What is the mindset of an Indian employee? Is he/she open to a job change? Or, is he/she satisfied by staying put at the existing workplace? Who is a risk-taker among the Indian employees? Why does one look for a new job? No serious thought has ever been given to get to the bottom of these questions in India.
As part of its global-level initiative to map the attitude of employees towards changing jobs, the country’s largest human resources services company Ma Foi Randstad has now come out with a first of its kind Internet-based study.
With the findings of its maiden review just out, Ma Foi Randstad Work Monitor will, henceforth, be a regular quarterly review.
It is an index that shows the extent to which employees are thinking of changing their jobs in the short-term. It also measures their trust in the job market, their fear over job loss and their willingness to shift jobs.
The findings of the study have thrown up a few surprises. The study finds Indians more open about shifting their jobs in the next six months. India's mobility index is the highest at 140 in the world, followed by Mexico, China and Turkey. At the bottom of the index are countries such as Luxembourg, Italy and Hungary. Interestingly enough, the study finds highly qualified people exhibiting lesser mobility inclination than others in India. Not surprisingly, it finds employees in Bangalore most open for job change in the next six months. Significantly, it notes that the employees in the salary bracket of Rs.5 lakhs - Rs.10 lakhs are least mobile in India.
Job mobility, the study says, has been hit in the last few months due to economic slowdown in the country and recession overseas. Consequently, the study finds ‘extremely limited movement’ in the past few months.
According to the study, over 80 per cent of the Indian employees are confident of finding new jobs in the short-run. While employees in the age group of 25 to 44 appear confident, those in the 18-24 age group is found to be low on confidence.
While 15 per cent of the employees interviewed were frightened of losing their jobs, 57 per cent were in partial fear.
Employees in Chennai, according to the study, are most frightened about losing their jobs. Older employees - above the age of 45 - are most satisfied in their jobs. Those in the age group of 25-34 are found to be least satisfied.
According to K. Pandia Rajan, Managing Director of Ma Foi Randstad, the study covered over 600 employees across cities and verticals in India. He is confident that the study will provide employers useful insights into the mindset of their employees and trigger greater engagement between them for mutual benefit.
