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Paano Nga Ba Maging Isang Remote Worker Sa Pilipinas? | A Guide

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Handa ka na ba maging isang remote worker? Bago ang lahat, alamin muna kung ano ang sakop ng salitang remote worker o remote working.

Mayroong tatlong klase ng working from home or working remotely. Ito ay ang remote work, telework, at freelancing. Kadalasan, napaghahalo ang ibig sabihin ng bawat isa sa mga ito.

Narito ang mga articles para sa karagdagang kaalaman hinggil sa remote work, telework, at freelance:

“The Digital Age: Remote Work And Telework Defined”

“Be Protected As A Freelancer”

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A remote worker working from home. 😉

6 Tips Sa Pagtatrabaho Bilang Isang Remote Worker

1. Magsagawa ng financial assessment o budgeting.

Ito ang pinakaunang bagay na kailangang gawin bago ka mag-desisyon na maging isang remote worker o freelancer. Sa pamamagitan ng iyong financial analysis, alamin kung sapat ba ang iyong kikitain para pantustos sa iyong monthly expenses.

Kinakailangan din na mayroon kang emergency funds na nakalaan para sa mga panahon na magkaroon ng problema sa iyong client at employer pagdating sa payment. Ang freelancing o remote working ay pwedeng maging isang regular job. Maaari mong bitawan ang iyong day job or office job kung ang iyong kikitain sa pagiging remote worker ay pareho lang o higit pa.

Kung ikaw ay isang bread winner o may sinusuportahang anak, magulang, o relative on a consistent basis, mas maiging gawin ang freelancing bilang isang side hustle or job on the side. Ngunit kung hinihingi ng pagkakataon na ikaw ay maging isang remote worker gaya halimbawa sa mga full-time Moms, magandang opportunity ang remote working. Pero sa mga married couples, it’s best to consult with your spouse kung okay lang din sa kanya ang ganitong set-up.

2. Alamin ang iba’t ibang uri ng remote working or freelancing.

Ito ay depende sa magiging usapan ninyo ng iyong employer o client. Mayroong ibang employer na sila ang nagso-shoulder sa pagbayad ng iyong mga government-mandated benefits kagaya ng SSS, Pag-ibig, at Phil Health at saiyong BIR tax. Maaari ding makakuha ka ng company incentives at 13th-month pay na nakukuha ng isang regular employee pero may option ka na mag-work sa bahay o kung saan pa man.

May ibang clients din na pumapayag na sila ang sasagot sa mga bayarin mo sa kuryente at magpo-provide ng gagamitin mong laptop kung magwo-work from home ka. Pero mayroon ding clients na ang babayaran lang nila ay ang output or deliverables mo lang. Sa case na ito, ikaw ang magbabayad ng iyong mga contributions para sa SSS, Phil Health, at Pag-ibig kasama na ang BIR tax na 3% para sa mga freelance professionals or self-employed individuals. Ito ang kadalasan na setup para sa mga freelancers.

3. Ihanda ang iyong mga kakailanganing gamit sa remote working.

Kapag handa ka na maging isang remote worker, narito ang mga kakailanganin mo para sa iyong freelance or remote work:

  • reliable internet connection (mas mataas na mbps at DSL connection, mas maganda)
  • reliable laptop (mas malaki ang RAM, mas maganda; the client or employer will sometimes provide this)
  • backup internet connection (pocket wifi)
  • sariling private work space (para sa work-from-home)

4. Ayusin ang iyong status sa BIR, SSS, Phil Health, at Pag-ibig.

Ito ay kadalasang applicable sa mga freelancers kung saan sila ang babayad ng mga contributions para sa SSS, Phil Health, at Pag-ibig at ng BIR tax. Para sa BIR tax, kailangan mong baguhin ang iyong status from employed to self-employed.

Para sa BIR:

Kailangan mo mag-register bilang certified freelancer or self-employed sa pamamagitan ng pagkuha ng Certificate of Registration sa BIR. Maaari mong basahin itong mga articles para malaman ang step-by-step process:

https://www.kalibrr.com/advice/2016/01/freelancers-guide-bir-registration

http://www.freelancing.ph/bir-requirements-every-filipino-freelancer-should-know/

https://blog.staff.com/a-taxation-guide-for-filipino-freelance-workers-finding-projects-online/

*Kung ikaw mismo ang magko-compute ng iyong taxes, maaari kang maghanap ng mga reliable na tax calculator applications kagaya nito:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=tax.app.cavalli.com.taxapp&hl=en

Para sa SSS:

Magbabago din ang iyong status ng pagbayad to voluntary member kung ikaw na ang magbabayad ng iyong SSS contributions. Narito ang mga instructions kung paano ito gawin:

https://theultimatevaresource.wordpress.com/2015/08/22/how-to-pay-sss-contributions-as-a-voluntary-member-a-guide-for-filipino-freelancers/

Para sa Phil Health at Pag-ibig:

Phil Health: http://rakethub.com/how-to-change-philhealth-registration-from-employee-to-voluntary/

Pag-ibig: http://www.pagibigfinancing.com/articles/2010/voluntary-membership-to-pag-ibig-fund-the-self-employed-freelancers-and-non-employees/

5. Mag-open ng bank account o PayPal account.

Kung ang client mo ay based abroad, mainam na gawing payment mode ang PayPal dahil ito ay secure. Pero bago makapag-open ng PayPal account, kinakailangan muna na mayroon kang bank account na nakapangalan sa’yo.

PayPal New Account

http://www.freelancing.ph/freelancers-guide-getting-know-paypal/

PayPal Withdrawal

https://www.pinoymoneytalk.com/paypal-withdraw-philippine-banks/

6. Gumawa ng sariling work routine.

Ito ay napakahalaga bilang isang remote worker dahil kahit na hawak mo ang iyong oras, how you finish an output will still depend kung paano mo hinahati ang iyong oras para matapos ang iyong mga tasks. Nariyan na ang mga usual na kalaban ng mga remote at freelance workers – procrastination at lack of self-discipline.

Dahil ang supervision ay remote din, malaki ang chance na ma-tempt ka mag-browse sa Facebook o matulog muna saiyong kama hanggang sa hindi mo namalayan na ilang oras na ang nawala sa araw mo.

Being a freelance professional or a remote worker still requires professionalism at a certain degree. Isa na rito ang pag-deliver ng output on time o according sa napagusapan nyo ng client mo na deadline. Hindi rin maaaring maging buzzer beater sa pag-submit ng deliverables dahil ang mako-compromise ay ang kalidad ng iyong output.

Take remote working or freelancing as if it is your own business. Technically, your freelance or remote work is your business. If you want it to flourish, kailangan may sarili ka ding work ethics to make sure na it will sustain you in the long run.

 

Ako ay nagsimulang magtrabaho bilang isang remote worker noong 2017. Ang transition ay hindi mahirap if you already know what to expect based sa mga nakalap mong impormasyon through your research. Also, kinakailangan ding masigasig ka sa paghahanap ng mga bagong opportunities. But I can assure you na there are a lot of opportunities out there to those who plan to venture in this kind of work setup.

Mahalaga lang talaga na ready ka din to make the sacrifices and exert every effort that you can dahil gaya din ng pagiging isang office employee, hindi rin madali maging isang remote worker. In my case, napaka-suitable ng set up na ito because I can make my own schedule. Mainam ito sa sitwasyon ko ngayon kung saan marami akong kailangang gawing extra tasks kasama na ang pagtulong para sa isang family project.

Lahat tayo may kanya-kanyang priorities but in the end, it is up to us how we are going to manage them. Kung ikaw ay matagal nang nagiisip kung ang remote working ba ay para sa’yo o hindi, I hope this article helped you decide one way or the other. 🙂

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters…” – Colossians 3:23

“May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands.” – Psalm 90:17

“You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours.” – Psalm 128:2

“Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense.” – Proverbs 12:11

“All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.” – Proverbs 14:23

“Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.” – Deuteronomy 15:10

Praying all the best for you as a remote worker,

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freelancer

Be Protected as a Freelancer

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Since I have given you opportunities about doing remote work, teleworking, telecommuting including freelancing, I believe it is also my responsibility to provide a list of websites from my research on how to protect yourself should you decide to be a freelancer aside from having your full-time job.

I found these articles very helpful. But just in case I encounter similar problems in one of my (future) freelancing stints, I believe I would need to sit-in in one of the Torts and Damages classes of my brother-in-law who is an Assistant Professor at the University of the Philippines (Diliman) College of Law. 😀 He used to work as a company lawyer for Baker and Mckenzie, a multi-national law firm, and it would indeed be a privilege to learn from him given the opportunity. 🙂

The following are the articles which you could read if you are a freelancer or just planning to become one:

However, if you’ve already experienced any drawback from your freelancing stint though you did the right thing, took the necessary steps, and followed the agreement, don’t be discouraged but take this verse by heart:

“Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before His eyes, and He is the one to whom we are accountable.” – Hebrews 4:13

Just pray, let go, and let God take the lead from there. The battle is not yours anymore but His to take. Be fearful of God and not of men – let God be the judge and be the one to give justice. 🙂

The Digital Age: Remote Work and Telework Defined

The Digital Age: Remote Work and Telework Defined

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Hurrah to those who are planning to be stay-at-home Moms or are stay-at-home-Moms already! 😀

This is really good news to me too even though I am not a Mom yet but also transitioning from being a corporate/office employee to doing remote work or work-at-home setup.

I haven’t considered this thought of working at home until circumstances compelled me that working in an office or a classroom is not part of the option. Back in 2002, the concept of working remotely isn’t that unfamiliar anymore. But during that time, only a few companies promote the work-at-home setup to its employees.

Modern technology and its rapid advancements made all this sudden switch from the office to home possible. The increasing trend on social media marketing, for example, challenged businesses in their advertising strategies from print ads to what we call now as ‘digital marketing.’

I have conducted ‘extensive and intensive’ research about the options to work at home and a lot of websites are offering work-at-home opportunities which suit my qualifications, work experience, skills, my interests and more importantly, the working hours. I have highlighted in my previous blog post that the reason why I have decided to make the shift is partly because I intend to prioritize family time and health issues.

Praise God, after how many months of browsing and waiting for the right opportunity to come along, it did come. I was hired by a company and went through the normal hiring process by taking an exam and having an interview. I underwent training and currently in a probationary period.

I am a freelance writer for the first 1-2 months or until I finished 25 articles. Then I will be paid per article submitted but when I transition to staff writer (if I pass company’s standards), which is a full-time position, I’ll be receiving regular pay given every 15th and 30th of the month. The company also offers SLs and VLs for the employee but it still depends upon the work load. The work schedule is still 8 hours a day everyday or a total of 40 hours per week.

The Digital Age: Remote Work and Telework Defined

But before you decide on making that career shift to become a remote worker too, do read this article written by our Editorial Manager. It’s a very insightful read. 🙂

Making That Career Shift

So are you decided to make that career shift now? If yes, I’ll share these websites which are a great help in knowing what kind of remote work is best for you.

Most of these articles which I lifted from different websites were written starting year 2016 until now. Take note that this was the year wherein a lot of articles about home-based jobs were published. I actually would like to conduct even further research as to the cause behind the boom in remote jobs which, I am guessing, has a lot to do with not just the digitization of almost everything from books to learning but how businesses are making the general shift as well. I thought it would be nice to come up with an in depth explanation that will showcase the development and how they were all interrelated.

But it is going to be business marketing. I should take another course for that. lol I am actually interested to take a short business course but I just have one concern, is it possible to study business marketing, economics or finance without having to deal with numbers? Haha I think that is not possible. I love to learn the concepts and ideas but I am not sure if I’ll be able to do all the Math, if you know what I mean.

Lately, business marketing has expanded enormously in different arenas. Even the fields of education are mashed up with businesses and online marketing. Distance learning used to be just a simple video conference call among students and professors mimicking the traditional classroom setup but this time the opportunities became endless. Now, this teaching setup was transferred to homes and students are given the option to hire a professional online teacher who can assist him hands-on with the subject.

Ah yes, there are countless possibilities bound to happen in the years to come and who knows, sci-fi movies about everything being turned virtual are not far from becoming a reality.

So How Did I Explain This To My Family

The generation gap is harder to bridge than I thought. My now 72-year-old Mom who’s sharper in mind than ever and I, a 30 something young wife, find it hard to make these gaps meet career wise. The only technology that my Mom is adept in using is a regular cellphone, not the smartphone. 😉

My Mom doesn’t know anything about social media, digital marketing, etc. Every time she asks me why I did not take the traditional classroom teacher job though I have taken master’s degree units, I am a licensed professional teacher and started explaining about the work-at-home job opportunities, I know she is completely lost in translation. 😀

It is the social stigma attached to working at home which is less dignified, less professional, less fulfilling if you are a career-oriented person, etc. that ate among the few and common misconceptions towards any transitioning corporate employee to a remote worker. To make it short, these types of jobs were typically looked down as something inferior compared if you work in an office.

I guess the only way to clear these misconceptions is by stating the very definition of what remote work/telework/telecommute means. But I am just grateful though that when the right opportunity came, my family, including my husband, gave their full support in this endeavor. Ah yes, praise God indeed.

What is telework or remote work?

  1. It is synonymous to telecommuting and though their definitions may be closely related, there is still a difference between the two. Here are a couple of excerpts from Wikipedia’s definition of telecommuting but I suggest reading the entire article. I gained a lot of insight from it more so because this kind of working environment is also new to me.

“Telecommuting, also called remote work,[1] telework, or teleworking,[2] is a work arrangement in which employees do not commute or travel (e.g. by bus or car) to a central place of work, such as an office building, warehouse or store.

All types of technology-assisted work conducted outside of a centrally located work space (including work undertaken in the home, outside calls, etc.) are regarded as telework. Telecommuters often maintain a traditional office and usually work from an alternative work site from 1 to 3 days a week.[4]

As a broader concept than telecommuting, telework has four dimensions in its definitional framework: work location, that can be anywhere outside of a centralized organizational work place; usage of ICTs(information and communication technologies) as technical support for telework; time distribution, referring to the amount of time replaced in the traditional workplace; and the diversity of employment relationships between employer and employee, ranging from contract work to traditional full-time employment.[7]

Some organizations adopt telecommuting to improve workers’ quality of life, as teleworking typically reduces commuting time and time stuck in traffic jams. As well, teleworking may make it easier for workers to balance their work responsibilities with family roles (e.g., caring for children or elderly parents). Some organizations adopt teleworking for environmental reasons, as telework can reduce congestion and air pollution, as it can reduce the number of cars on the roads.

Telecommuting is also called “remote work”,[1] “telework”, or “teleworking”.[2] A person who telecommutes is known as a “telecommuter”, “teleworker”, and sometimes as a “home-sourced”, or “work-at-home” employee. A telecommuter is also called the “telecommuting specialist”, as a designation and in a professional context. Many telecommuters work from home, while others, sometimes called “nomad workers” work at coffee shops or other locations. The terms “telecommuting” and “telework” were coined by Jack Nilles in 1973.[11]

…telework allows employees to better manage their work and family obligations and thus helps retain a more resilient Federal workforce better able to meet agency goals.

Telecommuting individuals, or more specifically those in “work from home” arrangements, may find that it improves work-life balance, reduces their carbon footprint and fuel usage, frees up the equivalent of 15 to 25 workdays a year (time they would have otherwise spent commuting), and saves thousands of dollars per year in travel and work-related costs.” – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommuting

Here are a couple more websites to help us understand better what telework encompasses and how different it is to freelancing/telecommuting. Although I do get the notion now that if you are a teleworker and still doing other jobs on the side, then you are a teleworker who is also a freelancer. 😀

Forbes magazine has this feature article on telecommuting as the future of work. Do you agree? Yes, I totally agree that it’s going to be for the betterment of every telecommuter/teleworker/nomad worker. 🙂

If you’ve been reading my previous articles, it’s been my constant prayer to God to lead and equip me in fulfilling His will and His plans. I always ask for His instructions over my life, my decisions, and my choices. I cannot boast about my “superwoman” abilities because it was all God from the very start. With the flexi time that remote work/telework offers, I can squeeze in errands for my family, help out friends, spend quality time with hubby, and do ministry work while earning at the same time.

Yup! You read it right. God answered my prayer this time in having a ministry to serve with through the communications team of Minkah Ministries Inc. I am just loving their advocacy which is all about reaching out to the communities (not the usual community we live in) and share about faith. Moreover, Minkah‘s founder Tita Beth also shared another good news – the organization has been now officially approved by the SEC as an NGO.

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w/ Minkah Ministries Inc. founder, Tita Beth and Communications Lead, Jam. 🙂

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Minkah Ministries Inc.

I’m like, “wow, Lord” indeed it is all you. I just can’t believe everything that’s happening right now wherein they’re all aligned perfectly just the way they should go. Yes, not a coincidence but all orchestrated by God for the fulfillment of His plans and His will. And yes too, all glory to God as always. ❤

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” – Matthew 6:33

“Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.” – Proverbs 16:3

Part of my research at work also brought me to watching these great videos of famous entrepreneurs and I was agreeing the whole time to what the speakers have shared. Please do find time to finish watching the videos, I am sure you’ll be inspired by the end of it. 🙂

 

Here’s Bill Gates‘ Harvard Commencement Address in 2007:

 

The video below is Mark Zuckerberg‘s Harvard Commencement Address in 2017:

 

So I will just end this article with this awesome two-liner from Mark Zuckerberg and a bible verse quoted by Bill Gates both in their Harvard Commencement Speeches.

“To create not progress but purpose – a sense of purpose….The greater successes come from the freedom to fail.” – Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook co-Founder

“…When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.” – Luke 12:48 (As shared by Bill Gates, Microsoft co-founder)

P.S.

I will be writing in another article about the necessary things needed to process your change of employment status at the BIR, SSS, Philhealth and Pagibig should you also go for remote work or work-at-home setup. For the health card, hubby suggested that he’ll enroll me under his health card so I need not apply a new one.

That’s it for now. 🙂

*Feature Image Copyright: Shutterstock