CHAPTER II

RELATED LITERATUR, RELATED STUDIES, CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK AND

CONCEPTUAL PARADIGM

This chapter presents a review of related literature

and studies which bear a relationship to the present study. It
also includes the synthesis of the state-of-the-art.
 
Related Literature
                In this study, the researchers will rely on the
works of literature and studies that were proven by other
researchers, since they are capable of doing studies about the
impact of COVID-19 on wage and able to provide on the said topic.
                 The ILO Flagship Report 2020-21 edition also
reviews minimum wage systems across the world and identifies the
conditions under which minimum wages can reduce inequality. The
report presents comprehensive data on levels of minimum wages,
their effectiveness, and the number and characteristics of
workers paid at or below the minimum. The report highlights how
adequate minimum wages, statutory or negotiated, can play a key
role in a human-centered recovery from the crisis.
               According to the Global wages report in the first
half of 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, downward
pressure on the level or growth rate of average wages was
observed in two-thirds of the countries for which recent data are
available; in other countries, average wages increased, largely
artificially as a reflection of the substantial job losses among
lower-paid workers. In times of crisis, average wages can be
significantly skewed by sharp changes in the composition of
employment – what is known as the “composition effect”. In
Brazil, Canada, France, Italy, and the United States, average
wages have been rising markedly because of job losses mainly
affecting those at the lower end of the wage scale. In contrast,
downward pressure on average wages has been observed in Japan,
the Republic of Korea, and the United Kingdom. In countries where
strong job retention measures have been introduced or extended to
preserve employment, surges in unemployment have been moderated,
such that the effects of the crisis may have been more apparent
through downward pressure on wages than through massive job
losses. The impacts of the crisis on total wages have fallen
differently on men and women, the latter being disproportionately
affected. Looking at a selection of European countries, the
report estimates that without the payment of wage subsidies,
workers would have lost 6.5 percent of their total wage bill
between the first and second quarters of 2020. For women, the
total wage bill would have declined by 8.1 percent, compared to a
decline of 5.4 percent for men. Such a discrepancy was mainly
caused by reduced working hours, more than by the difference in
the number of layoffs. The wage bill lost as a result of the drop
in working hours was 6.9 percent for women compared to 4.7
percent for men. The crisis disproportionately affected lower-
paid workers, thereby increasing wage inequalities.
Studies have shown that in many countries, reductions in hours
worked have impacted lower-skilled occupations – in particular
those in elementary work – more than higher-paying managerial and
professional jobs. For selected European countries, the report
estimates that without wage subsidies the lowest-paid 50 percent
of workers would have lost an estimated 17.3 percent of their
wages, which is much more than the estimated 6.5 percent decline
for all workers. Consequently, the share of the total wage bill
received by those in the bottom 50 percent of the wage
distribution – a measure of inequality – would have fallen by
about 3 percentage points, from 27 to 24 percent on average of
the total wage bill, while the share of the upper half of the
distribution would have risen from 73 to 76 percent.
              
                The related literature is significant to the
present study for it describes the consequences and impacts of
COVID-19 on wages. It is relevant to the researchers’ study for
it has the same idea as the present study. 
                  
Related studies 
               There are numerous studies that have a bearing on
the present study.
         
               According Louis-Philippe Béland, Abel Brodeur,
Taylor Wright (April 2020) examined the consequences of COVID-19
on employment and wages in the United States. Guided by a pre-
analysis plan, they document the impact of COVID-19 at the
national level using a simple difference and test whether states
with relatively more confirmed cases/deaths were more affected.
Their findings suggest that COVID-19 increased the unemployment
rate, decreased hours of work and labor force participation, and
had no significant impacts on wages. The negative impacts on
labor market outcomes are larger for men, younger workers,
Hispanics, and less-educated workers. This suggests that COVID-19
increases labor market inequalities. They also investigated
whether the economic consequences of this pandemic were larger
for certain occupations. They also built three indexes using ACS
and O*NET data: workers relatively more exposed to disease,
workers that work with proximity to coworkers, and workers who
can easily work remotely. Their estimates suggest that
individuals in occupations working in proximity to others are
more affected while occupations able to work remotely are less
affected. They also find that occupations classified as more
exposed to the disease are less affected, possibly due to a large
number of essential workers in these occupations.
 
           Omar Bamieh and Lennart Ziegler (October 2020) uses
data from the largest Austrian job board to examine labor-demand
responses in the first months after the start of the COVID
lockdown in March 2020. Their analysis shows that the number of
job postings declined by a third and remained low even when
implemented restrictions were loosened again. The decrease in
labor demand affected all levels of education to a similar
extent. For the remaining vacancies, we observe lower wage
offers. Analyzing job descriptions of vacancy posts, we also find
that employers became more likely to offer teleworking options.
When we control for changes in occupations, estimates remain very
similar, suggesting that the impact is not driven by an increase
in the demand for telework able occupations. To test the
robustness of our results, we merge two external occupation-level
teleworking measures to our sample. Both measures are highly
correlated with telework references in job ads and yield
comparable estimates for the differential impact of the pandemic
on labor demand. 
           
             Haizheng Li Qinyi Liu Mingyu Ma (May 2021)
investigates how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected teachers’
job-specific stresses and their enthusiasm for the teaching
occupation. They use unique data from China that cover the
periods before and after the start of the pandemic and apply
difference-in-differences type methods. They find that, among
rural young teachers, the pandemic has caused higher teaching
stress and career development stress and has reduced passion
towards the teaching occupation. They investigate the working
channels of the pandemic, including job-related activities and
social networks. After controlling for possible working channels,
the COVID-19 pandemic still shows a strong direct impact on job
sentiments.
 
                             These aforementioned studies are
similar to the researcher's study because they both mentioned the
Impact of the COVID-19 which is now happening, not only on wages
but also on employment. These studies stated the Impacts of
COVID-19 were mentioned by the present researchers along with the
divided opinions about the pandemic that is now happening which
is affecting the economy globally. But the related studies differ
in the respondents. 
                 
Synthesis of the state-of-the-art
               The reviewed studies and works of literature
offered varied findings on the Impacts of COVID-19 on wages. It
discussed what the COVID-19 can do to the wages of our beloved
workers and employees during this pandemic. 
             
               The ILO Flagship Report 2020-21 and the global
wages report discuss the impact of COVID-19 on wages, edition
also reviews minimum wage systems across the world and identifies
the conditions under which minimum wages can reduce inequality.
The report highlights how adequate minimum wages, statutory or
negotiated, can play a key role in a human-centered recovery from
the crisis. 
          
              Louis-Philippe Béland, Abel Brodeur, Taylor Wright
(April 2020), and Omar Bamieh and Lennart Ziegler (October 2020)
examined the consequences of COVID-19 on employment and wages.
Their analysis shows that the number of job postings declined by
a third and remained low even when implemented restrictions were
loosened again. The decrease in labor demand affected all levels
of education to a similar extent. For the remaining vacancies, we
observe lower wage offers. 
              
              Haizheng Li Qinyi Liu Mingyu Ma (May 2021)
investigates how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected teachers’
job-specific stresses and their enthusiasm for the teaching
occupation. They investigate the working channels of the
pandemic, including job-related activities and social networks.
After controlling for possible working channels, the COVID-19
pandemic still shows a strong direct impact on job sentiments.
 FIGURE 1. CONCEPTUAL PARADIGM

INPUT
1. The pandemic OUTPUT
impacts on the Propose a video
PROCESS presentation
workers’ wages
and in their discussing why
performance? wages are
How to reduce Questionnaires important to one's
it? workers' life and
2. Pandemic how pandemics
affects the affecting the
business operations of the
operations to business and in
cause low wages FEEDBACK the economic
and workforce industry and
reductions? understand how
3. Pandemic Conceptual Framework COVID-19 impacts
affects the                 Figure 1 the lives
business shows the conceptual paradigm globally.
operations to of the study wherein the
cause low wages input includes the pandemic
and workforce impacts on the workers’ wages and in their
reductions? performance? How to reduce it? And pandemic
affects the business operations to cause low
wages and workforce reductions? Also how much does pandemic
affects the business operations to cause low wages and workforce
reductions? 
               The process contains the instrument survey
questionnaire and statistical treatment such as percentage and
tally.
                The output proposes a video presentation
discussing why wages are important to one's workers' life and how
pandemics affecting the operations of the business and in the
economic industry and understand how COVID-19 impacts the lives
globally.
               The present researchers desire to find out what
have been the pandemic impacts on the workers’ wages and in their
performance? How to reduce it? Whose work is the most affected by
this pandemic? How much does pandemic affect the business
operations to cause low wages and workforce reductions?
               The figure depicts how the researchers unravel
their thesis statement.

Definition of terms.
            This part tackles the terminology used in this study.
The first terminology is the conceptual meaning of the word and
the second is the optional meaning on how the word is used for a
better understanding of the study.
COVID-19. A disease caused by a new strain of coronavirus. 'CO'
stands for corona, 'VI' for the virus, and 'D' for disease.
Formerly, this disease was referred to as '2019 novel
coronavirus' or '2019-nCoV.' The researchers used this in the
study as a topic to give an alternative learning. 
1. According to Tech Target, the internet of “the Net” is a
worldwide system of computer networks - a network of
networks that users can use, only if they have permission to
get information.
This was used in the researchers' study as a way for the users
get to access the information that they need to get access. ’
1. According to Meriam Webster Dictionary, it is something that
can be chosen instead of something else. 
This was used only by the researchers as another option for
something.
1. It is something that is necessary or is something that you
must have in order to live properly or do something
according to Collin’s Dictionary. The researchers used this
in the study as a way of showing how we need something like
a wage.
2. A payment usually of money for labor or services usually
according to contract and on an hourly, daily, or piecework
basis — the share of the national product attributable to
labor as a factor in production.
This was used to be discussed by the researchers in the
study.
Workers and Employees’. Employee: is someone who works for you
under the terms of an employment contract. Worker: The category
of worker is wider and includes any individual person who works
for you, whether under an employment contract or other type of
contract, but is not self-employed. The researchers used this in
the study as respondents and a subject.
Business Industry. An industry is a group of businesses that are
related in terms of their main activity, for example
manufacturing cars or selling groceries. Smaller industries for
example, the car manufacturing industry can be grouped into
larger industry sectors for example, the manufacturing sector in
general. The researchers used this as a way to collect
information for the study. 
 CHAPTER III
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY

RESEARCH DESIGN

The descriptive-correlational method will

be used in conducting this study. Descriptive in the sense that
the study will determine the impacts of COVID-19 on wages and if
it also impacts the performance of the workers.
The primary source of the data will be
gathered from the responses of the workers and from the
questionnaires distributed to them.

THE SAMPLE

The respondents of this study will be the

workers and employees who are working during pandemics chosen at
random from urban and rural areas.
The respondents will be drawn from these
urban areas and rural areas for somehow they are being affected
by this COVID-19. Twenty workers in urban and rural areas each
will be drawn randomly. Using the table of random sampling
through lottery technique.
Table I

Respondents Number Percentage

Urban Areas 10 50%
Rural Areas 10 50%
Total 20 100%

THE INSTRUMENT
The instrument used in this study is a survey
questionnaire. The researchers chose this process in order to
shorten the time and make it faster, less difficult, and not hard
to understand for the randomly chosen respondents, the
questionnaire will contain questions with eight (8) options
together with the respondents’ personal information. 
                    The benefit of the instrument used is that
the researchers will get the data they needed. The advantage is
the respondents can answer it conveniently however the same
chosen respondents might answer responses that are not connected
to the anticipated reply.
                   The questionnaire will be used to know what
the impacts of COVID-19 on wages are if it is giving good or bad
impacts on the wages of the respondents. The respondents will be
the urban and rural workers who work during the time of COVID-19.
 
DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURE
                   After constructing the questionnaire and upon
the approval of the instructor and the respondents, the
researchers will send a letter together with the questionnaires
to the randomly selected workers, through their email account or
through their social media accounts. The data and information
will be retrieved after answering the questionnaires after thirty
minutes or one hour. 
                     The questionnaire has consisted of the minor
information of the selected respondents such as their name,
gender, age, company name (optionally), years of working, and
work area. Together with the questions, the randomly selected
respondents must answer the survey questionnaire honestly. 
 
DATA ANALYSIS PROCEDURE
                     The researchers chose and collected 20
respondents; 10 respondents in urban areas and 10 respondents in
rural areas with different jobs. For the respondent’s profile,
the respondents were asked about their names, age, gender, and
the company where they work (optionally), and how long they’re
working on the said company together with the eight (8) following
questions.
                    To determine the impacts of COVID-19 on wages
and how it affects the workers' performance, daily works, and who
are the most affected by this COVID-19, percentage and tally will
be used.
 CHAPTER IV
IMPACT OF COVID-19 ON WAGES

Gender of Respondents
Table I

Respondents Male Female Total

Urban area 5 5 10
Rural area 5 5 10
Total 10 10 20

Table I shows the gender of all respondents included in the

study’s survey from urban areas and rural areas of random
jobs/companies they’re working. In urban areas, 5 out of 10
respondents are males and five (5) females. In rural areas, half
are males, and the other half are females. This tabular gender of
respondents, females, and males are equal whether in urban and
rural areas with a total of 50%, for the percentage total of the
respondents 100%.

Table II
Age of respondents
Respondents 21-25 26-30 above Total
Urban area
Rural area
Total

Table III
Workplace area of the Respondents
Respondents Total
Urban area
Rural area
Total

Table IV
How long have the respondents been at work?
Respondents Total
Urban area
Rural area
Total

Table V
Are you a government employee?
 Respondents Total
Urban area
Rural area
Total

Table VI
How does COVID-19 affect your daily work?
Respondents Total
Urban area
Rural area
Total

Table VII
Comparing your salary before COVID-19 and now, does it affect
your salary? Estimated the rate difference from 1-10.
Respondents Total
Urban area
Rural area
Total

Table VIII
Does your salary cover the day-to-day expenses in the middle of
pandemic?
Respondents Total
Urban area
Rural area
Total

Table IX
Does your employer provide an adequate virus
protection/financial assistance? Is it enough?

Respondents Total
Urban area
Rural area
Total

Table X
Do you think the pandemic affects business operations so it
results low wages and workforce reductions?

Respondents Total
Urban area
Rural area
Total
 CHAPTER V
SUMMARY, FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS
       
 This chapter presents the summary, findings,
conclusions, and recommendations of the study.

Summary 
        This study determines the impacts of COVID-19 on wages.
For a better understanding of this COVID-19 impacts on wages and
to the business operations, a video presentation will be present
via messenger/email for the respondents for additional learnings.

       Especially, it sought an answer to the following

questions:
1. What have been the pandemic impacts on the workers’ wages and
in their performance? How to reduce it?
2. Whose work is the most affected by this pandemic?
3. How much does pandemic affects the business operations to
cause low wages and workforce reductions?

      This study may disclose significant data on the

workers/employees concerning the different impacts of COVID-19 on
daily work and wages and which areas are the most being affected
by this pandemic. Also, it would give a better understanding of
COVID-19 regardless of the negative and positive impacts that it
can bring to the business industry.

       The respondents of this study will be 10 respondents from

urban areas and 10 respondents from rural areas. The
questionnaire contains 8 questions that will be answered by the
20 respondents. 
      
       The study used a descriptive-correlational method of
research. The research instrument used to gather data was a
questionnaire to gather the respondent’s information together
with a checklist to collect their responses. The statistical tool
used was percentage. 

Findings 
      
       Based on the gathered data, the following findings were
revealed:

Conclusions 
       Based on the findings of the study, the following
conclusions were drawn: 

Recommendations 
        Based on the findings and conclusions are drawn, the
following are hereby recommended:
References
Online Journal Article
“The short-term economic consequences of COVID-19”
https://www.iza.org/publications/dp/13159/the-short-term-
economic-consequences-of-covid-19-exposure-to-disease-remote-
work-and-government-response

“Global Wage Report 2020-21: Wages and minimum wages in the time
of COVID-19”
https://www.ilo.org/global/publications/books/WCMS_762534/lang--
en/index.htm

“The Short-Term Economic Consequences of COVID-19: Exposure to

Disease, Remote Work and Government Response”
https://ideas.repec.org/p/iza/izadps/dp13159.html

Online Research study

“The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on
Jobs and incomes in G20 economies”
https://www.ilo.org/wcms”p5/groups/public/---dgreports/---
cabinet/documents/publication/wcms_756331.pdf

“How Does the COVID-19 Crisis Affect

Labor Demand? An Analysis Using Job
Board Data from Austria”
http://ftp.iza.org/dp13801.pdf

“How the COVID-19 Pandemic Affects Job

Stress of Rural Teachers”
http://ftp.iza.org/dp14366.pdf
APPENDICES
 Appendix A

Questionnaire

The purpose of this study is to know the impacts

of COVID-19 on wages.
 
     
Please check the indicated box for your answer.
Kindly answer the following questions honestly. 
 
Name: ____________________________
 
Age: _______
Gender:
o Female 
o Male 

Company/workplace name (optional):______________________

o Urban Area
o Rural Area

Q.1How long have you been at work?

o 2 months to 6 months 
o 1 year to 3 years 
o 4 years above 

Q.2Are you a government employee or private sector?

o Government Employee
o Private sector 

Q.3Does COVID-19 affect your work?

o YES
o NO

Q.4How does COVID-19 affect your daily work?

o Lack of over-time
o Difficult to find transportation and the fare is expensive
o Low salary
o Lack of safety gear
o Other reason

__________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________ 
 
Q.5Comparing your salary before COVID-19 and now, does it affect
your salary? Estimated rate the difference from 1-10.
o 1-3
o 4-5
o 6-10

Q.6Does your salary cover the day-to-day expenses in the middle

of the pandemic?
o Yes 
o No 

Q.7Does your employer provides adequate virus

protection/financial assistance? Is it enough?
o Yes, it is enough
o No, because I have not received any financial assistance.
o Yes, but it’s not enough

Q.8 Do you think the pandemic affects business operations so it

results in low wages and workforce reductions?
o Yes 
o No  
 Appendix B

Viretas College of Irosin

Bachelor of Science in Business
Administration
San Julian, Irosin, Sorsogon

June 1, 2021

Dear Respondent:

Greetings!

We are presently conducting a study entitled “The Impacts of

COVID-19 on wages”, as a requirement of the course Bachelor of
Science in Business Administration (Research Practicum).

In this connection, we would like to request you to be one of our

respondents in our study. We hope you can help us by answering
the instrument sincerely and truthfully.
We know that the questionnaire may take some of you time to
complete, but your answers will prove valuable to the study we
are conducting.

Thank you very much.

Very truly yours,

JULIETA ROSE G. TORIAGA

Researcher

JANICE R. GESTIADA
Researcher

SHERRYLYN G. TOTICA
Researcher

RENZ ANN E. ERANDIO

Researcher

MARY DEE L. ESPALLARDO

Researcher

Noted:

MRS. LILIAN H. BARBERAN

Business Research Instructor