Financial and job security among workers in India has been shaken in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, but the outlook remains broadly positive, according to a survey.
According to ADP Research Institute's People at Work 2021: A Global Workforce View, almost 95 per cent of workers in India have felt concerns over their financial or job security during the pandemic. Yet, around the same number say they feel optimistic about the next five years in the workplace.
ADP Research Institute surveyed 32,471 workers in 17 countries around the world between November 17 and December 11, 2020.
The survey further noted that 86 per cent respondents report having been impacted professionally in some way due to COVID-19.
Of these impacts, half of the respondents (50 per cent) either lost a job, were furloughed or were temporarily laid off by their employer. Almost a third took a pay cut (30 per cent), while a quarter (25 per cent) reduced their hours or responsibilities, it said.
ADP President (Asia Pacific) Peter Hadley said, "In a year when many businesses have had to shut temporarily or permanently, or significantly alter their operations, the effects of the disruption and uncertainty on the workforce have been profound." Hadley further said that the challenge now for employers and HR teams is to find ways to harness the positives while, as far as possible, alleviating the negatives to ensure that staff stay upbeat and motivated.
Workers are more inclined to think that COVID-19 will have a positive rather than negative impact on issues such as obtaining greater flexibility and developing their skills.
"Although many people have been hard hit professionally, there's a sense that what has been an extremely dark cloud could have a silver lining in various ways when it comes to the world of work.
"Particularly in terms of accelerating the shift towards flexible working patterns or enabling workers to develop new skills...," Hadley said.
As per the survey, the respondents said if they were to lose their job, two-thirds of the workers surveyed were extremely or very confident that they could find another job offering the same job satisfaction (68 per cent), flexibility (65 per cent) or better pay (65 per cent) as their current one.
