New survey from SAVii Workplace Intelligence reveals 37% of employees recently separated from their employers who did not have new jobs yet stated ‘office location or changes in work from home policy’ as their reason for leaving.
[NCR-Makati, June 2022] In a year of record employee-initiated separations, HR practitioners everywhere are seeking to understand the great resignation. SAVii, the salary finance platform, has revealed new research designed to empower HR leaders with workplace intelligence.
Latest Philippine Statistics Authority data shows that the rate of separation has increased to 8.1% from 4.7% in 2019. Additionally, 40% of employee initiated resignations in 2021 were caused by personal issues.
New Workplace Insights from SAVii
Over 1,600 employees were sampled in the SAVii Workplace Intelligence survey of 10,000 workers who were also SAVii customers. SAVii is the category leader in salary linked financial services that also directly affects employee churn – a core parameter that defines their credit scoring model.
Respondents had all been separated from their employers over 2021-2022. The majority (56%) of respondents were from the IT-BPO (information technology-business process outsourcing) industry. 26% of respondents stated ‘office location or changes in work from home policy’ as their reason for leaving.
This verifies mainstream media reports that a “substantial number” of workers in the IT-BPO sector were considering quitting after the government ordered that 90% of teams must return to on-site work by the 1st of April. The exodus of talent presents an additional challenge for Human Resource teams, still managing the changes in workplace operations brought about by the pandemic as a whole.
The study further discloses that only 67% of separated employees had new jobs to go to. The respondents with no new employment stated office location and changes in work from home policies as their top reason for leaving their current employer.
A census of SAVii’s back office team revealed that time and money saved from not commuting to an office location was the top reason for the preference to continue working from home. Increased time with family and the flexibility of work hours were also found to be significant motivation to remain remote.
Employed workers under pressure
“It’s alarming that 37% of separated employees surveyed left their current employer due to a return to the office in spite of having no new employment arrangements.” SAVii CEO and Founder Liam Grealish says. “This puts pressure on employed members of their family and increases their financial stress that affects worker wellbeing.”
SAVii further anticipates that this is likely to increase pressures on household incomes as fuel prices continue to rise and inflation steadily rose to 5.5% in May.
BPOs are allowed to keep WFH option, may help quell employee exodus
[updated: September, 2022]According to Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno, who spoke at the recent Fiscal Incentives Review Board (FIRB) meeting on September 14, BPO firms can keep their tax incentives while also continuing to work from home as long as they transfer their registration, resolving a long-standing issue with the WFH arrangement for the IT-BPM sector.
Employees are pleased with the news that BPO companies are allowed to continue working from home. Global research shows that employees now place a high value on work flexibility in terms of where and when they work. IT is recommended that people management teams create an employee experience that connects employees to an organization’s purpose for the business to succeed.
The IT-BPM industry survived and by some measures thrived during the pandemic, growing 10.6% from 2020 levels to $29.49 billion in 2021, exceeding its recalculated target for 2022. Meanwhile, its employment figures increased 9.1% over 2020, or by 120,000 full-time employees, bringing the sector’s total headcount to 1.44 million in 2021.
About SAVii
SAVii is the category leader in salary linked financial services. Our 100+ corporate employer partners get data insight that can help manage attrition and unlock engaged, productive employees. We support over 400,000 employees with safe, convenient, and affordable loans, advances, and mental health support. Connect with us on Twitter @SaviiPH or find out more at news@savii.io