The Rise of Flexible Working in Southeast Asia: Insights from Thailand and the Philippines

This book chapter will draw on research and timely statistics from the Philippines and Thailand to examine the rise of flexible working since the COVID-19 outbreak in early 2020 in both countries, and how it has impacted business process outsourcing (BPO) employees. The Philippines and Thailand are popular outsourcing destinations due to their cost effectiveness, operational efficiencies, and large educated workforce. Yet some groups of employees continue to work long hours with few breaks and little flexibility. This book chapter will examine some of the flexible working best practices enacted by BPO organisations during the COVID-19 pandemic in both countries, discuss how the effectiveness of flexible working can also vary depending on both individual and contextual differences, and propose a future research agenda on flexible working to enhance the work–life outcomes of BPO employees across Southeast Asia.