Fair Sourcing

Traditionally, American companies have supported their U.S. employees by offering a 401(k) retirement plan, two weeks of vacation, and health insurance. Maybe they would throw in casual Fridays for good measure. For their non U.S. employees the benefits were not usually as generous. Without strong worker protections these employees would sometimes be subject to difficult working conditions with low pay, even for their country, and little recognition.

In an age when outsourcing is common Phixer wanted to recognize that our employees need to be able to bring more of themselves into the office. That means not feeling like they have a “work self” and a “home self” who are wildly different people, but feeling like the place they spend eight hours a day, five days a week cares about their whole self. That means working for an organization that sees you as more than simply a worker who types away on the computer, but also, perhaps, as a parent, a volunteer, an artist, and a person who has needs and interests outside of work.

Phixer is continuously looking for ways to support our employees as the complex humans they are. We call it Fair Sourcing. Here are just a few of the ways we have accepted the challenge to take care of the people who work for us—all of which will hopefully be the gold standard moving forward.

Making Health a Priority

Free Vaccinations

According to the World Health organization a basic concept of public health is that every individual who is protected from a disease as a result of an immunization is one less individual capable of transmitting the disease to others. Many vaccines available today offer the added benefit of providing “herd immunity,” making the national immunization programme as the most basic and most cost-effective public health intervention. Herd immunity is achieved when the number of immunized individual in a given community reached a certain level so that those who are immunized create a protective barrier for others who have not been immunized. For example, vaccinating 95% of the target population in a given community against measles is sufficient to stop the measles virus transmission.

Sex Education

Sexual education serves as a vital tool of public health by providing youth with the skills and knowledge to make informed choices regarding their sexuality. It encompasses subjects such as anatomy, physical development, pregnancy, contraception and STIs. Sexuality education has numerous benefits. Multiple studies have found that knowledge of contraception and STIs leads to less risky sexual behavior. It also serves to bolster human rights. By reducing adolescent pregnancy, which often causes girls to drop out of school, it helps to protect the right to education. Research has proven that young people with informed notions of sexuality tend to postpone their first sexual experiences and to use contraception. As one might expect, they also contracted fewer STIs, had fewer unintended pregnancies and had fewer violent relationships.

Food Program

Phixer has set up a food security program to feed the families of employees who are often living in provincial villages with little or no access to employment. The company uses bulk buying power to purchase large amounts of rice and has partnered with Metro Supermarket, the largest retailer of food products in Cebu, to set up a distribution network that allows families that live in remote villages easy access to the food supplied by the program. As one of the most populous countries in the world, the Philippines is often characterized as a country marked by inequality and vulnerability despite its middle income status. Unfortunately, the right to food of all Filipinos has yet to be fully realized owing to: a lack of a national right to food strategy/framework; conflicting laws and policies especially on land use and trade liberalization; anemic implementation of agrarian reform and protection of indigenous people’s rights; a systematic neglect of the agriculture sector over the last three decades, and lack of coherent climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction strategies.

1. http://www.wpro.who.int/philippines/areas/immunization/en
2. http://www.borgenmagazine.com/benefits-sexuality-education-developing-world
3. https://focusweb.org/content/right-food-and-food-security-philippines-what-numbers-say

Holistic Employee Suppport

Employee Trips

Employee trips allow our team members to recharge the body, mind and soul through physical activities, relaxation techniques or the cultivation of healthy habits. The trips also provide a memorable experience for employees, so they feel that their efforts and hard work are recognized.

Artistic Encouragement

We understand that a majority of our employees chose their careers because they are artists at heart. One of the most important values to our company is the support of artistic pursuit and passion.

Artistic Development

In order to facilitate this among our employees we provide free access to high end video and photography equipment and free time each week for employees to create videos that inspire them artistically and bring joy to the whole company. We have built a full music studio with guitars, keyboards, microphones and other equipment so that employees can learn digital music production and record their own songs. We also create company wide daily recognition videos of exceptional work done by our editors and offer bonus Phixer cash for great work that can be used to buy treats and other items.

Transparency

Instead of hiding the poverty or problems in the community, we highlight these issues with the hope that this exposure will help bring change to the region. We also want to arm our client’s with the knowledge of where their money goes and that their choices affect the wages employees receive. With this goal in mind we have started a documentary video series that show the real life in the “Phills” and the struggles of everyday people as told by our employees and their families.