etc. Thus, emotional effects
may occur.
CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

18 Alston, R. J., Harley, D., & Lenhoff, K. 1995. Hirschi's Social Control Theory: A Sociological Perspective
on Drug Abuse Among Persons with Disabilities. The Journal of Rehabilitation. Retrieved November 27,
2019 from https://people.uvawise.edu/pww8y/Supplement/-
TheoristsSup/SocControlTh/HirSocConThHiBEnc.htm
19 Control Theory in Psychology, Behavioral and Social Science. (n.d.). Communication Theory. Retrieved

November 27, 2019 from https://www.communicationtheory.org/control-theory/

 INPUT OUTPUT
PROCESS Knowledge in
Emotional effects
Interview knowing the
of
emotional effects of
underemployment Analysis
underemployment
to the call center Interpretation to the call center
agents
agents

The system IPO approach (Input – Process – Output) will be used in

describing the conceptual framework of the study. There will be 3 parts of the
said system. The content of each will be the lead, tools, and the end goal of the
whole study.
The first part would be the input – the input shows the starting point of
the study which is knowing what needs to be highlighted: the emotional effects
of underemployment to call center agents.
The second part would be the Process. There will be 3 steps that needs to
be followed systematically: interview, analysis, and interpretation. Conducting
an interview would be the first step. Through this, the researchers will be able
to collect the data that will be provided by the participants. The second step
would be Analysis. Through analysis the researchers will be able to dissect the
information given by the participants. And, lastly, the third step will be the
interpretation of the gathered data that was already alanyzed. Through
interpretation the researchers will have a better understanding about the data
gathered from each of the participants.
The third part of the system is The Output. The output is the end goal of
the study which is the knowledge as to what are the emotional effects of
underemployment to the call center agents.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The researchers aims to answer the following research questions:
1. What are the effects of underemployment on the emotional stability of the
call center agents?

1.1. What are the positive effects of underemployment to the emotional

stability of the call center agents?
1.2. What are the negative effects of underemployment to the emotional
stability of the call center agents?
1.3. How does underemployment positively affect the emotional stability
of the call center agent?
1.4. How does underemployment negatively affect the emotional
stability of the call center agent?

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of the study is to know, understand and give solution to the
employees, particulary the fresh college graduates, that is experiencing
underemployment which has a huge impact to their emotional stability. The
researchers chose this topic due to it will benefit most of the students today,
especially those who are graduating students in universities and colleges, that
choosing a particular path in Bachelor’s degree will have a major effect in what
lies ahead in their future.
As the researchers’ aims to know the conditions affecting the emotional
aspects of an underemployed individuals, the researchers will conduct this
study to identify the conditions and the effects of being underemployed to the
emotional stability of a person working in the call center industry. The
researchers would also want to know how these conditions affects the
emotional stability of the person and to recognize the positive and negative
effects of being underemployed to such.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

As this study aims to know the conditions of individuals experiencing
underemployment in the call center industry, this will be beneficial to the
readers who wishes to know the emotional effects of being underemployed. The
beneficiaries will be the following:

STUDENTS. This study will serve as a guide for the students. In this way
they will be able to think and research about their desired course when they
reach college so that they know the jobs that are in demand and lessen the
chance of being underemployed.

FRESH COLLEGE GRADUATES. This study will help them to know the
emotional effects in individuals who are experiencing underemployment, so
that they can create a solutions if they experience the same emotional effects if
they become underemployed.

HUMAN RESOURCES. This study will be beneficial to the human

resources (HR) because they will be able to know what an underemployed
person is experiencing. By this, they will be able to understand if an
underemployed employee’s work is below average and can find a solutions for
it.

COMPANY LEADERS. This study will benefit the Company Leaders as

this study talks about the emotional effects of being underemployed to an
individual. By knowing these emotional effects, it will help them to know how
to treat or work with someone who is underemployed.

FUTURE RESEARCHERS. This study can be used as a reference for

future studies that is about the conditions of individuals experiencing
underemployment. This study will also be helpful if they want to know the
emotional effects of being underemployed.

SCOPE AND DELIMITATIONS

The scope of the study will only focus on the emotional effects of
underemployment to the call center agents from Concentrix North Edsa. There
will only be 5 random participants who are college graduates from the said
company. Each one will be interviewed privately which will be highly
confidential and the results will be used for the data gathering of the study.
The other conditions such as mental and physical that affects the
participants will not be included in the study. Moreover, unemployment is also
excluded as it tackles about the people who do not have a job, have actively
looked for work in the past four weeks, and are currently available for work as
described by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

DEFINITION OF TERMS
Operational Definition
Underemployed
 People that have jobs which are not aligned with his/her graduate
course.
Underemployment
 The state of an individual in which they work less than a full-time job.
Visible Underemployment
 The state of individuals who are working under the time than what is
necessary in a full-time job.
Invisible Underemployment
 The state of people who cannot find a job that is aligned with his/her
graduate course.
Call Center Agents
 Fresh college graduates who work in the call center industry.
Emotional Effects
 Positive or negative emotional outcomes of a person’s reactions from the
environment he/she is in.
Deviant Acts
 Actions that are not acceptable in the society or those that break the
social norms.
Deviant Tendencies
 A feature in which an individual has a tendency to commit deviant acts.
Conditions
 A component that contributes to changes in a particular situation.
Bonds
 The unity between two people or groups of people.
Control
 The ability of an individual to remain calm or to keep his
thoughts/feelings to himself.