Why do Filipinos prefer to work abroad?

Filipinos working abroad has been a norm for a long time as the employment benefits, and
opportunities are unlimited such as getting a chance to save a resident permit, reasonable
compensation, benefits for dependents and much more. In fact, according to the Philippine
Statistics Authority, there are 1.83 Million Filipinos who work abroad together and together with
another survey, 17% of the Filipino people want to live abroad . Filipinos chose or will choose to
work abroad, either by personal choice or forced as they see their brighter future by doing so.
Filipinos choose to sacrifice abroad, as there are adequate opportunities waiting for them in those
countries. There are many reasons why Filipinos choose this path.

Starting off with salary. Suppose that you will compare the salary of the workers here in
the Philippines. It is said that if your salary is ₱15,000 it will be doubled or even tripled in other
countries. Together with higher salaries, the income taxes are undeniably lower, this just gives
the worker more money to send home for their families in the Philippines as well as give the
workers more opportunities to save or invest. In other countries, Filipino workers’ abilities are
appreciated and paid as what they deserve, just like nurses and other medical professionals. Here
in our country, these people save lives yet they receive a small salary not like in other countries.
It is just disappointing when you think how the Philippines have one of the lowest salaries and
minimum wage but at the same time have high income taxes because of inflation rate, compared
to other countries. People even say, what you can earn a year in the Philippines can be earned
in other countries in just a few months. Together with salary situations, Filipino citizens also prefer
or choose to work abroad because of job restrictions and qualifications.

In the Philippines, we all know that employers or companies require qualifications and high
standards such as good educational background, college diploma, and long time work experience
to acquire a decent paying job but despite these requirements, their salaries are still not that high.
But if you go to different countries, foreign employers and companies do not require these kinds
of requirements but still offer high or decent paying jobs. This is one of the main reasons why
Filipino workers choose to go overseas, especially those who do not have college diplomas or
long term work experience.But despite the advantages and opportunities, working overseas also
has its corresponding disadvantages and drawbacks. Working overseas affects not only their
families they left home but also the country and the workers themselves, working overseas is a
risk, OFWs are called “modern day heroes” for a reason.

Working abroad is quite draining as the workers are all by themselves, no family to lean
on, and a completely different culture that leads to homesickness which can bring a lot of stress
that can easily result in depression or worse mental health issues. Lastly, Filipinos working abroad
also has its impact on our country, using again, nurses as an example.In the Philippines, nurses
and healthcare have low wages despite their duty of saving lives, skills they worked hard to
achieve for years, and educational background, this just explains why nurses prefer to work
overseas as they get the salary they think they deserve. This leads to shortage of healthcare
workers here in our country which leads to many problems and hindrances such as overworked
healthcare workers and problems in hospitals especially when the pandemic is at its peak. But
this is just one of the problems related to worker shortage here in the Philippines which can only
be resolved if our government will do better and give the people what they deserve.

Concluding all the said information, we can see the evidence why people of the Philippines
choose to work abroad as they can see the brighter future there despite having its corresponding
consequences. They choose to work in other countries instead of their home country, but can we
blame them? Job opportunities, higher salaries, benefits for their families, investments, name it,
they just want a better future for themselves and their families. These said advantages are present
in our country but we can’t deny that the worker benefits in other countries are better.

REFERENCES:

Natividad, F. (2012, December 18). Home. Business Tips Philippines.

https://businesstips.ph/pros-and-cons-of-being-an-ofw/

Owwamember. (2023, February 1). Why many Filipinos want to become ofws and work abroad.
OWWA Member. https://owwamember.com/why-filipinos-work-abroad/

ThePinoyOFW. (2017, September 16). 12 reasons why Filipinos want to work abroad. The
Pinoy OFW. https://thepinoyofw.com/why-filipinos-work-abroad/

Valmonte, K. (2023, April 20). SWS: 7% of Filipino households have ofws; 7% of Pinoys
seeking work abroad. Philstar.com.
https://www.philstar.com/headlines/2023/04/20/2260364/sws-7-filipino-households-have-
ofws-7-pinoys-seeking-work-
abroad#:~:text=In%20December%202022%2C%20the%20Philippine,800%2C000%20wer
e%20deployed%20in%202022.