ABSTRACT
This descriptive-qualitative study aimed to determine how education graduates working with Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) manage their time as basis for intervention program during the school year 2023-2024. It was found out that most of the education graduates working with BPO are young female agents who have gained experience with BPO industry. Most of them have earned units in post graduate study and are earning much compared to new teachers in the Department of Education. All education graduates working with BPO are going home right after their work. Based on the interview, the study revealed that education graduates working in BPO industry enjoy their job, gain trainings, manage their time effectively, and meet and know different people. To manage their time while working in BPO industry, they learned how to adjust and prioritize activities. They also thrived their work in BPO industry by loving their job and developing their skills and strengths. Moreover, being health conscious, participating in team building, and engaging linkages with others are the activities that helped them thrive their work in BPO industry.
Keywords: Education Graduates, Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), Intervention Program
INTRODUCTION
Background of the Study
The Philippines has emerged as a global leader in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry, providing a significant source of employment and contributing substantially to the national economy. This rapid growth has also led to an increased demand for skilled professionals, attracting graduates from diverse academic backgrounds, including education.
Over the past several years, the Filipino call center sector has expanded tremendously. The preference for the Philippines has been linked to the country's enormous pool of college graduates who are computer literate and proficient in speaking American English. The sector has attracted workers with high compensation and monetary incentives, which has contributed to the rise. Call center employees make more than twice the minimum wage required by law. Moreover, due to the lucrative call center industry and the prospect of a high salary, many teachers and education graduates opted to work as call center agents putting their teaching careers on hold.
Smithers and Robinson (2003) investigated what influences teachers' decisions to quit the field. Workload, fresh difficulties, the state of the classroom, salary, and personal circumstances were the five main variables that were noted. They concluded that among these elements, workload and compensation had the greatest and least significant roles in motivating instructors to quit their positions. Similarly, Watt & Richardson (2007) highlighted that the growing wage difference between teaching and other professions is a key factor in why people believe that teaching is a less rewarding profession than other disciplines.
According to Abulon (2014), the teacher's wage is a conspicuous disincentive that is frequently defined by poor income along with their overworked and underpaid state. The smartest students are discouraged from accepting the job of teaching the future generation in the Philippines due to the negative image of the teacher. For years, the government's failure to address teachers' predicament led to their grim economic circumstances and a stabbing blow to the profession's honor. For individuals who choose a better profession, the word "teacher” has come to be seen as a joke (Calibo, 2014). In addition, there is a surplus of qualified teacher search year as a result of the low and stagnant demand for teachers throughout the years. Many of our professional instructors were unable to practice their profession because of the nation's educational system's poor capability for absorption (PSA, 2003).
It is with these views and opinions that the researchers wanted to underwent the study. This undertaking explored the lives of education graduates employed as customer service representatives. The focus of this study was to identify the factors and reasons that pushed them to become customer service representatives and what made them remain in the industry. This study wanted to give insights and information to those future graduates who would soon start a career. Thus, this paper explored the journey of education graduates and sought depth understanding of their lived experiences as customer service representatives.
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