Does Hard Work Really Pays You Off In Philippines

Most of us believe that when we work hard, we will be successful -- no matter how you define success. But we believe in a lie because, in reality, that’s not how it works. Not all people who give so much effort, time and dedication, achieve their goal. We all want and hope that we will get something that we deserve but it seems impossible, especially here in the Philippines. Opportunities in our country are unequal and we can witness it in our daily lives without even realizing it. My professor in accounting once told us that, when you graduated from a prestigious university, you’ll earn more compared to those who just came from another university. We all know or aware that you can easily get a job when you have a so-called “backer” even though there are a lot of applicants who are better and more deserving than you and we can see those workers who are paid sometimes below the minimum wage, they work hard day and night just to earn a small amount of money to provide for their family. Hard work doesn’t always pay off.

I think it is really unfair in our country because those who are really working hard or those who have blue-collar work, don’t get enough but those who are just sitting in an airconditioned room, commanding those who are under him, has a much higher pay. Yes, they may have worked really hard to get that position but what I am saying is we should also pay those blue-collar workers higher than what they get because they deserve it, they put so much effort and skills doing their work. Working in an office setting with your knowledge is also as exhausting as working with your skills. You may disagree with me but we all know that it is not easy and affordable to finish college, what should we do with those who are undergraduates? Should we just let them work and accept a small amount of money in return? How can they provide for their family? How can their child go to college with that small amount of money? According to DOLE (2019), the current minimum wage in NCR is 423.73 for agriculture and 455.08 for non-agriculture per day which sums up to 11,000 - 13,000 pesos per month. Can you imagine how small it is? But not all are paid between those amounts, some are paid below the minimum wage, a helper is paid at least 5,000 pesos even though they are working 24/7. Did we ever think or does it cross our mind that with a small amount of money, can a family really live a decent and comfortable life?

I used words that are different from their literal meaning. I used the word prestigious university to describe the top 3 schools which are the Ateneo, La Salle, and U.P. While backer means you know someone who has a higher position in the company you’re applying for or your connection. And lastly, working hard means working with sweat, blood, and even under the sun.

Their salaries are not enough.

According to Pernia, E. (2018) 42,000 is needed for a family of 5 to survive. Three children are advised for every family, with the income of parents who are minimum wage workers, it is still not enough. How can they survive if their income is half of what is needed? Having a job is not enough, for your family to survive and live a comfortable life, you also need to think of a business that can add to your monthly income because a minimum wage is not enough even though both parents are working.

The poor are getting poorer; the rich are getting richer.

Just like what I’ve said in the introduction, the income is not enough to pay for a college tuition fee. In fact, in an interview on CNN (Ladrido, P. 2018), a family who has a 24,000 pesos income is not enough and they are not prepared to send their children to college, they are still thinking of ways on how they can provide for it. As I see it, if they can’t provide for it, the children will also be undergraduate, history will just keep on repeating unless they are lucky enough to stop and change it. It’s like there’s no way out if you don't finish college. Rich people don't even need to stress themselves about it. They can easily send their children to college because they have enough money and don’t have a problem budgeting or allocating their money to basic needs like food, shelter, utilities, and more.

Employed can still be part of poverty.

According to Rutkowski, J. (2015). Having a low-income job is the main cause of poverty than being unemployed. We should all be aware that having a good-paying job is far different from just having a job. You may have a job but it doesn’t mean you won’t be part of poverty. It may be really hard to find nice work but for you to pass the poverty line, that is what you need. Employment won’t save you from poverty.

In other countries, the salary for blue-collar jobs is much higher than we have here in our country, their hard work will really pay off if they choose to go abroad and some of our citizens are really in favor of going there because of the better quality jobs and in other aspects, they may wait years so they can be with their family again but they think that it is worth it since they can provide a better life for their family.

I think it’s very important for us to know this so we will understand that no matter how much effort they put in working, it’s just not enough. We can read the comments in the social media that they are still blaming the workers for why they are poor without thinking or putting themselves in another perspective. They don’t even think about workers who are working 8 hours and above just to get a low amount of salary, they easily judge something without even understanding someone’s situation. They are also a victim, victims of a poor quality jobs. I will stand that it is not the fault of the skilled workers or a blue-collar worker why they are poor because, in other countries, they give more or higher salaries to the blue-collar jobs, why can’t we be like that? We are pushing our citizens to work abroad and be far from their families just to live comfortably and just to have a better and brighter future.