What Expats Will LOVE About Working with Filipinos

I'm excited about having more foreign investors here in the Philippines. Aside from creating jobs for locals, they might also hire persons with disabilities (PWDs) and provide us with lifelong learning opportunities. Besides, foreigners bring the best out of Filipinos because engaging with them builds up on one of our core strengths: hospitality.

For decades, Filipinos have not maximized their hospitable nature because of the 1987 Constitution’s 60%-40% rule on foreign ownership. We now have new laws that aim to ease those restrictions. So the Philippines might be entering a new economic era that will bring more foreign investors into the country.

Governments, schools, religious groups, and other Asians have tried to improve us Filipinos by attempting to get us riled up about things that don’t make us angry for the long-term. They were hoping that shame and indignation would compel us to rise to the challenge of proving our capabilities. They taught us to hate our former colonizers. They told us that we were stupid compared to other Asians. They spat on our flag, called us “slaves”, and scolded us for not using chopsticks.

All their efforts failed spectacularly! That’s because one must start with a person’s strengths when teaching that individual new skills and attitudes. So what strengths do Filipinos have that foreign entrepreneurs and other expats can build on for their endeavors to succeed in the Philippines? What traits of Pinoy workers are they going to love?

# 1 Filipinos excel the most in the arts and the health sciences.

Filipinos have produced world-class paintings, sculptures, furniture, films, and stage plays. Many of us are good at singing! A lot of Filipinos have performed well in Hollywood, Broadway, and the West End. So whether you’re an art connoisseur or you’re planning to launch your entertainment company, the Philippines is the place to be.

On a different note, we Filipino healthcare workers (HCWs) are in-demand in high-income countries. We often get hired abroad because aside from our inclination to always go the extra mile for our patients, many of us have undergone rigorous training in reputable local and foreign institutions.

Moreover, the Philippines is more accepting of people with developmental and psychiatric conditions compared to a lot of Asian countries. Filipino rehabilitation professionals have even successfully transitioned many PWDs into the workplace. That happens to be my specialty!

# 2 Filipinos are accommodating.

Pinoys are open to creating, selling, and buying all things foreign. You can see that in the many different types of international food that are available here. Although the market is dominated by Filipino, American, Chinese, and Japanese cuisine, our big cities have sumptuous delicacies from all continents — from Peruvian chicken to South African Bunny Chow. Even the small cities and towns have lots of foreign food.

Aside from that, we Filipinos are quite understanding if foreigners struggle to conform to Philippine etiquette. Most of the things that we expect from expats, we learned in kindergarten: waiting in line, saying polite words in a local dialect or in English, and not talking when your mouth is full.

Moreover, feel free to ask us questions even if you fear that they might be dumb because Filipinos love assisting foreigners. We understand that the Philippines can be confusing because we’re multicultural and multi-racial. We ourselves can’t catch up with all of our country’s practices. I, for one, have Kapampangan, Boholano, Chinese, and Spanish lineage on my father’s side. Yet I can barely speak Kapampangan. I don’t participate in Visayan traditions. That’s because I grew up with my maternal relatives in Metro Manila, where the lifestyle is very much Tagalog and Americanized.

# 3 Filipinos work hard and play hard.

Pinoys will work under the harshest conditions and are willing to go beyond the call of duty just to feed their families. Our overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) greatly exemplify such perseverance. Yet, Filipinos are great at having fun! Filipino co-workers love to joke around, eat out after work, go on out-of-town trips, play games, and attend religious festivities together.

Speaking of festivals, the Christmas season in the Philippines is the best! Lots of the work establishments here throw fun, lavish Christmas parties. Some even have bazaars. If you’re a foreign student here, your academic institution will probably host awesome celebrations that are open to the public, like the UP Lantern Parade and the UST Paskuhan.

That’s why despite all this country's problems, working in the Philippines can still benefit your mental health a lot.

I admit that these are generalities. Some Filipinos obviously do not exhibit the aforementioned traits. Moreover, Filipinos have glaring flaws that manifest in the workplace, hence our arduous journey towards becoming an upper middle income country. I shall be tackling those weaknesses in my next article.

(Photo by Airam Dato-on)