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 in India to get to the bottom of these questions. For the first time, perhaps, Ma Foi Randstad, the country's largest HR (human resources) services company, has come out with an Internet-based study to understand the mindset of employees.
This exercise is part of its global-level initiative to try and map the attitude of employees towards changing jobs. The findings of its maiden review have just been out. And, 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 sort of measures their trust in job market, their fear over job loss and their willingness to shift job. The findings of the study have shown up a real surprise. Much to everybody's surprise, the study finds the 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 the employees in Bangalore most open for job change in the next six months. Significantly, it notes that the employees in the salary (annual) bracket of Rs. 5-10 lakh are least mobile in India.
The job mobility, the study says, has been hit in the last few months are so due to the economic slowdown in India and recession overseas. Consequently, the study finds ‘extremely limited movement' in the past few months. If better prospect is the reason for people in the 25-34 age group to hop job, organisational issues clearly are the reasons for higher income group employees to look for a change.
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 25-44 age group appear confidence-personified, the younger lot in the 18-24 age group is found to be low on confidence. Around 15 per cent of the employees interviewed are frightened about the job loss. An additional 57 per cent are in partial fear. Employees in Chennai, according to the study, are the most frightened about job loss.
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.
