Kamanggagawa Party-list Rep. Eli San Fernando said the high stress levels among Filipino workers are rooted in the country’s wage crisis, not just workplace demands.
San Fernando issued the statement after Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2026 Report found that 50 percent of Filipino workers experienced stress “a lot of the day” in 2025.
The figure placed the Philippines at the top of Southeast Asia in workplace stress, double the regional average of 25 percent. It also ran against the downward trend in neighboring countries such as Vietnam, where daily stress fell to 13 percent.
San Fernando said the financial burden on workers is the main driver of the country’s record-high workplace stress.
“Pilipinas na naman ang nanguna sa masamang balita sa kapakanan ng manggagawa, at ang tanong natin: sino namang hindi ma-stress diyan?” San Fernando said.
“Ang numero unong nagpapakulo sa dugo at nagpapasakit sa ulo ng ordinaryong manggagawa araw-araw ay ang katotohanan na kulang na kulang ang iniuuwi nilang sahod para mabuhay ang kanilang pamilya. Workers’ morale, productivity, and motivation are directly anchored to their compensation. You cannot expect a happy, motivated workforce when you pay them sub-poverty, starvation wages. Hindi yan nadadaan sa resilience seminars, mental health tips, o company outings,” he added.
San Fernando criticized corporate and government approaches that treat workplace stress as a purely psychological concern instead of a structural economic problem.
He said surveys such as the Jobstreet Workplace Happiness Index may show that Filipinos remain engaged or satisfied because of their sense of purpose, but Gallup’s findings show that engagement can coexist with sustained pressure and distress.
He noted that 55 percent of local employees are thinking about leaving their careers, while only 41 percent feel in control of their anxiety, calling the situation unsustainable.
“The economic managers want to boast about macroeconomic upgrades, but our workers are drowning in actual, daily distress,” San Fernando said.
San Fernando said workers need relief through an unconditional ₱200 nationwide legislated wage increase and the abolition of the provincial wage rate under House Bill No. 8081.