Enhancing Cognitive Work Environments: A Comprehensive Study on Job Demands, Resources, and Quiet Quitting in Offshore Front Office BPO Employees in Metro Manila

The Philippines is a leading destination for BPO services because of its cost advantages and skilled workforce. However, offshore front-office BPO employees often encounter challenges associated with shift work, as they have to modify their working hours to meet the demands of foreign clients. These challenges include cognitive strain, burnout, and disengagement, to mention a few. A growing concern in the industry is quiet quitting, where employees do not formally resign but perform their work at a bare minimum. This study seeks to fill this gap by exploring the experiences of front-office BPO employees across all shifts and generational cohorts, focusing on how varying work schedules affect job demands, resources, and quiet quitting behavior. Using the Job Demands-Resources (JD-R) model, the study explores the relationship between burnout, workload, work-family conflict, engagement, feedback, and social support influence quiet quitting. Data was collected from 299 respondents and analyzed using Partial Least Squares - Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM). Findings indicate that higher engagement significantly reduces quiet quitting tendencies. Additionally, feedback and social support mitigate disengagement indirectly by means of improving employee satisfaction, commitment, and work-life balance. The research provides valuable findings for BPO sectors, company leaders, policymakers, and employees - emphasizing the importance of improving workplace conditions to enhance productivity and retention. Future research can build upon these findings to explore further the challenges within the BPO industry and inform policies that promote employee well-being.