MANILA, Philippines?With inflation near record levels, workers in the information technology (IT) and business process outsourcing (BPO) industries want higher pay and many are looking for other jobs here or abroad, a study says.

According to the latest Employment Lifestyle Index released by Canadian research group XMG, only 12 percent of the 100 Metro Manila IT and BPO employees polled said they were satisfied with their salaries and 73 percent of respondents said they wanted a salary increase.

Of those who wanted a raise, 70 percent said they were actively on the hunt for better opportunities here and abroad.

IT and BPO workers receive relatively higher pay compared with those having traditional day jobs, owing to night differentials, transportation and clothing allowances, food subsidies and bonuses.

?Our numbers show there is a genuine trend for the constant clamor by employees to increase the cash component of their remuneration,? XMG research statistician Emerson Fababaer said in a statement Friday.

XMG chief analyst Lauro Vives said this would present a challenge to human resource teams in IT and BPO firms to balance the need to keep costs down and manage attrition.

The XMG study also showed that many highly technical professionals, such as those in IT and engineering, were actively seeking employment in Singapore, Australia, Canada, the United States and the Middle East, as these countries offered higher pay for their services.

?There are very few extrinsic options,? Vives said. ?Either provide relief in the form of increased compensation, subsidy or allowance, or position the current compensation package as being above industry [averages].?

Studies that XMG had earlier conducted among clients showed that the strategy that had worked for them involved setting regular compensation benchmarks, which aligned both employee attitude and value, with an overall aim of building a sense of ownership of the company.

?This means a shift from a monetary-based attitude to a self-fulfillment outlook,? Vives said.

The study suggested that employers frequently review their incentive structures to keep pace with the changing economic conditions, as well as monitor employee perception and behavior to gauge how employees viewed the organization.

These would not only boost employees? overall productivity, but also their level of commitment to their companies, XMG said.

Data from the latest XMG Employment Lifestyle Index conducted in the third quarter of 2008 showed that employees are turning to their employers or the job market to increase their salary to compensate for the rising cost of living. With editing by INQUIRER.net