A remote worker attends to tasks while working in the comfort of her own home in Quezon City. Maria Tan, ABS-CBN News
MANILA — The growing appeal of virtual assistant work among Filipinos should prompt employers to rethink how they design workplaces, according to an HR expert, as workers increasingly consider flexibility, income and quality of life alongside traditional measures of career success.
A recent Remitly study placed virtual assistant at the top of the Philippines’ “dream job” rankings, overtaking doctor based on Google searches for phrases such as “how to be a…” and “how to become a….” Doctor ranked second, followed by vlogger, lawyer, actor, astronaut, flight attendant, diplomat, content creator and social media manager.
The study analyzed searches covering 424 occupations across 145 countries from May 2025 to May 2026. Its latest Philippine rankings marked a shift from 2024, when doctor topped the list.
But the findings should not necessarily be taken to mean that Filipinos have abandoned traditional professions, said Crissy Rollan, an HR expert and talent consultant.
“When people type on Google the how-to, how to become somebody, it's not necessarily a definitive route to, ‘I want to be this kind of person,’” Rollan said.
Still, she said the appearance of virtual assistant, vlogger, content creator and social media manager alongside professions such as medicine and law points to changes in how workers view their careers.
For previous generations, Rollan said, career aspirations were often tied to professions that offered prestige, stability and a recognized path.
“We were brought up to say, ‘Anak, kailangan maging professional ka. Kailangan, kumuha ka ng licensure exam kasi yan yung magbibigay sayo ng path para maging professional ka,’” she said.
But as work evolves, so does the definition of a professional career, she said.
The growing appeal of digital jobs may reflect workers placing greater importance on how employment fits into their lives, rather than choosing a career based solely on its title or prestige.
“I don't think it is much about whether do you want to be a VA versus a doctor,” Rollan said.
“To me the biggest insight here ... is that people are now considering jobs not primarily based on ‘ito yung gusto ko’ or ‘ito yung pangarap ko’ but rather people are now considering the work that they will do that will suffice or supplement and support the way of life that they have pictured for themselves.”
This shift, she said, should also serve as a signal for employers.
“If this is the trajectory ng magiging dream job ng mga Pinoy, you have to ask yourself, what is it about a VA function or a role that makes the Filipinos want to be a VA?” Rollan said.
“And how can we then apply those things? Because that's data. That's data for a business owner. That's data for an HR. You cannot ignore the data.”
BEYOND WORK-LIFE BALANCE
One factor may be the way work is structured.
Rollan said employers should look beyond the traditional concept of work-life balance and consider what she called “work-life integration,” where the workplace takes into account the broader realities of an employee’s life.
“My hope ... is that the business owners, the leadership will listen,” she said.
This includes reconsidering how companies measure productivity, Rollan said, particularly by building a culture of trust and giving employees clear expectations about what they are expected to deliver.
“How do we make sure that we build clarity in terms of what is expected and what is supposed to be delivered per individual so that then we don't have to resolve things to, ‘Kailangan nakikita kita para alam ko gagawin mo,’” she said.
Compensation remains another major consideration.
“Kasi bakit pa sila na-BPO apart from the work setup? Pera,” Rollan said.
She said employers also need to look at their “total rewards,” which include compensation and benefits, as Filipino workers gain access to more opportunities beyond traditional local employment.
The competition for talent, she said, is no longer limited to companies within the Philippines.
“If Filipinos do not care about the title and the prestige, mauubusan ang employers ng talent kasi you're no longer just competing with Filipino companies. You're now competing with global,” Rollan said.
The competition also extends beyond entry-level or administrative work.
Rollan pointed to professionals working as virtual assistants in fields such as accounting and marketing, meaning companies may increasingly compete with foreign employers for skilled Filipino workers who can work remotely.
The trend comes as digital and technology-related careers continue to gain visibility. The Remitly study found that prompt engineer, AI specialist and machine learning engineer entered its global rankings for the first time, reflecting growing interest in careers shaped by artificial intelligence.
Rollan said the technology sector illustrates how quickly workers and employers have to adapt.
“If you're in tech, you cannot deny that dati hardware lang, ngayon software na. Ngayon, may AI pa. If hindi ka talaga nage-evolve, mapapag-iwanan ka talaga,” she said.
For employers, the changing career aspirations may therefore offer more than a snapshot of what jobs Filipinos are searching for.
They may also provide clues about what workers increasingly expect from the workplaces they choose — and what companies will have to offer to keep them.