Leaving the 9-5 Office Job Behind:
My Journey to Full-Time Remote Work with DC Center
Written By: Steph Manda
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck the whole world, the Philippines was forced into lockdown for a year and a half. Everything changed for many Filipinos, myself included. Suddenly, what used to be a normal 9-5 office grind transitioned to the world of remote work or what we commonly know as work-from-home.
According to the Philippine News Agency, work-from-home has become the most searched keyword on Jobstreet. While some thought this shift would be temporary, the demand for work-from-home jobs is here to stay until then. For me, the transition to remote jobs opened up new possibilities for my career, personal growth, and mental health. DC Center was not just another company trying to make remote work “work.” They showed me that work-life balance is possible without the grind in the office.
“Work from home has definitely grown over the past couple of years spearheaded during the pandemic. And now that we’ve been transitioning out of the pandemic, the demand on the candidate side on work from home or hybrid work continues to grow… On the hirer side, hybrid work, and remote work are still things that they are continuing to consider,” Dannah Majarocon, managing director, stated during a media event at the Jobstreet.
According to the Philippine News Agency, work-from-home has become the most searched keyword on Jobstreet. While some thought this shift would be temporary, the demand for work-from-home jobs is here to stay until then. For me, the transition to remote jobs opened up new possibilities for my career, personal growth, and mental health. DC Center was not just another company trying to make remote work “work.” They showed me that work-life balance is possible without the grind in the office.
“Work from home has definitely grown over the past couple of years spearheaded during the pandemic. And now that we’ve been transitioning out of the pandemic, the demand on the candidate side on work from home or hybrid work continues to grow… On the hirer side, hybrid work, and remote work are still things that they are continuing to consider,” Dannah Majarocon, managing director, stated during a media event at the Jobstreet.
In this article, I’ll be sharing how I transitioned from my 9-5 office job to full-time work with DC Center. Read on to learn how they helped me seamlessly transition, considering I was used to the office grind and freelancing gigs.
The Decision to Finally Leave the 9-5 Office Life Behind
Sometime In 2023, I made a bold decision to finally leave the 9-5 office life behind, and I walked away from my post-college full-time office job to work on myself as a writer in the freelance world. The urge to figure out what was next for me was also an overbearing thought.
It may seem like it wasn’t a complex path, but it was, and this all started when I was told to go back home to my hometown in the Philippines to get a break from the office grind. So, I did. I wanted to give myself some slack and get back to my roots. I started packing my bags and brought my cats along with me, and along the way, I just kept going with the flow of where my life was headed. I had a personal development with reading books and comics, making music, and writing a script for a game that my partner and I used to work on. Then it finally happened.
Halfway through this break, I realized that I needed to make a change in order to finally fulfill my desire as a professional in their mid-20s. The next few days, I went back and sent my resignation letter to HR and made it official. Looking back now, I know it was the best realistic decision I’ve ever made in my whole professional life.
Work-Life Balance with DC Center that I Never Thought I Needed
The rise of remote jobs and working from home were pushed on us early on in the first stages of COVID-19. It happened overnight, striking every traditionalist. While this transition for many Filipinos may have been sudden, it’s obviously clear that many companies choose this setup for many reasons, including promoting independence, collaboration, and productivity.
When it comes to opportunities like this—a work-from-home job—finding the right company and the right role that doesn’t let you work sluggishly from your couch or your bed but makes you actually feel excited to log in each day, that’s DC Center for me and for my colleagues.
DC Center is not just about finding clients for us to work for, but they’re about providing you with opportunities that exactly match your skills, values, and ambitions in life, all while maintaining your desired goal in balancing your life and your career. No matter where you are in your life, transitioning from the office grind like myself, or you’re a mother of two who wants to be able to thrive in a work setting, or you just simply want to have a fresh start, there’s a remote opportunity for you out there that offers work-life balance, and DC Center can help you find it, too, the same way they did for me and on behalf of my colleagues.
