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How Polywork Makes You More Than the Value of Your Tasks
Our family business story
Before polywork had emerged as a modern mode of work, many Filipinos were, in some sense, already "polyworking". One of our own family's businesses is an example.
Our father, Rosauro, a full-time employee of United Laboratories, Inc. (Unilab), a local manufacturer of medical products in Mandaluyong City, and our mother, Virginia, a full-time microbiology professor at Philippine Women's University (PWU), a local university in Manila, began a small mimeographing business to add more income. After their daytime jobs, they mimeographed copies of examination sheets, which professors in PWU needed for the university's final exams. When exam days arrived, our parents still worked at night. Our mother did the typing, while our father did the mimeographing. After the mimeographing process ended, an elderly aunt also helped our parents collate and staple the test papers, and completed the work to be submitted on time before examination day [1].
That multijob situation is like polywork at its simplest and most basic form. No doubt, other Filipinos also engaged in other means of earning for a living even way before my parents' time. But now, with the deployment of AI tools in polywork, anyone can certainly do more than just the power of the mimeograph. And this is the valuable multiplier effect that polywork can do with AI now. Human skills + Polywork with AI = A multi-skilled polyworker, more valuable than the sum of all his tasks!
Also, Catholic Filipino professionals and PH MSMEs rooted in extended Catholic family networks have their dignity and value in working with AI affirmed now by the Vatican (Magnifica Humanitas). The encyclical by Pope Leo XIV includes guidance on AI consistent with that dignity.
Unlock Key Pillars to Polywork Your Way to Success W/ AI
How can Filipinos enter the challenge of polywork? They can integrate a strategy in:
How to cultivate human skills that AI still finds hard to automate?
How to master energy management for polywork success?
How to leverage AI as a polywork amplifier for income?
How to monetize skills among industries in polywork?
How can digital platforms build & grow your polywork reach?
Cultivating human skills
Filipinos have specific values aside from the generalized irreplaceable human skills. These values are distinctly Asian and are shown in how they work, deliver their skills, and produce a performance endearing to foreign employers. The values form a strong attitude that guide and motivate the development and application of their work skills. The skills, in turn, express and affirm those values in action. Filipino values that are evident and irreplaceable:
- love of God and family, which OFWs put into their work to a heroic degree
- the pakikisama of Filipino workers who bond for the common good
- the bayanihan attitude which motivates Filipinos to work together in community
- and utang ng loob that enables Filipinos to be loyal to their employers [2]
Some modern studies online report that these values are on the way out. But these reports see only the negative trend. There is greater value in seeing Filipino population still increasing and open to the influence of older generations that embody those traditional values. Those values have kept the people resilient amidst so many crises and calamities in their history as a people and a nation.
Older generations of Filipinos still impart values to the youth in their family. Formal education from primary to tertiary also enforce those values to prepare their graduates in the professional settings of work. As every Filipino family works hard for the formal education of their children, both the influence of the family and university spur the graduate to bring the legacy of those values in various work environments. This is where the values come into play:
- empathy & ethical judgment (from love of God and family), adaptability & strategic decision-making (from pakikisama), trust-building & brand storytelling (from bayanihan), and emotional intelligence (from utang ng loob) [3].
Filipino professionals who focus on these values abroad can make decisions and solve problems with AI's output in the context of a more nuanced human values-understanding. They can forge stronger and more stable relationships with clients, among others in teams, and especially with higher management. They infuse their work with authenticity, and craft a "Filipino" brand that AI cannot replicate as yet. This amplifies the quality and impact of their contributions at work, leading to a better valuation of their skills. And each Filipino worker's resilience especially proves they are more than just the quantity of their hours worked.
Mastering energy management
Managing energy is a concept that was studied well by Loehr and Schwartz in "The Power of Full Engagement". They report that managing your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual energy is crucial for sustained high performance. They coined a term called "oscillation". This concept involves alternating between periods of intense effort and recovery to prevent burnout and instead build reserves of energy for the capacity needed in work. Practical applications of their study include producing:
- dynamic workspaces where you alternate between desks - one for sitting, the other for standing [4]
- schedules for strategic micro-breaks to recover from a decrease in physical, emotional, or mental energy levels
- time for mini-workouts adapted to build the energy levels you need to sustain the quantity, quality, focus, and force of energy in your work performance [5]
What helps energy management in unlocking the multiplier effect of your polywork with AI is discipline in self-awareness or mindfulness. With strong self-awareness, you consciously manage your energy and ensure that you have the reserves and the focus to perform well across all professional polywork roles. A strong self-awareness enables the worker to maximize productivity during peak hours and ensures sustained creativity and output. It prevents a distracted state that can reduce work quality. The ability to consistently deliver high-quality work, fueled consistently by well-managed energy, multiplies your overall effectiveness and earning potential [6].
AI as a polywork amplifier for income streams
For those intending to venture into web production and content creation, one important technique to master is an E-SEO content strategy that enforces Google's E-E-A-T guidelines. E-E-A-T stands for Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trustworthiness in producing high-quality, people-first content [7].
- Experience: Publishing case studies, sharing personal anecdotes, or first-hand experiences to add authenticity.
- Expertise: Offering expert knowledge or verified information from industry experts.
- Authoritativeness: Building backlinks from reputable sites and ensuring content is recognized by authoritative sources.
- Trustworthiness: Referencing content with accurate, research-oriented data, complete with proper citations.
To work for E-E-A-T, there are now more accurate AI models from Gemini, Claude, Copilot, Perplexity, and ChatGPT. AI tools (LLMs) like NotebookLM can evaluate content and make valuable suggestions to increase E-E-A-T [8].
Symbolic GEN AI image: Remote-work professionals using human skills, smart energy management, AI-deployment, diversified income stream strategies, and digital platforms for market reach
Monetizing skills in Polywork
Polywork is possible now because of many online remote work opportunities. Filipinos can engage in 1 or 2 part-time jobs or income-generating activities in social media. One can even register an MSME startup as a strong base for stocking important reusable inventory items, networking, and additional income. These varied multijob incomes directly contribute to financial resilience.
- Diversifying Income Streams: By diversifying, you can mitigate income risk and build resilience against economic fluctuations or job market disruptions, such as layoffs caused by AI advancements.
- Future-Proofing: Combining human skills, smart energy management, and using AI help future-proof your career with a contingency fund [9].
- Leveraging Ideas for New Income Streams: Check ideas from MSME startups guided by the DTI, freelance writing focused on AI/e-commerce, how to develop your niche expertise, and learning to optimize LinkedIn profiles for others.
Diversifying your income strategies mitigates financial risk and establishes a strong safety net - particularly vital during unpredictable economic times such as now with geopolitical tensions high in the Middle East and the supply chain disruptions caused by such situation. To opt for diversification means to continuously upskill and search for income opportunities. This direction multiplies not only your skills but also your valuable, long-term earning potential and career security [10].
Digital platforms to expand Polywork reach
You can reinforce the value of community building and reciprocal linking as a collaborative strategy for expanding reach and supporting collective success. There are numerous channels for marketing and service delivery, particularly enhanced by AI and community building. This Archive, can serve as a digital information hub and a platform for building connections.
For the production of content to expand market reach online, a "zero-click strategy" is suggested as relevant to build brand authority. With a zero-click strategy, even if users don't click through to your blog or website, you are making those who search online aware of your brand through the source links that are listed after the AI Overviews. To be one of the sources listed for AI Overviews or in links listed under it, you can craft an effective snippet of 40-60 words using LLMs to make it qualify better for AI-enabled SERPs citations.
Additional strategies to expand your polywork reach:
- work for SEO best practices and
- produce a brand that consistently shares valuable, person-first content.
- market your expertise and trustworthiness in familiar digital platforms like Facebook or Instagram,
- follow standard guidelines that make you a recognized authority in your chosen field.
- apply the concepts that build better business reputation, attract more opportunities, and multiply your connections in the AI Search landscape [11].
Polywork as a Pathway to Sustained Value and Fulfillment
By consciously integrating the 5 pillars of human skills, smart energy management, deployment of AI content as an amplifier, building financial resilience through diversified income, and expanding your reach via digital platforms and community, you can transform your polyworking endeavors into a profitable pathway for sustained growth. This strategy can unlock a significant multiplier effect in your overall professional value, financial security, and personal fulfillment in the evolving AI ecosystem.
