Temporary and Necessary

For the past few years, a young man by the name of Kev Alonzo has been referring to himself as “a shape-shifter.”

And while this has been a long-running joke between him and his brother, he can’t help but believe that there is some truth to it.“I rarely see my brother because he works in the province,” he told The Manila Times. “So, every time he sees me, he always yells out something like ‘Hey, I barely recognize you. Do you have a new racket?’”

Alonzo, however, is not a con artist. He is not an actor either. He is actually part of a popular industry that remains strong in countries like the Philippines. And while it has given him many specific job titles, one affectionate term remains to describe him best.

“I’m an outsourced talent,” he said. “I’ve been a call center agent, a writer and a shock absorber. I’m a jack of several traits and a master of shifting schedules. Each of those jobs had a significant affect on my body.”

Like a number of his colleagues, Alonzo began his career in the outsourcing industry as a call center agent.

Taking the graveyard shift, he used it as a means to earn enough money to help with his schooling. But the drastic shift in his sleeping pattern could be seen with his noticeable eye bags and a thin body. After finding a better opportunity and a better schedule, he worked on the dayshift for another call center agency. That new schedule put some meat in his bones. Now that he has finished school with a degree in Literature, he is now a web content writer employed by an outsourcing firm. And because he stares at the monitor all day, he can’t help but wear a pair of reading glasses to avoid getting a headache.

But regardless of the changes, one thing remains the same: he is still part of the seemingly inescapable outsourcing industry.

“I never really made a conscious effort to avoid it,” he said. “But even if I did, for my case and for people like me, it’s somewhat inescapable to be part of this industry. When I was back in college, I worked for it because of the pay. Now that I have my degree, I’m still working for it because of the pay.”

From IT (information technology) services, to customer service, to infrastructure, to web content provision, career opportunities given by the outsourcing industries have been overflowing. And to Sharon Bernaldez, a web content provider under a knowledge process-outsourcing firm, it is understandable as to why people are getting in to it.

“I used to work for a call center, so I know that most call centers hire at least maybe 10 people everyday,” she said. “I’d say it’s because it’s the most in-demand industry. They can offer much better compensation than anywhere else. They always have new clients from multinational companies. They are expanding.”

Though she is a graduate of journalism, Bernaldez was forced to move back to join the outsourcing industry. And like Alonzo it is also because of financial reasons.

“Basically, it’s all about the money,” she said. “So, even though I’d much rather be a reporter, I can help but end up here because of the financial crisis. And I’m not the only one. I’ve worked with teachers, students taking up their Master’s and people with really impressive academic degrees. They’re all in this industry because of the pay.”

But even with the compensation and the staunch number of job offerings, both Bernaldez and Alonzo believe that their industry is not without its downside. And unlike other industries where they would prefer to be working, these matters have nothing to do with money.

“It’s basically an office job—somewhat monotonous and somewhat repetitive,” Alonzo told The Manila Times. “I have nothing against this industry but on a personal level, I want to do writing that makes me relevant. Technically, I’m writing now but it’s not the same.”

“What I do is actually quite simple,” said Bernaldez. “It’s just simple writing-copywriting. It’s not something that I really want to do but I have to do it.”

But such sacrifices are not without proper motivation for Bernaldez and Alonzo. With both of them earning at least P18,000 a month, they have more than enough to keep themselves afloat. And for Alonzo, even dreams of being a creative writer can wait as long as he has enough money to keep himself alive.

“I don’t have rich parents,” he said. “This is a necessary path I must endure because there aren’t a lot of opportunities for poets or novelists in the Philippines. And I need a Master’s degree to be a teacher.”

But to Alonzo, this job is merely temporary. Like his other connections with the outsourcing industry, he is simply trying to earn enough for stability.

“While I’m doing this,” he said, “I think I might try to get published to feed my soul while this job feeds my belly. And maybe one day, I can actually leave this industry and pursue something that I really want to do.”

And should that day come, maybe this self-proclaimed “shape-shifter” can have a permanent form. But until then, should he go for another outsourced job with a better pay, the morphing may very well continue. –ANGELO CANTERA Correspondent, Manila Times