13th Month Pay in Call Centers

December is pretty much the most awaited month of the year for employees across all industries, people working for BPO companies in the Philippines probably most especially because of their above-average salaries. Where do you spend yours?

One bright spot about working in this country is the fact that employees get guaranteed bonuses equivalent to one month's pay towards the year of the year. Many people don't realize how awesome this is because it has been treated as mandatory. Many also don't realize that this makes us a very lucky lot because not all workers around the world get a 13th month pay. This is a blessing given to us by our laws since companies are forced to provide no matter how a company does financially. In most cases, companies around the world can always opt to forgo providing bonuses if the company hasn't made a significant profit. Getting a law-mandated bonus is one of the perks call center employees should be thankful for. On the business side, as they say, it comes with the territory and its just one of the downside BPO companies have to deal with to operate here.

For the employees, where does your 13th month bonus go? Some of you may have probably received an advance 13th month pay after the Ondoy calamity to pay for repairs. Some companies opt of halve the 13th month bonus and provide an initial payment mid-year so that the "damage" for them would be less felt at the end of the year. But in general, most of us probably have earmarked a huge portion of the bonus for holiday spending, vacations, personal effects, "gifts to yourself" and debt payment. A sad fact is, the extra month bonus may have gone faster than it came. Only a few people ever think about setting aside a good portion for emergency spending and savings. It is almost a statistical fact!

We all know that we have certain financial responsibilities one way or the other. We also want to show loved ones how we truly appreciate them by giving them gifts this holiday season. You may even feel you deserve to buy yourself a present as a reward for working so darn hard this year. However, there is no other better gift to yourself than making sure you will have money to spend when all hell breaks lose and/or when the shit hits the fan! Think about how you may end up if in case you lose your job for whatever reason: lay-off or just plain quit. Think about emergency situations when you or your loved ones' situation may compel you to shell out some out of your pocket.

The festive mood of the holiday season and a thick wad of cash on your hands should not be reasons to splurge on impulse. Always take into consideration that the 13th month bonus is a hard-earned salary which you worked hard for in the past year. Many of us have "virtually" spent our bonuses even before we get it... this is why we can wait to get our hands or it!

The lesson to take from this post is we should all consider what we need to survive first before thinking about what we want to have or what we want to give. It's not selfish to think about your future even in this holiday season. Many people in other industries think we call center employees are not able to save money significantly and consistently even with our salaries. In many cases, they are correct.

If you've already received yours, it may still not be too late to save. If you're still expecting it soon, it may be a good time now to revise your earmarking for that money so you can help yourself in times of need in the future. There's no other better feeling than knowing you have money saved for the long term.

Posted in: CallCenter Advices