Companies might be spending on the wrong things when it comes to employee health. "We found that businesses were losing P100 billion annually due to poor employee health. That's in spite of companies already spending roughly P150 billion taking care of their employees," said Santiago J. Arnaiz, co-founder and chief operating officer of Project Fort, a health data consultancy.

In this B-Side episode, Mr. Arnaiz (formerly of BusinessWorld) and Project Fort co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Erika M. Modina tell BusinessWorld reporter Patricia B. Mirasol how the private sector can contribute to public health with the help of data. "If [companies] are given the right tools to collect data, then they can make evidence-based health strategies that save money and engage employees," said Ms. Modina. "This is the perfect time to rebuild the health system because people understand its importance."

Recorded remotely on May 5. Produced by Paolo L. Lopez and Sam L. Marcelo.

Art Fair Philippines is moving out of The Link car park in Makati City for its 2021 edition: it's going online and entering the world of crypto art and non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

An NFT is a digital asset (a drawing, an image, a meme, an animated GIF, a video, even a tweet) and it uses the blockchain, the same technology behind bitcoin, to keep track of who owns the file. In March, a digital collage by an artist named Beeple fetched almost $70 million at a Christie's auction, making the JPG file the most expensive NFT thus far. 

In this episode of B-Side, the three co-founders of Art Fair Philippines, Geraldine "Dindin" B. Araneta, Trickie C. Lopa, and Lisa O. Periquet, tell BusinessWorld reporter Michelle Anne P. Soliman how they transported the art fair from the car park into the world of crypto art.

This episode was recorded remotely on April 30. Produced by Paolo L. Lopez and Sam L. Marcelo.

Alorica, a provider of customer management outsourcing solutions, has a young workforce: 30% are from Gen Z, and around 61% are millennials. "Freedom of thought is very important for them," said Irene L. Tan, vice-president for learning and development at Alorica Philippines, Inc., who added that the company has benefited from the "brilliant ideas" originating from these generational cohorts. In this episode of B-Side, she tells BusinessWorld reporter Patricia B. Mirasol how intentional communication and creating a culture of care are keys to retaining young talent when most of them are working from home because of the pandemic.

This B-Side episode was recorded remotely on April 15. Produced by Paolo L. Lopez and Sam L. Marcelo.

The endemic tawilis—loved as deep fried, salted, smoked, or bottled in oil—is facing the possibility of extinction. The scientific community hatched an emergency plan to save the freshwater sardine to protect the livelihood of fishermen and to ensure that future generations will get to savor the fish.

In this B-Side episode, Dr. Ma. Vivian DC. Camacho, station manager of the University of the Philippines–Los Banos (UPLB) Limnological Station, discusses the tawilis and the economics of conservation with BusinessWorld reporter Luz Wendy T. Noble. 

Recorded remotely on April 8. Produced by Paolo L. Lopez and Sam L. Marcelo.

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) have been called democratizers of wealth, allowing small investors to invest in big real estate projects.

The Philippines has two REIT listings on the market, with the second listing holding the record for the most number of small investors. Officials from the exchange have expressed hope that more real estate developers will consider offering REITs. 

In this B-Side episode, Christopher John J. Mangun, research head of AAA Southeast Equities, Inc., introduces BusinessWorld reporter Keren Concepcion G. Valmonte to REITs and their advantages.

This B-Side was recorded remotely on March 25, a day after the REIT of DoubleDragon Properties Corp., DDMP REIT Inc., debuted at the Philippine Stock Exchange, making it only the second listing after Ayala Land's REIT offering in 2020.

Economic growth can and should be inclusive, and the way to get there is to connect small businesses and individuals with the networks that drive the modern economy. In this B-Side episode, Alison L. Eskesen, vice-president at the Mastercard Center for Inclusive Growth, tells BusinessWorld reporter Patricia B. Mirasol how helping people gain access to these essential networks "can set in motion a virtuous cycle of equitable growth and sustained poverty reduction."

Recorded remotely on March 18. Produced by Paolo L. Lopez and Sam L. Marcelo.

Live theater is a collective experience: the audience is as much a part of the performance as the actors on stage.  "Social distancing is the antithesis of what we do," said Maribel A. Legarda, artistic director of the Philippine Educational Theater Association (PETA), which has been closed since March 2020. In this episode of B-Side, Ms. Legarda and Leloi T. Arcete, PETA head of public relations, tell BusinessWorld reporter Michelle Anne P. Soliman, how theater is surviving by migrating digitally and what "life after live" looks like.

Recorded remotely on March 5. Produced by Paolo L. Lopez and Sam L. Marcelo.

Not a Daydream, a women-led social enterprise, creates bags made out of native fabric. More important, it gives women in vulnerable communities in Tondo, Manila, a sustainable means of earning a living. In this episode of B-Side, BusinessWorld reporter Joseph L. Garcia speaks with Martine de Leeuw, co-owner of Not a Daydream, about running a social enterprise during the pandemic and the impact of female labor force participation on development. "Our daily business is driven by our mission, which is 'empowered women empower women.'" said Ms. de Leeuw.  "If you learn a skill, you can work on it. And I think that's the way we can change poverty."

This B-Side episode was recorded remotely on March 3. Produced by Paolo L. Lopez and Sam L. Marcelo. 

Vaccine hesitancy threatens the rollout of coronavirus vaccines in the Philippines. In a Pulse Asia survey released in January, 47% of the 2,400 Filipinos polled said they were not willing to be vaccinated while 21% were undecided. BusinessWorld reporter Vann Marlo M. Villegas spoke with Dr. Lulu C. Bravo, executive director of the Philippine Foundation for Vaccination, about addressing vaccine hesitancy.

Myanmar is in the middle of a bloody coup, where, as of this episode's recording, at least 50 people have been killed since it began in February. Pro-democracy activists are taking to the streets, protesting the military’s attempt to reverse the victory of Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League of Democracy. 

In this episode of B-Side, Atty. Michael Henry Ll. Yusingco, a senior research fellow at the Ateneo Policy Center, speaks with BusinessWorld reporter Kyle Aristophere T. Atienza talks about the fragility of democracy and draws parallels between the mass demonstrations in Myanmar and the 1986 People Power Revolution.

This B-Side episode was recorded remotely on February 26. Produced by Paolo L. Lopez and Sam L. Marcelo.