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BPO sector seeks more time for office return, eyes hybrid work setup: group

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ABS-CBN News

<figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1967528" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>MANILA - The Information Technology and Business Process Management (IT-BPM) sector needs more time so its employees can return to onsite work, a group said Friday as it sought a hybrid setup in the long run.The Department of Finance earlier said a Cabinet-level interagency board supported the decision of the Fiscal Incentives Review Board to disallow remote work for most of business process outsourcing (BPO) firms in ecozones after March 31.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/03/09/22/no-extension-of-work-from-home-for-bpos-finance-chief">Govt nixes extension of work-from-home for BPOs even as sector cites productivity</a></li>	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/14/22/bpo-workers-hit-govt-push-for-return-to-office-in-april">&#x27;Not out of the woods&#x27;: BPO workers blast return to office in April</a></li></ul>Firms will comply with government&#x27;s order, but seek a &quot;smoother and longer runway for this transition back to onsite operations,&quot; said Jack Madrid, president of the IT and Business Process Association of the Philippines (IBPAP).&quot;It was difficult to move personnel and equipment from onsite to home, it will also be equally difficult to move [back] over 1 million [workers], to move onsite. We need a longer runway,&quot; he told ANC&#x27;s Headstart.<ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/business/03/15/22/peza-backs-bpo-work-from-home-extension-until-september">PEZA backs work from home for BPOs until September, hybrid work scheme</a></li></ul>The IT-BPM sector also pushes for a hybrid setup in the long run as there is an &quot;overwhelming preference for our employees for a more location-independent setup,&quot; Madrid said.&quot;The best evidence of customer satisfaction and productivity was the growth of the industry even during the worst of the pandemic in 2020,&quot; he said.The sector created 23,000 new jobs in 2020 and 100,000 new jobs in 2021, Madrid said.&quot;Over the longer haul, certainly some amendment need to be made that will take into account that the nature of the IT-BPM industry’s work is different and should be considered,&quot; he said.&quot;We&#x27;ve been an economic pillar for the country for over 2 decades now, generating 1.4 million jobs and almost $34 billion and keeping all our employees here in the country. They don’t have to leave. By having this hybrid work arrangement, we&#x27;re actually supporting government move to expand into the countryside.&quot;Madrid said the preference for work from home &quot;or what we’re now calling work from anywhere, extends beyond BPOs.&quot;&quot;I think we&#x27;ve all found some silver lining in the past 2 years about the pros and there are some cons, too, of this more location-independent setup,&quot; he said.&quot;The future is flexibility and the future is hybrid.&quot;

The IT-BPM sector needs more time so its employees can return to onsite work, a group said Friday as it sought a hybrid setup in the long run.