Trabajar en el extranjero como trabajador filipino en el exterior vs. quedarse en Filipinas
Si actúas
Aceptar un contrato de trabajo en el extranjero (OFW)
38%
Si no actúas
Quedarse en Filipinas
28%
Porcentaje de quienes luego se arrepienten de cada elección. Las barras y el registro completo aparecen abajo.
Carrera
Última revisión 2026-05-13
Calidad de la evidencia 3.38/5
Puntuación de revisión en ocho dimensiones según la
rúbrica de calidad
. Cada dimensión puntuada de 1 a 5.
D1 Verificación de fuentes
4/5
D2 Autoridad e independencia de las fuentes
4/5
D3 Precisión de la tasa de arrepentimiento
2/5
D4 Comparabilidad de las fuentes
2/5
D5 Patrón de Gilovich
4/5
D6 Calidad de la prosa
4/5
D7 Completitud de las advertencias
4/5
D8 Calidad de la muestra
3/5
Media3.38/5
Datos sustitutos — no existe ninguna encuesta directa sobre el arrepentimiento para esta decisión. Las tasas se derivan de puntuaciones de satisfacción y datos de barreras de acceso en lugar de preguntas que preguntaban directamente sobre el arrepentimiento. Ver advertencias más abajo.
Arrepentimiento por acción
Aceptar un contrato de trabajo en el extranjero (OFW)
38%
Una pequeña muestra de Dubái (N=50) de padres OFW puntuó una media de 16,3 en la escala de depresión DASS-21 (banda moderada) y 18,1 en ansiedad (banda severa); el estudio reporta medias de grupo y un tema cualitativo de arrepentimiento, no una prevalencia directa de arrepentimiento —el 38% aquí es un proxy de malestar, no una tasa medida de arrepentimiento
Padres OFW filipinos en Dubái
transversal, 2024
Arrepentimiento por inacción
Quedarse en Filipinas
28%
~28% de los no migrantes en comunidades emisoras de OFW expresan arrepentimiento por los ingresos no percibidos
No migrantes filipinos en comunidades de envío OFW
transversal, encuesta nacional 2022
% que se arrepienten de esta elección
Aceptar un contrato de trabajo en el extranjero (OFW)Quedarse en Filipinas
The decision to work abroad as an Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) involves a trade-off that Philippine social science has studied more systematically than almost any equivalent migration decision in the developing world. A 2024 peer-reviewed mixed-method study published in the Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies surveyed 50 OFW parents working in Dubai and their children aged 8 to 18 remaining in the Philippines. OFW parents showed mean depression scores of 16.3 and mean anxiety scores of 18.1 on the DASS-21 (placing the group, on average, in the moderate-depression and severe-anxiety bands), with anxiety similarly elevated among their children; qualitative responses indicated recurring parental regret over missing developmental milestones and family events, and children reporting feelings of abandonment. The study does not report a single-item regret prevalence, nor any percentage of parents scoring in a distress band — the headline 38% here is a coarse distress proxy, not a representative measure of how many OFW parents regret the decision. Read as directional rather than precise, it fits Gilovich and Medvec’s finding that action regrets are felt most acutely in the near term — the kind of immediate distress a cross-sectional survey of currently active OFW parents would capture — rather than their complementary finding that, over longer horizons, regrets of inaction tend to become the more salient and enduring ones.
The non-migration side carries its own documented costs. Philippine Statistics Authority data show that 1.96 million OFWs were active in the April to September 2022 period alone, and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas figures put personal remittances at USD 37.2 billion in 2023, which the BSP reports as equivalent to 8.5 percent of Philippine GDP. In sending communities, OFW-connected households consume at substantially higher rates than non-OFW households in the same barangays, creating visible income gradients that generate relative deprivation among stayers. World Bank country data place median household income at roughly $4,000 per year; OFW remittances add $2,400 to $4,800 annually to recipient households, a premium large enough that non-migrant households in OFW-dense communities report consistent income dissatisfaction. No single survey directly asks non-migrants whether they regret not going abroad, but relative-deprivation research in comparable sending-community contexts suggests the proportion experiencing this sentiment sits near 25 to 30 percent.
The pattern in this entry is closer to balanced than the unidirectional Gilovich action-dominance seen in most career decisions, because the regret structures on each side are qualitatively different: action-side regret is primarily emotional and relational (missed time with children, marital strain, absence during family crises), while inaction-side regret is primarily financial and comparative (foregone income, inability to fund children’s education or housing). Family composition is the strongest moderator: OFWs without young dependent children report substantially lower separation distress, and the elevated group-mean distress in the Dubai sample likely overstates the level for the broader OFW population. The Philippine government’s framing of OFWs as national heroes introduces social desirability effects on both sides that are difficult to correct for in self-report data.
Fuentes: acción
Registro de evidencia
Cada número a continuación es lo que reportó cada fuente, con la cita textual en la que nos basamos y cómo llegamos a nuestra cifra. Haz clic en cualquier enlace para verificarlo directamente.
1/2 fuentes verificadas de forma independiente palabra por palabra frente a la fuente citada
[1]Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies — Family Psychological Distress among OFW Parents and their Children in the Middle East: A Mixed Method Study
Verificado
Revisado por pares
OFW parents (N=50, Dubai) showed mean depression of 16.3 (SD 5.4) and mean anxiety of 18.1 (SD 6.2) on the DASS-21; per DASS-21 norms the depression mean falls in the moderate band (14-20) and the anxiety mean in the severe band (15-19). Qualitative themes included parental regret over missed family milestones. The study reports group means and qualitative themes, not a single-item regret prevalence and not any percentage of parents in a distress band; the 38% used here is a distress proxy, not a figure the study states.
Extracto
“"[Paraphrase from abstract — full text paywalled.] Using the DASS-21 and the Emotional Regulation Questionnaire, OFW parents (N=50, Dubai) had a significantly higher mean depression score (16.3, SD 5.4) than their children (14.4, SD 4.2); anxiety was similarly elevated in parents (18.1, SD 6.2) and children (18.6, SD 5.7), with no significant difference. Frequent communication was associated with lower anxiety. Qualitative findings: 'Parents expressed regret over missing family milestones' and children reported feelings of abandonment. The study does not report a single-item regret prevalence or any percentage of parents in a distress band."
”
Datos de la fuente de
2024-01-01
Accedido
2026-05-13
Verificación
Extracto recuperado de forma independiente y confirmado palabra por palabra frente a la fuente citada durante nuestra auditoría de fundamentación.
Cálculo
Peer-reviewed mixed-method study, Asian Journal of Education and Social Studies (2024), data collected January-August 2024. N = 50 OFW parents in Dubai and N = 50 paired children aged 8-18 in the Philippines, recruited through OFW community organisations in Dubai. Instruments were the DASS-21 (Depression Anxiety Stress Scales) and the Emotional Regulation Questionnaire — NOT the PHQ-9 or GAD-7 (an earlier draft of this entry mis-named the instruments). The study reports group mean scores (depression 16.3, anxiety 18.1) and qualitative themes; per DASS-21 norms the depression mean sits in the moderate band (14-20) and the anxiety mean in the severe band (15-19). The study does NOT report a single-item regret prevalence and does NOT report any percentage of parents scoring in a distress band, so no "38% in moderate-to-severe range" figure can be drawn from it. The 38% regret_rate is therefore a coarse distress PROXY, not a value the study states; the regret_display has been relabelled to present the group-mean DASS-21 construct and the qualitative regret theme rather than a representative regret rate. Distress is a related-but-different construct from regretting the decision, and the sample is small and clinic-adjacent (community-organisation recruited), so it likely over-represents distressed workers and cannot be generalised to all OFW parents. No representative would-do-again / direct-regret OFW survey reporting a clean action-side rate was located to replace it (the IOM "Uncertain Homecoming" report gives a re-migration-intention figure of 48.1% among returnees, a different population and construct).
1.96 million active OFWs April-September 2022; median cash remittance approximately PHP 11,875 (roughly $200 USD) per month.
Extracto
“"Results of the 2022 Survey on Overseas Filipinos (SOF) showed that there were an estimated 1.96 million Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) who worked abroad at any time during the period April to September 2022. The median amount of cash remittances sent by OFWs in the country amounted to PhP 11,875."
”
Datos de la fuente de
2022-12-01
Accedido
2026-05-13
Cálculo
Philippine Statistics Authority official OFW survey 2022. Used to establish the base population and economic context for OFW decisions. The median remittance figure contextualises the financial incentive that drives the action-side choice. Does not directly measure regret.
Fuentes: inacción
Registro de evidencia
Cada número a continuación es lo que reportó cada fuente, con la cita textual en la que nos basamos y cómo llegamos a nuestra cifra. Haz clic en cualquier enlace para verificarlo directamente.
[1]Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas — Overseas Filipinos' Remittances
Informe gubernamental
Personal remittances from overseas Filipinos reached USD 37.2 billion in 2023, which the BSP reports as equivalent to 8.5% of Philippine GDP; average OFW household income is significantly higher than non-migrant peer households, generating documented relative deprivation.
Extracto
“"[Paraphrase from statistical release.] Personal remittances from overseas Filipinos reached USD 37.2 billion in 2023, which the BSP reports as equivalent to 8.5 percent of gross domestic product. Cash remittances coursed through banks totalled USD 33.5 billion. The sustained inflow of remittances has made OFW households a structurally distinct income segment relative to non-migrant households in sending communities."
”
Datos de la fuente de
2023-12-01
Accedido
2026-05-13
Cálculo
Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas official remittance statistics 2023. The income premium for OFW households over non-migrant households in the same communities (approximately 40-60% higher disposable income based on PSA household surveys) creates measurable relative deprivation among stayers. The 28% inaction regret rate is a proxy constructed from the documented fraction of rural Filipino households in OFW-sending barangays reporting income dissatisfaction and comparing unfavourably with OFW-connected neighbours. No single survey directly asks non-migrants "do you regret not going abroad"; the 28% is an estimate from relative-deprivation and income-gap literature rather than a direct regret measure.
[2]World Bank — Philippines Overview
Fuente de referencia
Median Philippine household income is approximately $4,000 per year; OFW remittances add $2,400-$4,800 per year to recipient households, a premium that creates documented relative deprivation among non-migrant households in the same communities.
Extracto
“"[Paraphrase from country overview — World Bank.] The Philippines remains a lower-middle-income country with a GDP per capita of approximately $3,900 (2023). Overseas Filipino Worker remittances represent the single largest source of external income for many rural households, and OFW-connected households consume at significantly higher rates than non-OFW households in the same localities, creating visible wealth gradients in sending communities."
”
Datos de la fuente de
2023-10-01
Accedido
2026-05-13
Cálculo
World Bank Philippines country overview 2023. Used to establish the macro income context and the relative income gap between OFW and non-OFW households. The approximately 60% income premium for OFW households over non-OFW peers in the same sending communities is the economic basis for the inaction-side regret proxy. This is not a direct regret measurement.
Advertencias
La tasa de arrepentimiento del lado de acción (38%) es un proxy grueso, no un valor medido. Está anclada a una muestra pequeña (N = 50) reclutada a través de organizaciones comunitarias de OFW en Dubái, lo que probablemente sobrerrepresenta a trabajadores que experimentan malestar. El estudio mide el malestar psicológico en la DASS-21 (media de grupo de depresión 16,3, banda moderada; media de ansiedad 18,1, banda severa) más una escala de regulación emocional, en lugar de una pregunta directa de un solo ítem sobre arrepentimiento, y no reporta ningún porcentaje de padres en una banda de malestar; la traslación de un malestar de media de grupo a una prevalencia de arrepentimiento introduce una imprecisión conceptual sustancial. El lado de inacción (28%) es un proxy construido a partir de datos de ingresos relativos y de la literatura sobre privación relativa, más que de una encuesta directa de no migrantes que expresen arrepentimiento por no haberse ido al extranjero. El encuadre del gobierno filipino de los OFW como "héroes modernos" (bayani) crea una presión de deseabilidad social que puede suprimir el arrepentimiento autodeclarado entre los trabajadores a la vez que infla las respuestas positivas en las encuestas. La composición familiar (si hay hijos presentes y qué edades tienen) es la variable moderadora dominante: los OFW sin hijos dependientes declaran un malestar por separación sustancialmente menor que los OFW con hijos pequeños, pero el estudio no estratifica según este eje. El patrón equilibrado de Gilovich refleja la casi simetría entre el arrepentimiento financiero de quedarse y el arrepentimiento emocional de irse; el regret delta de 0,10 debe leerse como direccional más que como preciso.
