Gutsy BPO move on WFH issue

When made to choose between losing its tax perks if it fails to resume office operations starting April 1 and keeping its work-from-home (WFH) arrangement with its employees, Concentrix, a business processing outsourcing (BPO) company with approximately 100,000 employees, opted to maintain its hybrid work system.

It said it took that action because its clients and employees were amenable to that arrangement and in order to avoid a disruption of its operation in case of COVID-19 outbreaks.

Concentrix must have conducted a cost-benefit analysis before it decided to buck the government’s order to BPO firms in economic zones to revert to prepandemic operations under pain of losing their tax privileges.

The company probably felt the tax breaks would not be worth the risk of losing some of its employees and, in the process, incur training expenses for new hires and suffer some hitches in the handling of client calls during the interim.

From a labor relations perspective, Concentrix’s gutsy move has earned for itself brownie points from its employees that could have a positive effect on employee morale and work efficiency.

What’s more, with fewer employees in the office, it would reap some savings on operational expenses, e.g., lease rentals, electric and water bills and shuttle services.

Although the company had expressed confidence in the soundness of its action, there is no assurance, however, that its hybrid setup would be viable in the long term for some unforeseen causes.

If that happens, Concentrix can simply return to its original work arrangement, i.e., operate from its office premises inside the economic zone, and be entitled again to its tax privileges.

Considering the employment opportunities the company provides at this time when some three million Filipinos are out of job, it would be in the government’s best interests to be open-minded about that possible change of mind in the future.

There is no room for vengeful action to mollify bruised egos when the livelihood of thousands of Filipinos is on the line.

To date, there is no official word yet on the BPOs that have complied with the return to office work order or otherwise entered into work arrangements that meet the government’s rules on ecozone-based operations.

How things would play out in Concentrix’s decision to keep its hybrid work setup would be of interest to the BPOs that complied with the government’s directive.

The question is posed: Would prolonged WFH operation have any adverse effects on the mental health of the employees or on the quality of their work?

The convenience and personal savings that come with WFH brings with it the reduction of social interaction that is standard in BPOs before COVID-19’s entry into the country.

Although the employees can communicate or touch base with each other through mobile phones, social media or other internet-based facilities, these mechanisms fall short of the benefits of actual or direct physical engagement.

Except perhaps for loners, it is reasonable to assume that the majority of BPO employees are “social animals” or people who desire or enjoy face-to-face conversations, sharing of jokes or taking their meals with office colleagues.

It is common knowledge that job burnout often happens if a person is stuck in a work routine that does not give the opportunity to let off steam or shoot the breeze with people whose company he or she is comfortable with.

This is the reason human resources specialists recommend regular breaks or timeouts from work in jobs that are routine or predictable in nature.

Thus, the challenge to WFH arrangements is coming up with a system that would maximize its benefits and at the same time minimize (if not eliminate) the incidence of causes that may lead to depression or loss of motivation to work.

If Concentrix is able to do this without adversely affecting its bottom line, the rest of the BPOs may take a leaf from their book and consider adopting a similar work setup. INQ

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