‘Every second employee wants their children to avoid their profession’

According to a new global study on workforce engagement, this sentiment is particularly pronounced in India

Photo used for representational purpose only

On the question of whether a professional would want their children to follow in their footsteps, and step into their profession, India topped the table for those who answered it in the negative. More than 60% of respondents from India stated they would not recommend their profession or company to their children or for that matter, to any young person they care about.

In a report titled ‘We can fix work’ commissioned by The Workforce Institute at Ultimate Kronos Group, it was found that nearly half (46%) of employees globally would not recommend their company nor their profession to their children. The study found that 52% of the people would tell their children to pursue jobs in which they find ‘meaning’ instead of being completely driven by the pay scale. The survey also focussed on the sore points worrying today’s employees.

The overtime factor

More than half (58%) of the workforce, globally, who work overtime three to four times per week, would not recommend their profession to their children. As per the report, more money does not equate to job satisfaction for individuals, as most people have a transactional relationship with work and only 23% of the employees genuinely enjoy their work and are passionate about it. In fact, 64% of them would switch jobs right now if they could.

Future of work

In a release, Neil J Solomon, vice president, Asia Pacific and Latin America at UKG, said for a changing workforce, we need to develop a workplace culture that nourishes and nurtures the overall development of its employees, takes care of their physical as well as mental wellbeing and appreciates their efforts.

This is the beginning of the future of work and employee-centricity is at the heart of it.

The report suggests three things: connect employees to purpose; give employees the feeling of being heard; and encourage people to disconnect and recharge.

The report sought feedback from 2,200 employees, surveyed in partnership with Workplace Intelligence across Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Mexico, New Zealand, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

It also sought feedback from 600 C-suite leaders and 600 HR executives in the United States.