One in three Filipino workers already burned out, study finds

One in three Filipino workers describe themselves as generally or completely exhausted just six months into the year, according to a nationwide study by Agile Data Solutions Inc.

The finding suggests that burnout is building well before the second half of the year has even begun.

The study, released July 2, surveyed 1,111 working Filipinos as a mid-year pulse check conducted through Hustle PH, the company’s data-gathering platform.

Eighty-four percent of respondents said they remain satisfied with their careers.

At the same time, 60% said they believe their careers have stalled.

Nearly one in three workers said they only began feeling stuck within the past month, indicating that the fatigue is accelerating as the year progresses rather than reflecting a long-standing workplace issue.

Filipino workers are not primarily exhausted by the work itself, the study found. They are exhausted because work has crowded out almost everything else.

Difficulty maintaining work-life balance emerged as the leading contributor to burnout, ranking ahead of compensation, workload, management issues, and unclear direction from supervisors.

Nearly half of workers reported experiencing physical symptoms such as headaches and body pain.

One in four said work-related thoughts regularly interfere with their sleep.

The pattern also appeared across experience levels. Workers who have been in their jobs for less than a year reported feeling stuck at nearly the same rate as employees who have spent five years or more in their roles, suggesting the issue is less about tenure than about the way work is currently structured.

Nearly eight in 10 Filipino workers, or 79%, said they have considered changing careers during the past six months.

Of those, 45% said they are already taking active steps toward making that change.

The most common destination for workers considering a change is not another employer or industry, but starting a business, ranking ahead of switching industries, freelancing, or pursuing a promotion.

Workers cited better professional growth opportunities and healthier work-life balance as the two biggest motivations behind wanting a career change, the study found.

The biggest obstacle to making such a move remains financial reality. More than one-third of workers, or 36%, said financial obligations and the need for stable income are the single biggest barriers preventing them from making a career move, more than double the next most common response.

Burnout is also changing behavior in the workplace. One in three Filipino workers admitted they sometimes, often, or most of the time do only the minimum required at work.

One in four said their level of effort has declined compared with the beginning of the year.

When asked why, workers pointed to personal concerns outside work spilling into their professional lives as the leading reason, ranking ahead of feeling unappreciated or seeing limited opportunities for career growth.

When asked what type of employer support would help them most, workers did not place mental health programs at the top of the list.

Better compensation and benefits emerged as the leading request, cited by 28% of respondents.

Clearer opportunities for promotion followed at 15%, while flexible work arrangements ranked third.

Mental health support, although still valued, ranked last among the options presented, according to the study.

Despite growing fatigue, optimism has not disappeared. Four in five Filipino workers, or 80%, described themselves as either optimistic or cautiously hopeful about the second half of the year.

When asked how they recover from stress, the most common answers were spending time with family and friends or simply taking a day off, the study found.

“Many conversations around burnout focus on workload, but our findings suggest the issue runs deeper,” said Jason Gaguan, chairman and co-founder of Agile Data Solutions Inc. “Filipino workers aren’t simply asking for less work—they’re asking for enough room to have a life outside of work. Employers who recognize that distinction will be in a stronger position to retain talent as the year progresses.”

Agile Data Solutions Inc. describes itself as a market research technology company partnered with GCash, citing more than 74 million customer data points and the largest panel size in the Philippines, according to the company.

Its data-gathering platform, Hustle PH, connects a network of more than 1,600,000 respondents nationwide, the company said.

Agile Data Solutions counts numerous Fortune 500 companies, banks, telecommunications firms, and technology companies across Southeast Asia among its clients, according to the company.