Factors Influence Business Process Outsourcing Employees to Transition into Virtual Assistance: A Qualitative Systematic Literature Review

The rapid growth of digital labor platforms and remote work technologies has expanded alternative career pathways for professionals in the Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) industry. Among these emerging opportunities, virtual assistance has become an increasingly attractive option for employees seeking greater flexibility, professional autonomy, and improved career prospects. Despite growing scholarly interest, evidence explaining this transition remains dispersed across studies, making it difficult to develop a comprehensive understanding of the factors shaping career mobility within the digital economy. This qualitative systematic literature review (QSLR) therefore synthesizes existing empirical evidence on the factors influencing the transition of BPO employees into virtual assistance, the challenges encountered during this career shift, and the broader implications for workforce transformation.
The review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 reporting framework. A structured search strategy based on the PICOC framework was implemented using Lens.org as the primary scholarly search platform, which aggregates records from multiple academic sources. The search identified 596 records published between 2021 and 2026. Following duplicate removal, title and abstract screening, full-text eligibility assessment, and independent quality appraisal by four reviewers, 17 studies were retained for thematic synthesis. The included studies represented diverse geographical contexts, primarily from Asia and Europe, providing evidence on digital work, remote employment, online freelancing, and workforce transformation.
Across the reviewed studies, financial advancement, flexible work arrangements, work-life integration, career autonomy, and opportunities for continuous skill development consistently emerged as the principal factors motivating the transition from BPO employment to virtual assistance. The synthesis further indicates that technological advances, cloud-based collaboration tools, digital labor platforms, and the increasing demand for remote professional services have accelerated this career shift. At the same time, recurring barriers—including income instability, limited employment benefits, intense client competition, and the need for ongoing professional development—continue to influence the sustainability of virtual assistance careers. The findings also suggest that successful transitions depend not only on technical competence but equally on self-management, adaptability, entrepreneurial orientation, and lifelong learning.
By consolidating fragmented evidence from multiple disciplines, this review provides a more integrated understanding of career transition within technology-enabled work environments. The findings offer practical implications for employers, educators, policymakers, and workforce development practitioners seeking to support employee adaptation in an evolving digital labor market. While the review offers a comprehensive qualitative synthesis, future research would benefit from broader geographical coverage and, where sufficient homogeneous evidence becomes available, the application of quantitative synthesis techniques to examine the relative influence of individual transition factors and the long-term sustainability of virtual assistance careers.

Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), Virtual Assistance, Career Transition, Digital Workforce, Remote Work, Freelancing.

1. Dembińska, I., Barczak, A., Rostkowski, T., Kauf, S., & Marska-Dzioba, N. (2022). International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(23), 15509. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph192315509 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

2. Kim, H.-R., & Yang, H.-M. (2022). International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(15), 9005. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19159005 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

3. Paudel, S., & Kumar, V. (2021). Digital transformation and workforce performance. Journal of Computer Science, 17(5), 459–469. https://doi.org/10.3844/jcssp.2021.459.469 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

4. Pavithra, S., Ramanatha Pillai, A., Rajesh, E., & Parayitam, S. (2022). Learning and workforce adaptation in changing work environments. Journal of Workplace Learning. https://doi.org/10.1108/JWL-11-2020-0182 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

5. Tong, S., Jia, N., Luo, X., & Fang, Z. (2021). Artificial intelligence and firm strategy. Strategic Management Journal. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.3322 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

6. Staniec, I. (2021). The nature of employee–organization relationships at Polish universities under pandemic conditions. Information, 12(4), 174. https://doi.org/10.3390/info12040174 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

7. von Richthofen, G., Ogolla, S., & Send, H. (2022). Adopting AI in the context of knowledge work: Empirical insights from German organizations. Information, 13(4), 199. https://doi.org/10.3390/info13040199 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

8. Anshari, M., Syafrudin, M., & Fitriyani, N. L. (2022). Fourth Industrial Revolution between Knowledge Management and Digital Humanities. Information, 13(6), 292. https://doi.org/10.3390/info13060292 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

9. Beerepoot, N., & Oprins, J. (2022). Online freelancing and impact sourcing: Examining the inclusive development potential of online service work in the Philippines. The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries, 88(2), e12204. https://doi.org/10.1002/isd2.12204 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

10. Trittin-Ulbrich, H., Martin, K., Du, S., Whelan, G., Noronha, E., D’Cruz, P., & Parboteeah, K. P. (2022). Technology, megatrends and work: Thoughts on the future of business ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 180(4), 879–902. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10551-022-05240-9 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

11. Patel, S., Chiu, Y.-T., Khan, M. S., Bernard, J.-G., & Ekandjo, T. A. T. (2021). Conversational agents in organisations: Strategic applications and implementation considerations. Journal of Global Information Management (JGIM), 29(6), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.4018/JGIM.20211101.oa53 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

12. Nirala, K. K., Singh, N. K., & Purani, V. S. (2022). A survey on providing customer and public administration based services using AI: chatbot. Multimedia Tools and Applications, 81(16), 22215–22246. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11042-021-11458-y [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

13. Oprins, J. H. (2026). Understanding online freelancers' labour agency at the intersection of platforms, wider labour markets, and households: Evidence from the Philippines. New Technology, Work and Employment. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/ntwe.70030 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

14. Parmelee, S. D., & Greer, C. F. (2023). Corporate responses to the COVID-19 pandemic by Fortune 500 companies. Public Relations Review, 49(1), 102285. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2022.102285 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

15. Bu, M., & Liu, Y. (2022). Multinational enterprises’ dual agency role: Formal institutions and corporate social responsibility in emerging markets. Sustainability, 14(4), 1974. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14041974 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

16. Șerban, R.-A., Mihaiu, D. M., & Țichindelean, M. (2022). Environment, Social, and Governance Score and Value Added Impacts on Market Capitalization: A Sectoral-Based Approach. Sustainability, 14(4), 2069. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14042069 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

17. Zaporowska, Z., & Szczepański, M. (2022). Exploration of Lean Management Methods Used in Shared Services Centers, Drivers and Barriers to Process Selection for Improvements in the Light of Risk Management and ESG Reporting. Sustainability, 14(8), 4695. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14084695 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

18. Nguyen, T., & Beimborn, D. (2022). A stakeholder-specific view on impact sourcing—Systematic literature review and recommendations for future research. Sustainability, 14(22), 15344. https://doi.org/10.3390/su142215344 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

19. Eltoum, A. M., Yatiban, A., Omar, R., & Islam, R. (2021). Corporate social responsibility practices of business firms in Dubai during the COVID-19 pandemic. Problems and Perspectives in Management, 19(1), 231–243. http://dx.doi.org/10.21511/ppm.19(1).2021.20 [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

20. Gatuslao, J. de la T. (2025). Factors Shaping Work Engagement of Business Process Outsourcing Employees: A Systematic Literature Review. Journal of Economics, Management and Trade, Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.9734/jemt [Google Scholar] [Crossref]

• Assessment of the Role of Artificial Intelligence in Repositioning TVET for Economic Development in Nigeria
• Teachers’ Use of Assure Model Instructional Design on Learners’ Problem Solving Efficacy in Secondary Schools in Bungoma County, Kenya
• “E-Booksan Ang Kaalaman”: Development, Validation, and Utilization of Electronic Book in Academic Performance of Grade 9 Students in Social Studies
• Analyzing EFL University Students’ Academic Speaking Skills Through Self-Recorded Video Presentation
• Major Findings of The Study on Total Quality Management in Teachers’ Education Institutions (TEIs) In Assam – An Evaluative Study