Filipino Employees Rank as the Most Stressed in Southeast Asia in New Report

(SPOT.ph) Filipinos are truly about the grind and hustle at work, but that may be coming at a cost. The Philippines has once again ranked among the most stressed in Southeast Asia (SEA).

In Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2026 Report, 50% of Philippine employees reported feeling stressed “a lot of the day,” even surpassing the global average of 40% and the Southeast Asia regional average of 25%.

This is consistent with past findings: 45% (2022), 46% (2023), and 47% (2024). Meanwhile, 2011 remained the worst year for many Filipino workers, with 70% reporting feeling stressed daily.

Workplace advisory and analytics company Gallup collected the data from January to December 2025.

Also read: Burnout is Real: How to Deal with Stress in the Workplace

So why are Filipino workers this stressed? Part of it may have to do with how devoted we are to work. According to Gallup, 39% of employees remain “engaged” at work—which is ahead of the SEA regional average of 25% and the worldwide average of 20%.

But high engagement does not automatically mean workers are doing fine. The emotional toll is clear for Filipino workers: apart from getting stressed a lot, they also feel angry, sad, and lonely on a daily basis. As mentioned in the same report, 29% of Filipino employees experienced anger, which is also higher than the SEA regional average of 19% and the international average of 22%.

Similarly, 31% of Filipino workers reported feeling sad, exceeding SEA’s 21% and the global rate of 23%. Likewise, 30% report high rates of loneliness, especially compared to SEA’s 19% and the world’s 22%.

Despite harsh workplace realities, 76% of Filipino employees still find many job opportunities readily available in their local areas.

That optimism, however, does not fully carry over into overall life satisfaction. Only 34% of Filipino employees are “thriving in their overall lives.” While this is on par with the global average of 34%, it is slightly lower than the 36% thriving rate reported among our SEA neighbors.

Also read: How You Can Achieve Work-Life Balance When You're Living in One of the Busiest Locations in the Metro