Recently, the online employment portal Jobstreet has issued its annual Happiness Index Report for all ASEAN countries. Following the positive outcome in 2015, Filipinos continue to step up this year and are dubbed “the happiest employees” in the region.

According to the report, which interviewed 12,796 Filipino respondents, nearly 73% are happy with their current jobs and their average satisfaction ratings even reach 6.25 out of 10. To explain this so-called “genetically happy”. Jobstreet has listed out 3 reasons that, in my opinion, are very convincing and insightful. Filipinos are said to associate their job happiness with building rapport with colleagues, convenient office location and the company’s reputation.

From my experience managing the ASW office in Manila, these reasons all stem from their culture and positive outlook on life. Generally speaking, Filipinos love to build relationships, whether in social life or at work, and look for career stability in well-established companies. Considering the traffic in the country, it is also easy to understand why Filipino staff prefer convenient work locations as in Metro Manila. Therefore, any company aiming to invest in this dynamic economy should take into consideration these factors to sustain the Filipino optimism and job happiness.