1
Life Challenges and Goals of Overseas Filipino Workers
Larry Nicholas P. Atos
1, Eliza M. Cruz, Sarah Hong
1*, Steve Kim
1, and Malkiel Josh Soliven
11Berkeley School, Inc., Baguio City
Alfonso B. Astudillo III
1, Research Adviser
1Berkeley School, Inc., Baguio City
Abstract:
The Philippines has a scarce job market for its own workforce and so this manpower, mostly coming from the poorer sector of society, decides to become OFWs. This study pertains to the experiences the Filipino Overseas Workers have encountered with their personal goals and how they plan to achieve these. Four research questions were formulated to provide a context to the lived experiences of these modern heroes namely: "What are the most common challenges that Filipino overseas foreign workers confront?", "How do they cope with these challenges?", "What are the most common goals of Filipino overseas foreign workers moving forward?", and "How do they plan to accomplish these?". A thematic analysis approach was used in this qualitative research. The results put to fore OFWs facing difficulties such as racial discrimination and loneliness. OFWs overcoming challenges were via video calls to their loved ones while working harder to overcome discrimination in their workplace. The most important goals they have are financial stability, investing their savings towards a business in the future, and permanent migration in the countries that they work in. To accomplish the goals that they have set for themselves, OFWs have decided to save money and work to the best of their abilities to achieve their dreams.
Keywords: Overseas Filipino Workers; experience; challenges; racial discrimination; goals
1. INTRODUCTION
The Philippines offer limited opportunities and few high-paying jobs for its people. Filipino workers such as nurses, doctors, and engineers are usually tempted to work abroad instead because of these reasons. Then again, when Filipinos work abroad, they not only help their respective families but also their country as well through the remittances they send which in turn lessen poverty nationwide and boost the Philippine economy (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2019). As such, Filipino overseas foreign workers are referred to as modern-day heroes.
This study focused on the life and experiences of Overseas Filipino Workers, specifically describing the challenges they have encountered and the goals they have for themselves. The number of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) that we have at present is estimated to be about 2.2
million people (Philippine Statistics Authority, 2020).
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (2014), there’s an estimation of about 200,000 OFWs that reside in Singapore. The Philippine Statistics Authority (2020) states that Saudi Arabia is the country that has the most OFWs.
It’s the favored country by OFWs and 22.4% of Filipinos have been working in this country from April to September 2019. It is not the most though, as the Migration Policy Institute (2020) states that 2.014 million Filipinos reside in the United States Of America and this country is where Filipinos migrate the most. These statistical data are the reasons why these three countries were chosen because many Filipinos reside and work in these countries.
Just like OFWs, we all encounter challenges in life.
OFWs go through the experience of being away from their families and immerse in a new culture that may lead to
2 depression. The following research questions were posed to further shed light on the experiences of Overseas Filipino Workers.
1.) What are the most common challenges that Filipino overseas foreign workers confront?
2.) How do they cope with these challenges?
3.) What are the most common goals of Filipino overseas foreign workers moving forward?
4.) How do they plan to accomplish these?
This study has been undertaken to let other people know about the findings on what OFWs encounter and their own personal goals for the future as their experiences and ideals may actually align with that of any ordinary Filipino citizen.
1.1. Challenges faced by OFWs
According to a study by Bautista & Tamayo (2020) about the life challenges of Overseas Filipino Workers, the challenges that OFWs encounter are communication, finances, life and work environment, homesickness, salary, and their coworkers at their workplace. Many married females are often thought to be mothers who abandoned their small children in order to raise money outside of the Philippines. Since OFWs find it difficult to speak with foreigners due to a language barrier, they prefer to communicate in English or by body language.
Moreover, mental health problems such as stress and distress are challenges that OFW women face as their emotional wellness is continuously battered by feelings of anxiousness, sadness, and frustration. However there were also times that they experienced happiness and maintained good mental health in which they felt more independent and more empowered (Straiton et al., 2017).
A related study done by Hall, Garabiles, and Latkin (2019) found that most OFW’s suffer from a variety of physical and mental health problems. Noncommunicable diseases (hypertension, diabetes) and other chronic illnesses such as arthritis, skin rashes, colds, and fevers were among the physical health concerns, and extreme fatigue. There was a lack of nutritious and sufficient food. In addition, secondary insomnia was frequently recorded as they were linked to stress and burnout.
1.2. Objectives of OFWs
After saving a significant amount of money, the OFWs usually plan to use this for an investment or to start a business in the Philippines. The problem is, a number of them do not know how to begin (Jalagat & Dalluay, 2016).
This is not true for some OFWs though, as according to Galvez (2017), financial planning is a strategy that they can use in order to achieve their goals. Individuals and families have needs that may be met by making smart use of available financial resources throughout their lives. Financial planning is also the process by which an individual or a family takes charge of their financial status by understanding that they have a unique financial position to satisfy their personal objectives and aspirations. People make decisions to maximize utility and optimize present resources when they are faced with a variety of preferences and limited resources.
1.3 Coping mechanisms of OFWs
There are two coping mechanisms, especially for OFW women, utilized for confronting problems which are emotion-focused strategy and problem-focused strategy.
Emotion-focused strategy is when OFWs depend on others to hear their problems or write down their problems in a personal diary. Through these mechanisms, they could relieve themselves of stress and sadness. Problem-focused strategy is when OFWs face their challenges head on, even if they have any initial reservations towards confrontation. Under this strategy, they can also try to avoid thinking about their problems through physical activities like running and walking (Straiton et al., 2017).
2. METHODOLOGY
The research study considered a qualitative design.
Through a careful thematic analysis, answers to the posed research questions were forwarded. The non-probability snowball sampling method was used to find the needed respondents for the study. The willing participants responded to an online survey questionnaire via a Google form. The research was conducted focused on seventeen (17) OFWs who were based in Singapore, Saudi Arabia, and the United States of America.
3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
3 Table 1.
Master Themes from Filipino Overseas Worker Respondent Interview Excerpts Regarding the most common challenges that they confront
Exemplary Themes
Corresponding Codes
Outstanding Quotes
Physical Problems
Distance
Cultural Adaptation Earning Income
Payment Obligations
“Being away from my family is challenging.”
“I miss the food back in the Philippines.”
“Working for 6 days a week in the job that I have.”
Mental Health Problems
Distance
Cultural Adaptation Earning Income Discrimination
“I am feeling homesick with how different the culture is compared to the Philippines.”
“Feeling frustrated because of the discrimination that I felt with how my colleagues treat me at work.”
As exhibited in Table 1, the challenges that Filipino Overseas Workers mostly face are mental health problems followed by physical problems. According to a study done by Hall, Garabiles, and Latkin (2019), Overseas Filipino Workers experience physical problems and mental health problems.
Similar to the related literature found, many OFWs do not have it easy when it comes to discrimination for different nationalities or how they are far away from the people that they are working for. These are evident based on the group’s findings.
The sad reality is that these are so common as one story from Mr. Jeffrey Yape who worked in Saudi Arabia but was led to an unfortunate death due to a heart attack while he was there. The year 2020 was the time when the COVID-19 pandemic was at its peak and Mr. Yape’s source of income would have fluctuated. This circumstance, coupled with the stress, anxiety, desperation, and loneliness from being away too long became factors in his sudden death (The Strait Times/Asia News Network, 2020).
Table 2.
Master Themes from Filipino Overseas Worker Respondent Interview Excerpts Regarding The Way they Cope with The Challenges that they have Encountered
Exemplary Themes
Corresponding Codes
Outstanding Quotes
Problem- focused Strategy
Determination Working Hard
Cultural Adjustment
“You need to know your purpose as to why you went abroad.”
“I did my job well to avoid being bullied at work.”
“Going to places in the country makes me adapt to the country.”
Emotion- focused Strategy
Family Bonding Praying
Sense of Belonging
“I video call with my family members when I am not busy.”
“When I’m free, I hang out with my fellow Filipinos in the country that I’m working at.”
Table 2 shows the strategies that Filipino Overseas Workers used to cope with their challenges. Based on previous
4 literature, problem-focused strategies are used more, such as doing their best in whatever they did, so that they wouldn’t get stressed after (Straiton et al., 2017).
The mental pressure from being the only hope for financial support for your family while being with people that have different beliefs would take a toll on your mental health without a doubt. Marco-Miluel Lag-ey experienced this as he had come across stages of depression while living in Thailand.
He had symptoms such as cold sweats, heart palpitations, and heavy breathing. He at first sought to rely on heavy alcohol consumption which did not help him. He realized that he needed to talk about his mental state with others. He decided to go to a Facebook group called, “Mental Health Warriors”, as he was not able to find mental health crisis hotlines for OFWs. This online group helped as he shared his problems with others. As he recovered, he suggested to everyone who encountered depression to talk to their family and friends as they are their primary support. Lag-ey suggested, “Take breaks from time to time. Lastly, do activities that make you feel happy and active (Lag-ey, 2021).
Table 3.
Master Themes from Filipino Overseas Worker
Respondent Interview Excerpts Regarding Goals that they have for Themselves and for their Family
Exemplary Themes
Corresponding Codes
Outstanding Quotes
Goal of Satisfying Basic Household Needs
Children’s Education
Financial Stability House Creation Better Living
“I plan to live a life full of happiness and without any regrets at all.”
“My goal is to finish the studies of my son and to have our own house back in the Philippines.”
Goal of Permanent Migration
Financial Stability Better Living
“I plan to migrate to the USA.”
“I plan to move to another country, so that I can be able to earn more money for my family back home.”
Monetary Goal Business Investment
Financial Stability
“I plan to build a business in the Philippines.”
“Acquisition of properties, for the sake of making a business in the future.”
According to Atienza & Webb (2012), the reasons why OFWs send remittances to their families or loved ones in the Philippines are for satisfying their household needs and monetary goals. The goal of satisfying basic household needs is the main inspiration of the OFWs to send money to their families back in the Philippines. The OFWs prioritize the account of their household needs before others. They don’t want their families to be deprived of basic resources such as food and electricity.
According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (2017), goals of permanent migration was one of the plans that OFWs have. This means that Overseas Filipino Workers would like to stay in the country that they are based at or migrate to a foreign country for a long period of time such as Australia, USA, Canada, or New Zealand. Settling in the Philippines has ceased to become a priority.
Having a stable source of income in the Philippines is wishful thinking only for some people since everyone’s financial situation is different. Some Filipinos decide to work within their own country as they have a steady income, but others are not so lucky, so they migrate to another country to earn money. Lala Abalon is in the latter, as she worked in Dubai and had temporary jobs for five years until she found a
5 stable job as a real estate agent. That did not last long though, when the COVID-19 pandemic struck, she had to quit her occupation and go back to the Philippines. Nine months later, she decided to go back abroad as she felt that many issues were present in the Philippines. She stated that there is no future for her within the country, the salaries she earns are not high enough, and life there overall is difficult for her to sustain and experience (Calonzo & Alegado, 2021).
Table 4.
Master Themes from Filipino Overseas Worker Respondent Interview Excerpts Regarding how they Plan to Accomplish their Goals
Exemplary Themes
Corresponding Codes
Outstanding Quotes
Financial Planning
Saving Money Working hard Planning ahead
“I just withstand my work and give my very best in all that I do.”
“I budget all of the income that I earn from my work for my objectives in the future.”
Support System Faith in God Saving Money
Joining Seminars
“I can do all things through God, who strengthens me”.
“I attend educational training
and seminars that could help me with my future
endeavors.”
As exhibited in Table 4, the Filipino Overseas Workers use financial planning and support systems to accomplish their set goals. According to Tabuga (2018), the support system stated is about migrant workers relying mostly on close-family ties when they need help. They rely on their family and relatives to achieve the goals that they have for their
families and for themselves. Their families give them suggestions on what to do.
According to Galvez (2017), individuals and families have basic necessities that can be used as a strategy of limited financial resources. It was defined as the method of managing money in order for OFWs to help with their family financially. Moreover, financial planning is where the person or the family takes control to manage the money, having a unique strategy for their finances in order to meet needs and goals.
Financial planning and a support system are proof that you could achieve your goals like this story from an OFW couple, Renz Emille Antero Sy and Myko Emille Antero Sy.
They had planned to invest in a small milk tea business upon returning to the Philippines. To be able to do so, they sought support from the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration.
Thankfully, they were able to do so, as OFW-Enterprise Development and Loan Program (OFW-EDLP) provides loans in collaboration with the Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP). This is intended to assist OFWs who work in small enterprises. The couple were also thrifty as they have been able to save money.
They did not spend on things deemed unnecessary (Dass, 2020).
4. CONCLUSIONS
The most common challenges that OFWs confront are racial discrimination and being away from their families.
When feeling homesick or having a difficult time adapting to the country that they are in, the OFW participants said that they coped by talking to their loved ones through video calls when they had the time. They also tend to work harder just to avoid getting discriminated against by their coworkers as to also avoid getting hurt physically and mentally.
Overseas Filipino Workers depend on the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration as they promote the interest of OFWs. The administration have created seminars and orientations that OFWs go to, like the Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar (PDOS) in which there’s a whole day orientation to assisting OFWs and giving them a comprehensive module on employment contract familiarization, profile of the country of destination, stages
6 of the OFWs life, health and safety, airport procedures, government programs and services.
5. REFERENCES
Atienza, A., & Webb, A. J. (2012). Remittance for investment decisions: A case of overseas Filipino workers in Taiwan. In Proceedings of 19th International Business Research Conference.
Bautista, A. G. M. (2020). Life Challenges of Overseas Filipino Workers. Open Access Library Journal, 7(10), 1.
Business Diary. (2018). OWWA’s Programs and Services for OFW.
Calonzo, A. & Alegado S. (2021). Filipinos Rushed Home During the Pandemic. Now They’re Going Abroad Again. Bloomberg.
Dass, J. (2020). OFW tales: How some repatriated Filipinos are faring back home. Rappler.
Department of Foreign Affairs. (2014). Distribution on Filipinos Overseas.
Galvez, K. C. (2017). Allocation of Remittance of Overseas Filipino Workers’ (OFWS) households in Cebu, Philippines. MBA thesis, University of San Carlos, Cebu City.
Hall, B. J., Garabiles, M. R., & Latkin, C. A. (2019). Work life, relationship, and policy determinants of health and well-being among Filipino domestic Workers in China: a qualitative study. BMC public health, 19(1), 1-14.
Jalagat, R. & Dalluay, V. (2016). Managing Financial Resources: A Never Ending Challenge to Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs). Global Journal of Advance Research. 3. 1031-1037.
Lag-ey, M. (2021). We are forgotten: On OFWs and mental health. Rappler.
Migration Policy Institute. (2020). Filipino Immigrants in the United States.
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.
(2017). The Philippines' migration landscape.
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Philippine Daily Inquirer (2019). OFWs are heroes of the PH economy. Inquirer.
Philippine Statistics Authority. (2020). Total Number of OFWs Estimated at 2.2 Million.
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A qualitative study of Filipina immigrants’ stress,
distress and coping: the impact of their multiple, transnational roles as women. BMC women's health, 17(1), 1-11.
Tabuga, A. D. (2018). A Probe into the Filipino Migration Culture: What Is There to Learn for Policy Intervention?. Philippine Institute for Development Studies.
The Strait Times/Asia News Network. (2020). COVID-19 pandemic has made OFWs even more vulnerable.
Inquirer.
