Working in the Philippines is a great idea, and you should go for it as Filipino culture teaches you to become flexible, strengthen your Filipino vocabulary, build stronger relationships, and have a better service-centered networking circle. In this article, you will learn about the work ethic to adapt to the work culture in the Philippines.
Work Culture In The Philippines
I went on a trip to the Philippines with my colleagues one day to explore Filipino culture and people to have the precise knowledge of their environment and innovative techniques as I had some meetings scheduled in their capital, Manila.
I once went to their local vendor store for clothing to buy clothes that would match the Filipino office dress code and dress pants to check out what latest collection they offer. They were offering some office clothes, but they were demanding a lot of money for it.
I had somehow argued and fake haggled a bit, which infuriated the vendor which I then considered unethical and quite embarrassing. However, the vendor did give me a discounted offer with a polite tone.
Planning To Work Abroad?
If you are going for a world tour and checking out the best places to work abroad, you should check out the Philippines first! It will save you so much time as opposed to going to many countries which will take forever!
After having a whole tour checking out their office and Filipino work culture environment, I can tell you exactly what to do when you go there and if you are going to apply for a job in the Philippines.
Having the right etiquette and mentality to work with the locals and to set yourself as part of their team is right to get in there for your first step and know about Filipino culture, Filipino workforce, and Philippine society. Let’s start working abroad to enhance our experience!
Secret Sauce To Working In The Philippines
Here are some of the tips that can get you in there in no time and help you understand Filipino culture. This article has a fool-proof way to make work there as if you were a local citizen of the Philippines and you can learn this and apply it anywhere you like. You will be able to understand the basic traditions, values, and beliefs to have a strong team connection to have a better Filipino team workforce that would attract investors to the company you are working for. You can learn all these quick tips in less than five minutes!
Language Capability
English is a great language no doubt for having communication around the world but learning the language Filipino would be a plus. Additionally, this would help you communicate with the supporting Filipino staff such as cleaners, office boys, and delivery service people as they don’t have any prior experience in English. You can even communicate with your colleagues in Filipino this way you will have a better understanding with your colleague and go out with them as friends after working hours are over.
Also, it will be easy for you to cooperate with them to build better communication with your fellow Filipino team members.
Better Control Of Remote Work And Communication
As some workers may not be available to work in the office. So, you can keep assisting them through remote work by having zoom meetings or by posting the requirements to complete the work using project management tools like Trello to keep updating them if there are any revisions left in the work to complete the client’s needs. Furthermore, knowing your colleagues is a good thing. When you know what stuff they are good at and what they are bad at you can help them on their stronghold and give someone their task in which they are weak. This way you will build up a better Filipino workforce than expected.
Selecting The Right Person
If you get hired as an HRM (Human Resource Manager) then you will have to hire the right candidates for the work.
You may find yourself puzzled in this situation because you will find people who aced interviews but are bad at work, people who are good at work but are making the company a toxic environment, and the ones who have no experience at all but are willing to be hardworking to reach targeted goals on a low salary.
To do this, you will have to set pointers and keep an eye on the Filipino workers and Filipino employees so that you don’t get yourself dirty by anyone else’s hand.
Party Events In The Office
This is a chance for your colleagues to get to know you better and for you to shine your talents. Party events that happened in the office mostly are welcoming parties, Christmas parties, Inquisition, feast, charades, and baptism.
These are the events where you can have a proper get-together with your Filipino colleagues and have a small talk in which they can teach you about their Filipino culture, etiquette, traditions, and stuff not to do in public gatherings that might end up embarrassing yourself.
Business Thinker
If you go with a cv/resume which is strong enough of your previous experience in your own country and that you have a good reputation in the organization you have worked with then you have a higher chance of getting hired in the Philippines. The right skills can pay your bills and apply to those organizations which you think can talk about whether you would be the best fit for this job.
While the employer will be reading out your CV, you should make sure that you know what has been written down in your CV and you’re confident in your skills, having slight hesitation can ruin your interview immediately. You should also be convincing enough that the employer can rely on your expertise as they are not just investing in the company but in you as well.
The best site to apply for the Philippines is LinkedIn. Once you apply, wait for the call and schedule your interview before you book your flight to the Philippines and end up doing something else.
Make sure you’re following the timings of the Philippines and your country and the Philippines’ hours may differ and check the exact location where the company is located so you don’t waste much time in finding it when you reach there.
Managing The Team
If you are a team player and want to work as a manager of a business in the Philippines then you need to consider the following main points.
- Firstly, the basic thing is to be easy on the beginner like an intern and give some freedom and space to workers so they may feel easy to work in the environment pressuring them will cause them to leave the office and resign.
- Secondly, give some flexible working hours this way the worker would appreciate you for letting them work in their most convenient hours this is more appropriate for remote workers.
- Furthermore, give some time for training if your fresh interns have joined the organization and teach them every aspect of the organization and have the proper software tools to manage team building and team structure so that the team is well managed.
- Lastly, giveaway bonus incentive for extra working hours or getting the work done before the deadline or give a big threat to the entire Filipino team for impressive working performance.
Family And Relationships
Treating the workers as if they were your family has a term called Pakkisama (camaraderie) for a native English speaker but, in the Philippines, it means more than that.
It means to get out of the way to help others which shows the true culture of Filipino people treating your seniors like your older brother and older sisters learning from their past mistakes not to repeat them, and understanding the morals of Philippine cultural values, and deepening your thoughts.
Strong Service And Understanding
Kapwa (fellowship of togetherness) understands the core values of work ethics and a way of demonstrating productivity. This creates a bond no matter what the status is whether you are rich or poor you have the wealth or not and whatever your social status might be. Moreover, this is a sense of strong service orientation that adds value to the working place.
Wrapping Up
Although, you should avoid implementing western cultural habits as that may make them feel uncomfortable around you, you can always give them ideas of western culture which they would feel like adopting and bring self-improvement in them too.
You’ll have to give constructive criticism so that you may not hurt any colleague or worker’s feelings and try to be supportive. Always have the time for struggles and new challenges. Start cracking some jokes to make the workplace a happy place and enjoyable environment to work in, creating positive vibes in the office.
Last but not least, build a strong networking environment to attract business investors to the company. If you wish to learn more than check out the Ling App which teaches the Tagalog language and much more about the culture of the Philippines.
Happy learning!
