Professional Documents
Culture Documents
A Research Paper
Presented to
Bacolod City
In Partial Fulfillment
Researchers
Genevieve Lucañas
Linbelle Yu
November 2021
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
TITLE PAGE i
TABLE OF CONTENTS ii
APPROVAL SHEET iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT iv
ABSTRACT v
INTRODUCTION
Background of the study 1
Statement of the Problem 3
Conceptual Framework 4
Scope and Limitations 6
Significance of the Study 7
Definitions of Terms 9
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE 12
Synthesis 16
METHODS
Research Design 18
Participants of the Study 18
Instruments 19
Data Gathering Procedure 20
Statistical Treatment 21
Ethical Consideration 22
RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS 24
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Conclusion 36
TABLE OF CONTENTS CONTINUED
Page
Recommendation 37
REFERENCES 40
APPENDICES
Appendix A: Informed Consent Form 47
Appendix B: Consent Certificate 50
Appendix C: Survey Questionnaire 51
Appendix D: Curriculum Vitae 55
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The researchers would want to extend their heartfelt appreciation and utmost gratitude to the
following individuals who contributed to the fulfillment of this research study.
Foremost, the researchers want to offer this endeavor to our Almighty God for the wisdom,
strength and graces he bestowed upon them throughout the process and the accomplishment of
this research study.
To the researchers' families, for their financial, emotional, moral and spiritual support for the
completion of this paper and for serving as an inspiration to continue this undertaking.
To Dr. Cyche G. Hisona, course professor, for sharing his expertise by giving constructive
comments and suggestions. Also, for his time and patience upon checking and reviewing the
manuscripts and for encouraging them to finish this study on time.
To Mr. Archie Valderama, research paper adviser, for his trust, time, advice, valuable
comments, suggestions and support during the whole period of this research study. For imparting
his knowledge and expertise and for his patience and guidance throughout the writing process of
the manuscript.
To YesVirtual Philippines, the company, for the consent to participate and cooperate in this
study and for spending time in answering the electronic survey questionnaire and for providing
the researchers all the needed information.
To Dr. Eric Dio, Ms. Gale Escandelor, Dr. Ariadne R. Cordero, the members of the panel, for
the approval of this study and for the advice and suggestions that guides them for the betterment
of the research paper.
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this research is to assess the benefits of the sudden transition from working in the
Data Center to work from home set up due to the advent of Covid-19 pandemic. This study
employs a descriptive survey research design. An electronic survey questionnaire was distributed
and data were gathered from 70 respondents - all existing virtual assistants of Y Company, 55
from Ormoc, Leyte and 15 from Bacolod. The questionnaire has two sections: the first section
contains the demographic profile, and the second section contains the questions that will assess
the benefits of the work from home set up to the employees. The collected data was analyzed
using mean and percentile. Results showed that work from home set up is highly beneficial for
the employees in terms of expenses, productivity, quality of work and work-life balance.
Specifically, work life balance with the highest mean score and quality of work with the lowest
mean score among the four benefits.
INTRODUCTION
The prevalence of work from home set up is brought by the sudden outbreak of Covid-19
in the Philippines. Among the high risk countries, the Philippines was one, therefore the
government implemented restrictions and lock-downs to cities with high active cases, said
(Gonzales, 2021). As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to spread, the economy and businesses
hurdles the biggest struggle. Along with the ongoing health crisis, businesses seek prompt
alternative ways to continuously operate despite the risky condition rather than closing their
business totally and earn nothing within the quarantine periods. Some companies or businesses
are seeking to implement progressively measures of social distancing that‟s why they tried to
limit their number of employees and adapt the work from home set up.
The implementation of Work from Home (WFH) is seen as the best solution by most
businesses during the advent of Covid-19 pandemic. Since businesses cannot entirely mobilize
its operations and the ongoing rising obligations towards stakeholders are at stake, businesses
then adhere to this strategy by penetrating remote work. Amidst the chaotic condition, there's a
big reliance on all businesses in terms of service and production to sustain a consistent delivery
employees who will be adjusting in this sudden transition, having inadequate working equipment
for use, and more work-related issues. According to Robertson and Moiser (2020), the fast-
moving change in work conditions are affecting those who are not prepared to adapt this new
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work set up and those who are not familiar with working on a complete separation from the
organization.
Meanwhile, there should also be merits to enjoy to at least have some parts of
encouragement and convince employees to keep working in spite and despite the situation for
there is always success that is yet to come to reap on. Thus, the work from home set up has its
range of benefits especially to employees. These include the direct depletion in transportation
and time travel costs, early start and dismissal of work, and flexible work-life balance of
employees as stated by (Dockery & Bawa, 2020). Further, CIPD, 2016 emphasized that working
from home gives employees the privilege to work under a flexible working time, thus, they could
perform their job roles well within their home working premises.
management and real estate companies with a combined experience of over 40 years. Y
Company data center is located in Ormoc, Leyte, Philippines (Y Company, 2020) and the facility
may not be as big as other major international corporations but the fact that they provide a good
The uprising universal crisis compelled Y Company to adapt in their current situation and
switch to a work from home setting due to restrictions that inhibit individuals from roaming and
traveling across cities in compliance to the health protocols mandated by the Department of
Health. The lack of workforce drags and slows down the company's operation; therefore, virtual
set up is definitely necessary to assist the functionality of the business. Moreover, the
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transportation issue during the lockdown and difficulties in going to a data center took place as
the added crucial concerns of all employees aside from the adversity of risks.
Generally, the researchers want to analyze the effects of working from home to the Y
Company employees. The researchers seek to determine whether the new set up is beneficial to
virtual assistants in increasing their performances. At the end of the study, the researchers will
assess the extent of the benefits and will be able to formulate conclusions, recommendations, and
effective solutions to help the company improve and cope up with the new normal set up.
This study aims to determine how Y Company shifted their operations from the Data
Center to work from home set up. Specifically, this study seeks to answer the following
questions:
a. Age;
b. Sex;
c. Civil Status;
f. Working Equipment
2. What are the benefits in implementing the work from home set up in terms of:
a. Expenses;
b. Productivity;
c. Quality of Work;
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d. Work-Life Balance of Employees
3. How extent are the benefits of work from home set up?
4. What are the possible recommendations that can be given to improve the Y Company‟s
Conceptual Framework
The framework for this study is drawn to guide the investigation of work from home
during the Covid-19 pandemic in order to determine the socio-demographic profile of virtual
assistants and identify the benefits of the current work set up as well as knowing the extent of
these benefits . This depicts a visual representation of the interconnectedness of the work from
home set up of Y Company and the benefits of it. Thus, the researchers aim to acknowledge the
benefits (such as expenses, productivity, quality of work, work and life balance of employees) to
eventually come up with profound recommendations suited for the company's current working
setting and relate this current study to other studies with the same roadmap of objectives.
As seen in the diagram, the first box displays the socio-demographic profile such as the
age, sex, civil status, average monthly income, the number of years in service and the working
equipment they have at home. These are used to get details from employees to provide the
researchers an overview and meaningful insights that will eventually assist them in analyzing the
results. These variables are absolutely necessary to gather such vital information from the said
respondents to know the close connections of it towards their current workplace set up which
might be affected.
The success of WFH set up relies on the management and the policies pursued by the
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responsibilities if the company initiates providing different benefits on behalf of its virtual
assistants. Diminished costs (all kinds of expenses paid by employees) influences employee
behavior to work with all ease and relief on their budgets. Effective management approach
enables manpower to elicit good working performances (quality of work) and boosts employee
productivity. Flexibility in working schedules, enough provisions in sick leave and holiday
breaks and a well-organized home-based set up supported with enough facilities needed for work
contributes to a work-life balance of virtual assistants. All these benefits (expenses, productivity,
quality of work, and work-life balance of employees) have significant correlation to one another
Aside from knowing the listed benefits, it is also necessary to determine the extent of
those benefits to measure how helpful the work from home setup is in terms of expenses,
productivity, quality of work, and work-life balance to each virtual assistant. By means of a table
which has three categories with corresponding values; low, average and high, this will serve as a
basis to calculate and interpret the extent of the benefits. The higher the extent level, the better
the result will be and vice versa. However, when it happens to have an average interpretation, the
Eventually, all important data and information will be consolidated by the researchers
then researchers will come up with conducting a thorough analysis and interpretation of the
results. Based on the results, a conclusion will be driven and once researchers have examined the
outcome, researchers will proceed in formulating useful recommendations that will answer some
questions and provide solutions to help solve the problems encountered by Y company on their
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Figure 1. Schematic Diagram showing the conceptual framework of the study
This study aims to discover the benefits of the sudden transition of employees' workplace
environment due to the advent of Covid-19 pandemic. This will cover a population of 70
respondents - all existing virtual assistants and the manager of Y Company, 55 from Ormoc,
Leyte and 15 from Bacolod to be surveyed as the main source of data and information. Further,
the survey will start during the second week of September 2021 and will continue until the first
The results of the study will be beneficial to Y Company‟s virtual assistants, manager, IT
department, human resource, Y Company, the Academe, researchers and future researchers.
Virtual Assistants. This study is beneficial to the Y Company‟s virtual assistants for they will
understand the diverse impacts of a workplace transition brought by a pandemic and make
comparison of the usefulness of the traditional and present working environment - data center to
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a Work from Home set up that are affecting productivity, cost, quality of work, management, and
Manager. This study helps the manager understand and evaluate the benefits of their workplace
transition caused by the pandemic. The manager will see how virtual works could help reduce
the risks of coronavirus transmission, and minimize costs for the company. Also, it would guide
him in making wise decisions on how to respond to the current working conditions of all his
Human Resource. This could be essential for the human resource as this study gives a clear
vision concerning the well-being of all employees working virtually and makes further actions
IT Department. This research will aid the information technology department to reflect on the
increasing demands in the technological facilities (i.e., tools, equipment and gadgets) to be used
in a work from home setting. Thus, the department is given a pure apprehension of the
importance of their utilities' quality and features to support the day-to-day online duties of all
employees.
Y Company. The company will benefit from a thorough investigation of the workplace
transition done by the researchers. The company will be assisted in appraising the status of their
working set up during this pandemic and will get some helpful recommendations for
improvements.
University of St. La Salle. The Academe will gain knowledgeable students and better teachers-
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connections happen, only made virtually. This enables full responsibility, discipline and
perseverance on students and teachers as both ventures to gather and collect data away from their
Researchers. They would widen their cognitive skills in going through the entire study from
gathering, organizing, interpreting and inferring all data and information up to giving solutions
environment.
Future Researchers. They will be given reference on the possible similar research topic they
will conduct in the future and be encouraged to go over a deep analysis on this type of interesting
Definition of Terms
For the purpose of clarity, the following important terms used in this study are defined
caused by a novel coronavirus called severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-
Operationally, Covid-19 is a virus that has struck the Philippines and the rest of the world and
has caused the transition of Y Company‟s business operations from data center to work from
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Data Center. Conceptually, it is defined by Kerravala (2020) as a physical facility that
Operationally, Data Center is a facility center of Y Company where it is completely under the
company‟s control with data and power redundancies in order to reduce service outages to their
Expenses. Conceptually, it is an expenditure that flows in the income statement and is deducted
from the revenue in order to get the amount of the net income (Corporate Finance Institute,
2020).
Operationally, it is the amount of money spent by the virtual assistants of Y Company during and
production that will give the maximum output with the smallest effort.
Operationally, it is how the virtual assistants effectively finish their jobs before the given
Quality of Work. Conceptually, it is the standard of work done by employees despite being
Operationally, it is the value and completeness of work done by the employees in this new work
set up.
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Quarantine. Conceptually, it is defined in a research by Brooks et al. (2020) as the separation
and restriction of people who may have been exposed by contagious disease to ascertain if they
Operationally, quarantine is a protocol that restricts the employees from going to the office in
Operationally, it is the shifting of operations by Y Company from the data center to work from
who provides administrative services to clients while operating outside of the client's office.
Operationally, Virtual Assistants are the employees of Y Company‟ who handle most
Work From Home (WFH). Conceptually, it is defined in an article by MBA Skool Team
(2020) as a concept where the employee can do his or her job from home.
Operationally, work from home is the newly adapted work set up by Y Company so that the
company can continue their operations despite the Covid-19 protocols and restrictions.
where a person equally prioritizes the demands of one's career and the demands of one's personal
life.
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Operationally, Work-Life balance is how the virtual assistants manage their time spent at work
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Review of Related Literature
Working from home is a business activity that has been practiced long before the advent
of a global pandemic. The working environment for this setup is merely focused and executed
within the premises of the employees' home with a total separation from the organization's work
center. With the existence of unforeseen circumstances such as the covid-19 pandemic, work
from home became the backbone of businesses and trades. In order for everyone to survive,
business sectors have to unceasingly operate to meet the needs and demands of all affected
individuals.
According to CIPD (2016), work from home set up is a type of flexible working that
allows employees to work flexibly in order to carry out their job roles within their working
environment. Work from Home was defined as "telecommuting" in the United States and
"teleworking" in Europe (Dockery and Bawa, 2020). The terms indicate that work from home is
associated with telecommunications, and employees commonly use computers, the internet, and
Telecommuting or remote work has been on the rise over the past few years. The number
of hours spent working at home or off-site so as the number of employees. According to Society
for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the number of companies offering remote work
options has been increasing between the years of 1996 and 2016 (Hickman, 2021). However,
before the spike of Covid-19, many companies feared letting their employees work at home since
they believe that this will affect employee‟s productivity. A study by the Bureau of Labor
Statistics found that individuals who are employed in financial operations, management
occupations and those who are employed in professional and related occupations were more
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likely to do their work from home on days they worked than those employed in other
A study by Baert et al. (2020) states that the Covid-19 pandemic is raging globally and is
unlikely to end soon, conceivably leading to structural effects on the labor market in many
countries since most governments decided to halt many economic activities and restrict people's
mobility in order to reduce the number of deaths and hospitalizations caused by the novel
coronavirus. Through this, work from home has become pivotal as it allows employees to
continue working and receiving wages, while employers continue producing services and
revenues, and overall limits infection spread risk and pandemic recessive effects (Acemoglu et
al. 2020).
Organizations and workers adapted the work from home set up to keep operating despite
the restrictions that were imposed to lessen the spread of the Covid-19 virus. Dockery and Bawa
(2020) outlines that working from home eliminates the potential spread of the virus at the
workplace and lessens social contact from commuting to and from the workplace. In addition to
this, Belzunegui-Eraso & Erro-Garcés (2020) outlines that during the Covid-19 crisis, companies
used work from home set up to ensure employee safety and continue economic activity.
arrangements for their employees (Ramos and Prasetyo, 2020). However, the Telecommuting
Act is only limited to work performed in alternative workplace with the use of
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telecommunication and/or computers in performing their tasks may not be included in the scope
of the Telecommuting Act even if they are working from home (Navarro, Pomoy, &
Consignado, 2020).
According to Daza (2020), a total of 72% companies in the Philippines have operated
remotely as the country was placed under community quarantines. The largest industries that
operated remotely during the Enhanced Community Quarantine last March 2020 were the BPO
industry (31%), information and communication (9.79%) and healthcare sectors (8.51%).
However the article also states that the current work from home set up is not considered to be a
long-term solution in this new normal. Workplace strategists acknowledged that the work from
An article by Kritz (2020) stated that issues such as distractions for people working from
home, internet connectivity problems and other bigger issues shows that putting everyone back
in the office is the only solution to these problems which is also impossible to be executed at this
point.
The concerns about the Philippines' capability to support the work from home set up was
taken up. The country was labeled as one with the slowest internet speed in the whole Asia
Pacific and ranked 97th in the world, employees that are working from home continuously
experience connectivity issues. It has been reported that lack of broadband access, remote
workspaces and essential online problem service should be considered as serious issues that are
blocking the way to workplace independence (Daza, 2020). The Philippines may have a
relatively high rating in terms of information and communication technology (ICT) to be used
at work but it has relatively low levels of internet connectivity at home (Hayatama, Viollaz, &
Winkler, 2021). Ramos (2021) states that the work from home set up has extended the allocation
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for many internet subscribers which results in internet service providers struggling to cope with
The ability to work on a flexible schedule is one of the most compelling benefits of
working from home. According to Lupu (2017), flexible scheduling allows employees to have
freedom in planning their daily lives where they can change their work schedule on a daily or
even hourly basis. Moreover, Wienclaw (2019) listed the following benefits of flexible
scheduling such as being able to sleep in and work late, starting and ending work early,
scheduling personal appointments during office work-hours, and finishing work later in the
In addition, another benefit of working from home is that employees save time
commuting to the office and avoiding the rush-hour traffic. According to a study, the elimination
of stress associated with commuting during rush hour is the most important benefit for many
employees. As a result, employees will have more free time to spend with their families if they
don‟t commute. Employees will also benefit financially by not commuting, as they can save the
money that they pay for parking cost, gasoline, and other transportation costs, as well as they
will be able to eliminate the cost for office attire and lunches (Wienclaw 2019). Besides that,
Lupu (2017) outlines that working from home allows employees who live in remote areas to be
employed and it reduces the risk of getting sick, fatigue, and work-related stress.
A study by Mirela (2020) revealed that two-thirds of the managers they have interviewed
mentioned that productivity has affected the work from home employees positively rather than
those who work at the headquarters as there are no distractions from colleagues or superiors
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which allows the employees to finish their tasks on time without being interrupted. One of the
factors that boosted productivity among employees is the saving time in commuting afforded by
Synthesis
Bringing work at home with lesser time to prepare became the top option for businesses to
keep their operations running in this time of pandemic. The Philippines is among the many
countries that is highly affected by the pandemic. Restrictions, lockdowns and health protocols
were raised for the people to follow. Strict compliance to the government rules and regulations
were initiated to defeat the widespread of the coronavirus. Despite the situation, the country has
Several relevant studies had explained the fundamentals of this work set up and its
contribution towards the employees as this approach has already been practiced by some
companies long before the pandemic and was given more value by many organizations as a wise
alternative to continuously operate their businesses while securing everyone's safety amidst the
pandemic.
Studies have also revealed that the work from home set up is beneficial to the employees
in many aspects. It has been stated that work from home enables the employees to have flexible
schedules, increased productivity and lessen expenses by not spending on transportation fare or
gasoline in going to work. In this time of pandemic, the work from home set up reduces the
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This study will further examine its benefits to gain a better understanding of the salient
impacts of the current phenomenon. In this way, the given information would be useful to
examine thoroughly this new normal set up and know whether this is worth recommending to
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METHODS
Research Design
This study employs a descriptive survey research design to evaluate the participants'
sociodemographic profile such as age, sex, civil status, average monthly income, number of
years in service, and working equipment they have at home. This will allow the researchers to
gather insights from the respondents since descriptive research is a quantitative research method
that is considered conclusive and is used to test specific hypotheses and describe characteristics
phenomenon and will uncover details about what, where, when and how questions but will not
cover investigative information about why questions. Therefore, this design is used to
statistically study the main focus of this research, obtain findings benefits of work from home
setup to virtual assistants and guide researchers in forming wise decisions for resolutions.
Y company has 80 employees nationwide, the participants who are only included in
giving the data needed in this investigation are the 70 virtual assistants who were employed by
the company before March 2021 and have undergone one month training. Participants included
55 employees from Ormoc, Leyte and 15 employees from Bacolod City. All participants in this
study are approved by the company‟s manager regardless of their locations and are under the
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Instruments
will be used as an instrument to gather information from the participants. The questionnaire will
be drafted based on the researchers‟ readings, professional literature, previous studies and
published thesis that is relevant to the research study. In the formation of the instrument, the
criteria for developing a successful data collection instrument will be considered and it will be
created using google forms as the data collection process will be performed online.
The questionnaire will have two parts: (1) the demographic profile that is made by the
researchers to determine the age, sex, civil status, average montly income, the number of years in
service and the working equipment they have at home and (2) the questionnaire proper that will
help to determine the benefits of work from home set up of Y Company. Moreover, to
this way, researchers will be able to collect accurate responses from participants.
several probabilistic reasons such as less expensive means of gathering data, can be delivered to
participants in seconds due to speed of online networks, less demanding for a prompt response
and providing respondents with a strong sense of confidentiality. Furthermore, the research
instrument will be examined and approved by the researchers' panelists and professor before it
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Data Gathering Procedure
Prior to the gathering of data, a letter of consent was prepared by the researchers to seek
permission from the company. As the letter was approved by the manager, researchers began
with getting the names and contact information of the 70 virtual assistants to be covered as the
respondents of the study including the manager. Since the company has a small total population
of just 80 virtual assistants nationwide ( 55 employees from Ormoc, Leyte and 15 employees
from Bacolod City and 10 from Mexico), the researchers decided to take only the 70 virtual
assistants and the manager within the Philippines jurisdiction and use them as participants of the
study. The researchers devised a researcher-made electronic survey questionnaire and got
validated by the research adviser. Upon the acquisition of the important details from the
respondents, the adviser instructed the researchers to send an online link to each of the
participants containing the online survey form to be answered. The researchers stated the
instructions, purpose of the study, importance of the respondents' response to the questionnaire
and security of all confidential information provided. Furthermore, the researchers encouraged
the participants to answer the questions with all honesty. The researchers set up a schedule for
the distribution of online questionnaires agreed by both parties and as questionnaires are sent,
respondents could access the link and answer it right away. The respondents will be given a
After all forms are answered, the researchers collected and tallied the data for
interpretation. The researchers analyzed the data gathered by using statistical tools. Through the
data gathered, the researchers come up with conclusions and begin with propounding useful
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Statistical Treatment
The data gathered will be analyzed with the use of statistical tools such as mean and
Percentile will be used in interpreting the data gathered for the profile of the employees
which is the first objective of this study. This will help in understanding the data gathered as this
indicates the value of which a certain percentage of the data in a data set is found. The formula
Mean will be used in interpreting the data gathered for the second objective in order to
identify the average or the most common value in data collected for the benefits in implementing
the work from home set up in terms of expenses, productivity, quality of work and work-life
balance of the employees. This can be computed with the use of the formula: Mean = sum of all
data points number of all data points. Furthermore, the mean will also be used in computing to
what extent is work from home set up is beneficial which will help the researchers create
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Ethical Considerations
This study will strive to investigate the benefits of the workplace transition of Y
Company from the data center to work from home set up brought by the sudden advent of Covid-
19 pandemic. The researchers will identify its benefits to gain a better understanding of the
salient impacts of the current phenomenon. In the latter part of the research study, the results
garnered afterwards will be shared with the company through the contact information provided
with them during or at the end of the actual survey whenever the company or participants may
request for findings of the study. Furthermore, various ethical considerations were taken by the
Researchers ensure that a formal consent was created and approved by the research
adviser before it was sent to Y Company to permit the virtual participation of respondents in
answering the electronic questionnaire. The informed consent contains a thorough explanation of
the purpose of the study to ensure that participants would clearly understand their roles in
responding to what the researchers' intentions are, thus, the words in the consent are expressed in
a comprehensive manner and written in English language. The consent is voluntarily given and
participants could willfully decide whether to take part or refuse from participating in the
research study. Since the participants' engagement is voluntary, attempting to decline their
involvement while the conduction of online surveys is ongoing or in the midst of discomfort is
considerable and will not affect their respective jobs. Participants are given enough time and
adequate chance to raise their queries and concerns related to the online surveys and are able to
withdraw at any time of their choice even if the consent is already signed. All participants were
informed ahead about the purpose of the study before the online survey session was conducted.
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The participants were given the options whether to keep their names hidden or not in
filling out the electronic questionnaire to have ease in completing responses and lessen all
worries concerning security issues. The researchers also explained that all gathered data will be
kept confidential and whatever salient information provided by the participants will only be
utilized for the sole purpose of the study. Researchers guarantee to take full responsibility in
protecting the dignity of the subjects and publication of the information in the research study.
Privacy of the participants' intimate details provided in the survey forms will be managed
carefully.
participants not to cause any harm on their physical, mental, psychological, and social wellbeing
throughout the data collection and evaluation process. Furthermore, the researchers aim to arrive
at useful findings out of the collected data and assure to make use of the information properly to
address the arising conditions of virtual assistants towards their current workplace set up.
Researchers anticipate establishing better solutions or suggestions to the problem which could
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RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Table 1 shows the results of the profile of the participants. It explains the percentage
of the profile of the participants in terms of age. The age is categorized into four age groups
namely: 19-28 years old, 29-38 years old, 39-48 years old, and 49-56 years old. Out of the
years old, thirty-four (34) or 48.57% are aged between 29 to 38 years old, three (3) or 4.29%
are aged between 39 to 48 years old, and one (1) or 1.43% is aged between 49 to 56 years
old. The result of the survey reveals that the majority of participants who shifted from work
from home set up in terms of age were 34-38 years old (28.57%). An article that tackles the
future of work from home set up by Casey (2021) stated that ages 30 to 49 years are most
likely to work from home and the age group 16 to 29 years old came second.
It also shows the number of the participants of the study in terms of sex, specifically
male and female. Out of 70 participants, thirty-six (36) or 51.43% of the participants are
male and thirty-four (34) or 48.57% are female. Hence, the result shows that male
participants (51.43%) are the majority who more likely preferred to work from home than
(2020), the increase in opportunity of work from home is more favorable to older, high-
In addition, the table illustrates the number of participants based on their civil status,
specifically single, married and separated. As shown in the table, out of 70 participants,
forty- seven (47) or 67.14% are single, twenty-two (22) or 31.43% are married and one (1)
or 1.43% is separated. The survey reveals that the majority of the participants who shifted to
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work from home set up are single (67.14%) and only shows that they preferred to work from
home rather than being in the data center compared to married participants (31.43%) and
separated participant (1.43%). Based on the study of De la Cerna (2019), the work from
home set up is suitable for working parents and single employees who want to have control
income, specifically below Php 10,000, Php 10,000 - Php 12,000, Php 12,001 - Php 15,000,
Php 15,001 - Php 20,000 and Php 20,001 - and above. The table shows that out of 70
participants thirteen (13) or 18.57% belong to below Php10,000. Eight (8) or 11.43%
participants are under Php 10,000 - Php 12,000 and Php 12,001 - Php 15,000. Fifteen (15)
or 21.43% are under Php 15,001 - Php 20,000 and twenty six (26) or 37.14% belong to Php
20,001 and above. The result of the survey reveals that the majority of the participants
receives an average monthly income ranging from Php 20,001 and above compared to the
other 13 participants who receive an amount below Php 10,000 monthly. A study conducted
by Albert, Abrigo, Quimba and Vizmanos (2020) states that, a family that earns between
Php 21,914 to Php 43,828 per month is considered a family with lower middle income. This
has been classified according to Philippine Statistics Authority‟s 2018 Family Income and
average monthly income for an entry position applicable to new graduates in the industry is
service, specifically less than a year, 1 - 3 years, 4 - 5 years and more than 5 years. Out of
70 participants, fifteen (15) or 21.43% belong to less than a year. Seventeen (17) or 24.29%
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under 1 - 3 years. Five (5) or 7.14% belong to 4 - 5 years and thirty three (33) or 47.14%
under more than 5 years. Based on the results of the survey, the majority of the participants
are employed for more than 5 years (47.14%) in Y Company. This indicates that a greater
percentage of employees has been working in the company for more than 5 years and has
worked in the data center for several years before the transition happened.
Table 1
Participants’ Profile
26
Years in Less than a year 15 21.43%
Service 1 - 3 years 17 24.29%
4 - 5 years 5 7.14%
More than 5 years 33 47.14%
Table 2 illustrates all the working equipment used by the employees namely, home
office, desktop computer, laptop, wifi, headphones, printer, work phone line, virtual office
software and others. As shown in table, fifty seven (57) or 22.7% out of the 70 participants uses
WiFi, forty
six (46) or 18.3% uses laptop, forty five (45) or 17.9% uses headphones, thirty five (35) or
13.9% uses desktop computer, twenty three (23) or 9.2% has a work phone line, seventeen (17)
or 6.8% answered printer, fourteen (14) or 5.6% has home office, twelve (12) or 4.8% uses a
virtual office software and two (2) or 0.8% of the respondents answered others which was
specified as mouse and cellular phone. The result of the survey reveals that the majority of
participants‟ working equipment at home is Wi-Fi which has the highest percentage, the second
is laptop and the last working equipment that has the lowest percentage is the mouse and cellular
phone. This shows that in this new work set up, Wi-Fi and laptop are the most important working
equipment in order to perform the job properly. One of the work equipment that has the lowest
frequency is the home office which Seva, Tejero, and Fadrilan‐Camacho (2021) explained that
one of the challenges in this new work set up is dedicating a workspace at home because there is
a need to share the available space at home with other people who lives in the household who are
27
Table 2
Working Equipment
a. Expenses
Table 3 illustrates the level of Benefits acquired by the respondents on a Work from
Home set up in terms of reducing expenses which were specified into three sections namely
saving money, lessening clothing allowance and diminished expenditures on parties and
activities. The highest mean score obtained was 3.96 in section “I can save money for I am
no longer spending on fuel or transportation fare”, interpreted as high extent. The lowest
mean score of 3.8 was obtained by section “I am no longer spending on after-shift parties
and other activities” with an interpretation of high extent. The overall mean score obtained
was 3.88 which was interpreted as a high extent. Based on the table, the work from home
28
set-up highly reduced virtual assistant‟s expenses and among the three mentioned sections
under reducing expenses, work from home helps virtual assistants lessen their clothing
allowance wherein according to the article of Randy Tudy (2020), employees who works
from their home worn pajamas, shorts, or any casual clothes while working. A mean score
of 3.87 was shown in the results wherein the participants have reduced their expenses in
terms of fuel or transportation fare. This has been explained by Seva, Tejero, & Fadrilan‐
Camacho (2021) that employees can save since commuting to and from the office is not
needed anymore.
Table 3
Mean Interpretation
29
b. Increasing Productivity
Table 4 reveals the results of the level of Benefits acquired by the respondents on a
Work from Home set up in terms of increasing productivity which were specified into three
sections namely reaches daily quota, work orders,calls etc., efficiency in doing job and
attending meetings, huddles and coaching times.The highest mean score obtained was 3.96
in section “I can attend meetings. huddles and coaching times on top of my work”,
interpreted as high extent. The lowest mean score of 3.79 was obtained by section “I can
reach my daily quota, number of work orders, calls, sales, and etc.” with an interpretation of
high extent. The overall mean score obtained was 3.86 which was interpreted as a high
extent. Based on the table, there is a high increase in the productivity of the virtual assistants
and work from home enables virtual assistants to attend more meetings. huddles and
coaching times on top of their work which is congruent to the article of TalkTalk Group
(2020) that released a report pertaining to the productivity levels of workers in the UK as to
how it was affected by work from home. According to it, 58% of workers said that they
Table 4
Mean Interpretation
30
I feel like I'm more 3.83 High Extent
efficient in doing my job.
c. Quality of Work
Table 5 shows the level of benefits acquired by the respondents on a Work from
Home set up in terms of quality of work which were specified into three sections namely
increased client satisfaction, increased quality score, and seldom receives client
complaints.The highest mean score obtained was 3.83 in section “My quality score
increased and consistently passed the scorecard”, interpreted as high extent. The lowest
mean score of 3.63 was obtained by section “I seldom or no longer receive client complaints
on my handled calls and cases.” with an interpretation of average extent. The overall mean
score obtained was 3.74 which was interpreted as a high extent. Based on the table, work
from home enhances virtual assistants‟ quality of work as they consistently pass the
scorecard which reflects their high quality score. According to a study by Vyas and
Butakhieo (2020), work from home can reduce turnover rate and increase productivity of
employees, their work performance as well as their job engagement. Generally, it is clear
that the current transition improves the quality of work of virtual assistants as they are more
capable of doing other related tasks effectively aside from their specific duties.
31
Table 5
Mean Interpretation
d. Work-Life Balance
The table 6 illustrates the level of Benefits acquired by the respondents on a Work
from Home set up in terms of work-life balance which were specified into four sections
namely can spend more time with family, have flexibility in arranging work schedules to
meet personal/family responsibilities, can deal with urgent issues at home without hassles
32
and can do household chores between breaks. The highest mean score obtained was 4.19 in
section “I can spend more time with my family”, interpreted as high extent. The lowest
mean score of 3.9 was obtained by section “I can do household chores in between breaks”
with an interpretation of high extent. The overall mean score obtained was 4.04 which was
interpreted as a high extent. Based on the table, work from home set-up contributes to a
balanced work and life of virtual assistants where work from home gives virtual assistants
more time spent with their family that correlates with Wienclaw (2019) who pointed out that
employees working from home does not commute and will likely have extra idle time to
Table 6
Mean Interpretation
33
I can do household 3.9 High Extent
chores in between
breaks.
Objective 3: How extent are the benefits of work from home set up?
Table 7 illustrates the extent of the benefits of work from home set up that are
specified into 4 sections such as reducing expenses, increasing productivity, quality of work
and work-life balance. The benefits of working from home includes work flexibility, extra
time spent with family, less expenses and greater productivity (Seva, et al., 2021) Although,
all four benefits of work from home set up in the table is interpreted as high extent, the one
that prevails most beneficial is the work-life balance that has the highest mean score of 4.04
which means that employees who shifted to work from home set up has been able to have
more balance in managing their personal lives and work than before that they were working
in the Data Center. According to De la Cerna, J. C. (2019) having extra time for family
while at work is one of the biggest advantages that draws in home-based employees. This is
a benefit that cannot be obtained if one works in a traditional work set up. Meanwhile, the
benefit of work from home set up that has the lowest mean score of 3.74 is the quality of
work which means that even though it is interpreted as a high extent, the company still has
to enhance and focus in this area. The overall mean score obtained by the benefits of work
34
Table 7
Mean Interpretation
35
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
Conclusion
The work from home set up in the Philippines is unconventional, not until the sudden
surge of Covid-19 cases which resulted in lockdowns and strict protocols that forced the
companies to transition to this new work set up. Identifying and examining the benefits of this
work set up is important in order to know to what extent it is beneficial to the employees.
Based on the results gathered through an electronic survey questionnaire, the researchers
can conclude that the work from home set up has been beneficial to the employees in terms of
expenses, productivity, quality of work, and work-life balance. These benefits need to be
maintained or enhanced in order to achieve more success in the day to day operations at work.
The researchers identified that among all the listed benefits, the work from home set up is
highly beneficial in terms of an employees‟ work-life balance. The new work set up has allowed
the employees of Y Company to have flexible schedules and to spend more time with their
families compared to when they were working onsite. On the other hand, quality of work has the
lowest mean score among the said benefits but it is still interpreted as high extent. This area
needs to be examined more and be given focus because this also plays a vital role in maintaining
The overall results of the survey conducted shows that despite the sudden transition from
working at the Data Center to work from the home set up of Y Company, it yielded beneficial
36
Recommendation
Among the four benefits, the researchers observed that the work-life balance has the
highest mean score while the quality of work, as compared to the other three areas of
benefits, has the lowest mean score. Therefore, to improve Y company virtual assistants'
quality of work, the researchers would like to suggest the following recommendations:
(a) Formulate a non-task related interaction among virtual assistants to connect with
employees remotely and create culture where employees can share ideas, raise concerns,
engage, have exchange conversation, settle problems and build community and sense of
belongingness together with the foreign virtual assistants to strengthen team spirit and
encourage one another to work towards the common goals of the company.
(b) The company must systematically monitor the ongoing duties of virtual assistants
and extend back up help virtually if necessary, especially during the rise of complaints
between clients and virtual assistants in order to support them with meaningful responses.
(c) The company should also conduct more interactive virtual product training and
call handling, identify bottlenecks and issues, create a process development strategy, and
(d) Meanwhile, Y company shall secure employee empowerment and this could be
done through having management support, mentoring virtual assistants, more ongoing
training and workshops, and giving employees the authority to have access to information as
(e) Moreover, there should be enough provisions of incentives and health insurance
benefits by approving the vacation leave, increasing the number of vacation, sick and
37
birthday leaves to virtual assistants to acknowledge their efforts whilst the challenging set-
(f) Aside from this, Y company should as well invest in employee retention because
there are many virtual assistants who belong to less than a year working in the company, for
this reason, the company must effectively manage how to reduce employee turnover by
setting a clear career path for all employees especially working remotely. They need to
understand their jobs and where would be the direction of their current work.
(g) A work transparency should also be provided to enable virtual assistants to see
and monitor how their individual performances impact the goals of the company.
(h) Add quality assurance where quality analysts can monitor individual works based
on the quality guidelines and sanction those virtual assistants who will fail to meet the said
guidelines.
The quality of work is the major consideration of every employees‟ performance and
as the quality of work increases, productivity will follow. In addition, a good quality of
work minimizes utilities and internet expenses since employees work efficiently and would
not dwell much on repetitive and imprecise tasks due to many complaints. Furthermore,
maintaining a high quality of work leads to employee satisfaction and boosts employee
performance which will delight employees, lessen their stress and promote work-life
balance.
All of these recommendations are key solutions that would potentially help the
company maintain a quality assurance and retention of virtual assistants working away from
the data center. Adhering to these recommendations will likely add up to the improvements
38
of virtual assistants‟ quality of work, boosts employee productivity, and contributes to better
work-life balance.
39
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https://www.YesVirtual.com/yes-about-the-vas
46
INFORMED CONSENT FORM
Bacolod City
Greetings! This study entitled “Work from Home Set Up of Y Company During the
Pandemic” aims to determine valuable insights from Virtual Assistants like you.
Kindly read the details for the study enumerated below so that you can ask questions,
should there be any.
The Researchers
The primary objective of this study is to determine the results of work from home set up
to the virtual assistants of Y Company. At the end of the research, the researchers will assess the
benefits in implementing the work from home, the issues and challenges that were encountered
by the company before and after the transition and be able to formulate conclusions and
recommendations to help the company improve the new work set up.
Participant Selection
The participants in this study are the employees of Y Company who are under the work
from home set up. These employees are also employed before March 2021 and have undergone
one month training.
This research does not give you any direct benefit, your participation in this study will be
specifically insightful in determining the diverse impacts of a workplace transition brought by a
pandemic and make comparison of the advantages of the traditional and present working
environment – data center to a work from home set up that is affecting productivity, cost, quality
of work, management, and their level of satisfaction towards current work set up. This study will
help the management understand and evaluate the merits and drawbacks of their workplace
transition caused by the pandemic. It will be a guide in making wise decisions on how to respond
to the current working conditions of all the virtual assistants at home and the impacts to their
overall performance.
47
Duration
Answering the online survey with open-ended questions through Google Form may take
10-15 minutes of your time.
Details such as the participants‟ personal information might be disclosed through filling
out the questionnaire, however, the information will be kept confidential. All rendered data and
information will only be for the sole purpose of the study. In addition, participants are given the
freedom to decline or pursue answering the questionnaire and have the power to cancel their
participation at any time of their choice.
Please let us know of any unintended harm so that we can ask for the assistance of an
expert in this field.
The anonymity, privacy and confidentiality will be ensured in the collection, storage and
publication of this research material. Participants are given the options whether to keep their
names hidden or not in filling out the electronic questionnaire to have ease in completing
responses and to avoid worries concerning security issues. Researchers seek to maintain
confidentiality of the identity of all involved participants to ensure the protection of their private
information.
The gathered data will be kept confidential and whatever information provided by the
participants will be utilized for the academic purpose only and free from unauthorized use or
discovery by others.
Voluntary Participation
Your involvement in this study is voluntary. The researchers have no right or power
against you to compel answering the questionnaire. If you agreed to take part in this survey as
one of our respondents, you will be provided with consent to sign on. You are still given the
option to relieve yourself from participating regardless of your reasons. The researchers would
still respect your decision. If this might happen, rest assured that it will not cause any conflict to
your relationship with the researchers or might not even ruin the results of the study.
Who to Contact
If you have any concerns about your rights or treatment as research participants, you may
contact the Research Ethics Review Office Director, Dr. Anabelle D. Magbanua, through any of
the following contact details: a.magbanua@usls.edu.ph, telephone number (034) 435-2595 or
local 137;
If you have any questions please contact the researchers and research adviser below:
48
Research Adviser :
Researchers:
Linbelle Yu - s1820990@usls.edu.ph
49
CONSENT CERTIFICATE
____ I confirm that the study was fully explained to me; also, I have read and understood the
information sheet for the above study and I have had the opportunity to ask questions.
____ I understand that my participation is voluntary and that I am free to withdraw at any time,
without giving any reason.
_____________________________
50
Work from Home Set up of Y Company During the Pandemic
Good day!
We, the 4th Year students of University of St. La Salle, taking up Bachelor of Science in
We would appreciate it if you would take part in answering this survey as part of our study. Rest
assured that the information will be kept highly confidential and will be used for academic
purposes only.
Thank you!
I.Socio-demographic Profile
�Male �Single
�Female �Married
�Separated
51
Number of years in service: Average monthly income:
What working equipment do you have at home? (Select all that applies)
⬜Home Office
⬜Desktop Computer
⬜Laptop
⬜Wi-Fi
⬜Headphones
⬜Printer
52
II. Questionnaire
A. Instructions: Kindly rate the statements below from 1-5 with 1 as the lowest and 5
as the highest.
Reducing Expenses 1 2 3 4 5
Increasing Productivity
Quality of Work
53
My quality score increased and
consistently passed the scorecard.
Work-Life Balance
54
GUIA MAE V. ESTELLENA
Sitio Ubay, Barangay I (Pob.)
6106 Hinigaran, Negros Occidental
(+63) 9213251981
s1820388@usls.edu.ph
PERSONAL INFORMATION
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
55
MELVIN JOSHUA M. GOROY
Carmela Valley homes
6116 Silay, Negros Occidental
(+63) 9055688942
s1822015@usls.edu.ph
PERSONAL INFORMATION
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
Sun Yat Sen High School of IloIlo (Junior High School) 2012 – 2016
Silay, Negros Occidental
56
GENEVIEVE S. LUCAÑAS
Hda. Bungyod, Barangay Guimbala-on
6116 Silay, Negros Occidental
(+63) 9638124032
s1820341@usls.edu.ph
PERSONAL INFORMATION
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
57
ALLIAH PAULA A. MAYPA
SCMCI Compound, Barangay I (Pob.)
6127 San Carlos City, Negros Occidental
(+63) 9081678937
s1820325@usls.edu.ph
PERSONAL INFORMATION
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
58
LINBELLE B. YU
Tres Fuentes St
6116 Silay, Negros Occidental
(+63) 9951242448
s1820990@usls.edu.ph
PERSONAL INFORMATION
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
Dona Montserrat Lopez Memorial High School (Junior High School) 2012 – 2016
Silay, Negros Occidental
59