Indeed, the employment relationship is constantly changing. First, there was the wave of resignations, which was followed by quiet quitting. In fact, three in five organisations that were part of the survey admitted to being concerned that quiet quitting will impact their business over the next year.

While more workers are seeking the hybrid model of work, employers are increasingly pressurising their employees to return to office. Why? Employers seem to be ill prepared to handle the issues related to hybrid working, which they are afraid will affect their businesses. With Millennials making up a significant portion of the workforce today, the tolerance of the workforce as well as expectations from the employment relationship have changed drastically. The youngsters in the workforce place a lot of emphasis on their employer’s duty of care. Not surprisingly, most of the employers agreed their employees expected them to shoulder duties towards them, which were once considered the responsibility of governments. Little wonder then that more employees today turn to their employers for reliable information than public services. That is why two-thirds of organisations that participated in the survey admitted that they are expected to look after their employees’ families and dependents in emergency situations or crises.

With many businesses and their employees caught in conflict zones, and other facing inflation and rising cost of living, employers need to now consider it part of their care duty to protect employees on these fronts too.

Employees expecting their employers to offer them support in terms of mental health and wellbeing is not something new. Given the volatile situations that prevail worldwide, these expectations have just gone up and become more urgent.

Clearly, it is not enough to simply offer occupational health services focused on the workplace and related environment. Employees, worldwide, need to be protected and nurtured, and they expect their employers to do it. If employers fail in this regard, they will see their best talent quitting and moving on to employers who can offer them the nurturing and protection they seek.

This will affect the productivity of organisations and result in increasing costs incurred to hire and train replacements for those who quit.

Seven per cent of the respondents of the International SOS survey—comprising risk decision makers responsible for employees, contractors, students, faculty and others within an organisation—were from Australia and New Zealand, 27 per cent from Asia, 24 per cent from Europe, 11 per cent from Africa, seven per cent from the Middle East and 23 per cent from the Americas.

The message is quite clear. The truly ‘great’ workplaces across the globe are the ones that will fulfil the expectations of the newer generations in the workforce, especially in terms of health and wellbeing. These are the employers that will grow their businesses and also care for their employees, and manage to come out triumphant in the ongoing talent war.

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However, on the whole, lesser number of e-commerce firms will be hiring freshers from campuses this year. In fact, a 35 per cent dip is expected in fresher hiring.

On the other hand, compared to 2022, applications for retail jobs went up eight per cent in 2023. The demand for retail jobs went up by 18 per cent in 2023, with a whopping 86.86 per cent of applications coming from candidates in the age group of 18 to 30.

E-commerce hiring when it comes to startups, on the other hand, is slowing down their hiring, given the wave of layoffs, limited budgets and so on. In fact, they are becoming more selective when it comes to hiring.

Logistics firms have seen a dip in active jobs by 13.89 per cent in the third quarter of FY24 during the peak season. New job postings, however, did go up by about 10 per cent at the beginning of 2023. The numbers will continue to increase till the peak season approaches.

Retail employers are more keen to hire freshers, with 52 per cent admitting to prioritising entry-level professionals.

In contrast, e-commerce companies, as already mentioned will be going slow with fresher hiring. However, they seem to be more keen to hire experienced professionals, with 42 per cent expressing a preference for candidates with experience.

With the logistics sector growing in leaps and bounds, e-commerce firms will continue to seek experienced professionals for their supply-chain operations. A good 38 per cent firms have admitted to prioritising the recruitment of experienced professionals, while 34 per cent said they emphasised gender diversity /diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). About 30 per cent of employers said they emphasised the recruitment of female candidates, while 16 per cent said they emphasised the recruitment of male candidates.

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The workers, represented by the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers (AIM) wish to draw attention to the lack of work-life balance for the employees due to unpredictable schedules. They have also been unhappy about the low wages, which are unable to keep up with the rising cost of living.

Recently, the US Labour Board ruled that the tech firm, Apple did indeed question its employees regarding union activities and also prevented them from placing union flyers in the break room as was alleged Back in 2022, it was found that employees—who had placed flyers on a table in the break room within the office at the World Trade Centre store in New York City—had been interrogated about their actions. The flyers were also taken possession of arly last year, that is, in February 2023, the National Labour Relations Board (NLRB) had started seriously looking into complaints filed by employees and unions who claimed that Apple tried to hinder employees efforts to organise, except when it was a case where the Company itself was settling first.

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This year’s Women @ Work 2024 report by Deloitte does indicate some progress in terms of a reduction in the number of women who admit to having experienced non-inclusive behaviours at work. However, 43 per cent of them have experienced microaggressions or harassment (or both) in the past one year. Thirty-one per cent have experienced microaggressions, four per cent have been sexually harassed and eight per cent have experienced some other form of harassment. One-fourth of them admit that seniors in their organisation have behaved inappropriately with them or passed unsuitable comments.

Microaggressions, for those who are unfamiliar with the term, are subtle comments or actions that unintentionally indicate prejudice. They are instances of indirect discrimination against members of a marginalised group.

About 5,000 women from organisations across 10 countries were asked about the behaviours experienced by them at work in the past 12 months, and 31 per cent said microaggressions, four per cent said sexual harassment and eight per cent stated other types of harassment.

Clearly, more women are reporting microaggressions than in previous years, and yet, more than four in 10 failed to report their experiences to their employer. Similarly, one-third of those who experienced sexual harassment at work did not report the same to their employer. Why? Most of the women surveyed felt the matter wasn’t serious enough to be reported. The respondents feared retaliation and believed that not only would they not be taken seriously, but their situation at work would worsen. One in ten of the women thought confidentiality would be compromised, and that would ultimately ruin their career.

Hardly one in 10 women believe that reporting non-inclusive behaviours at work will not have an adverse impact on their career. The number of women who feel confident that action would be taken against the perpetrators, irrespective of their rank or position, is equally small. A significant 66 per cent of the women surveyed reported sexual harassment, while 71 per cent reported other types of harassment and 58 per cent reported microaggressions.

Women, worldwide, need to thrive in the workplace and not just survive. A few stories of success should not make organisations complacent. There is still a long way to go on the path of diversity and inclusion.

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So who are these Gender Equality Leaders?

Well, GELs are organisations where women feel confident about reporting non-inclusive behaviours they encounter, without worrying about retaliation. These are workplaces where women feel supported by their employers in their efforts to balance their work responsibilities with other commitments. These are organisations where women feel their career is progressing as quickly as they would like it to.

The organisations where none of this is happening are called Gender Equality Lagging Organisations or GELOs.

The report reveals other interesting data too. A good 75 per cent of the women working for GELs are very productive at work, while 74% show good physical health and well-being, and 71 per cent are motivated at work and 71 per cent feel a sense of belonging at work.

In GELOs, on the other hand, only 26 per cent women feel a sense of loyalty, merely 25 per cent are productive at work, hardly 21 per cent show signs of physical health and well-being, a measly 22 per cent are motivated and only 20 per cent feel a sense of belonging at work.

A whopping 85 per cent of women working for GELs, say they would recommend their organisation to other women as a good place to work. Only 37 per cent of those working for GELOs said they would recommend their organisation to other women.

A significant 67 per cent of women working with GELs admit that their organisation’s commitment to supporting women has increased over the past year, while only 41 per cent of GELOs feel so.

While 63 per cent of women employed with GELs feel they are judged on the quality of their work rather than the hours spent at work or online, only 51 per cent of those employed with GELOs share the same sentiment.

About 57 per cent of women working at GELs appreciate the fact that their organisation takes a stance on political and social issues that are important to them. Only 41 per cent of their counterparts at GELOs feel the same way.

Only seven per cent of women at GELs feel less optimistic about their career prospects today than they did the same time last year, while the figure for women at GELOs is an alarming 67 per cent.

Similarly, only one per cent of those working with GELs feel that being a woman is a disadvantage in their organisation, whereas a worrisome 48 per cent of women working with GELOs feel disadvantaged because of their gender.

Clearly, women employed with Gender Equality Leaders feel safer at work, feel more comfortable talking about their mental health at work, and are confident that that they can work flexibly without compromising on their career.

While the proportion of women working with GELs has gone up marginally—from five per cent last year to six per cent this year—the proportion working for GELOs has fallen slightly from 24 per cent to 21 per cent. That is hardly any improvement. The survey found only six per cent organisations to be Gender Equality Leaders, while 21 per cent were Gender Equality Lagging Organisations.

The report reveals that the GELs have gained from their inclusive cultures where their employees’ work/life balance is valued and respected. The women in their workforce are supported in their career progression. Not surprisingly, their employees end up exhibiting high levels of loyalty and productivity. In fact, a good 62 per cent of their women plan to stay with their employer for more than three years, compared with only 13 per cent of women who work for GELOs. A very encouraging 92 per cent of the women in GELs want to progress to a senior leadership position within their organisation, compared to a mere 31 per cent of women who work for GELOs.

About 13 per cent of those working with GELOs expect to lose their job in the next six months. Only two per cent of women employed with GELs are currently looking for a change, while 15 per cent of their counterparts working with GELOs are looking out for new roles.

‘Deloitte’s Women @ Work: A Global Outlook’ report examines certain critical workplace and societal factors that have a significant impact on women’s careers. The study represents the views of 5,000 women from organisations across 10 countries. The aim of the survey is to understand the first-hand experiences of women at work, and the ways in which aspects of their lives outside of the workplace can impact these experiences.

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When it comes to talking about mental-health challenges, there has been a wee bit of progress. Last year, one fourth of the women surveyed admitted to being comfortable discussing mental-health issues. With the improvement, only about one third of women feel comfortable discussing their mental health at work or revealing any issues with mental health because of which they could be taking leave.

These are negligible improvements. In fact, one-third admit to having taken time off work in the past one year due to mental-health issues. Over 50 per cent of the women surveyed still feel they lack adequate mental-health support at work, while two-thirds still feel uncomfortable discussing their mental health in the workplace or revealing mental health as the reason for absenting themselves from work.

The survey reveals that women from ethnic minority groups in their home country are not faring well either. In fact, the likelihood of receiving adequate mental-health support from their employers or even feeling comfortable discussing mental health in the workplace is even lesser. They also admit to experiencing more stress and are more likely to have taken leave from work due to mental-health challenges in the past one year compared to women belonging to the ethnic majority.

Add to all this workplace stress, under which women are increasingly reeling. The data revealed by the report is hardly encouraging.

While 51 per cent in 2023 admitted their stress levels were higher than they were a year ago, only 50 per cent admitted to the same in 2024. Not much to be proud of there.

While 40 per cent of women in 2023 said they received adequate mental health support from their employer, in 2024, only 43 per cent admitted to the same. Although a slight improvement, it is not really that great.

While 31 per cent women surveyed in 2023 had taken time off from work due to mental health challenges, about 33 per cent in 2024 did the same.

About 25 per cent women in 2023 and 33 per cent in 2024 said they felt comfortable talking about their mental health at their workplace. There is a little hope, for sure.

In 2021, 25 per cent of the women surveyed admitted to being comfortable disclosing mental-health challenges as the reason for their absence from work, while in 2024, 32 per cent of the women surveyed felt they would be comfortable doing so. That is a notable improvement.

Women are feeling burnt out, although less than the last year. While 28 per cent in 2023 said they felt burnt out, only 23 per cent in 2024 said they felt burnt out.

Nineteen per cent of working women surveyed in 2024 say they regularly work for more than the contracted working hours each week.

‘Deloitte’s Women @ Work: A Global Outlook’ report examines certain critical workplace and societal factors that have a significant impact on women’s careers. The study represents the views of 5,000 women from organisations across 10 countries. The aim of the survey is to understand the first-hand experiences of women at work, and the ways in which aspects of their lives outside of the workplace can impact these experiences.

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According to a Teamlease report, about 75 per cent of the workforce serves a short tenure of less than three years in the QSR space. About 36 per cent serves for just one to two years. Why is this so?

For one, compensation isn’t exactly enviable. In fact, the pay and practices are below average. The majority (88 per cent) earns about Rs 15,000 to Rs 20,000 salary on average. What is worse is that about 12 per cent is paid less than Rs 15,000. That means, a significant number earns less than the minimum wage. That is not all; about 64 per cent of the workers in the QSR space are not paid any incentives. Not surprisingly, the sector is experiencing high attrition rates.

Despite mandates by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), the non-compliance in the QSR space is alarmingly high. For instance, FSSAI has mandated that restaurants display food-safety boards listing dos and don’ts pertaining to hygiene, sanitation, as well as good manufacturing practices (GMP) along with other guidelines.

As per FSSAI mandates, restaurants should employ trained food-safety supervisors. The Authority is also ensuring that the registration process of Food Business Operators (FBOs) happens faster so that the compliance rate also improves. Right now, only 20 per cent out of the 2.5 million FBOs in India are operating with a valid FSSAI licence. That means, a mere 0.5 million hold a license.

Although FSSAI suggests that businesses in the QSR sector must prioritise compliance—so that their employees’ well-being is ensured and customers are able to trust them—it is a matter of concern that 21 per cent of the businesses are non-compliant. When it comes to statutory benefits, they do not even fulfil the minimum wage requirements. A significant 30 per cent does not offer statutory bonuses. Without bonuses and incentives, employees lack the motivation to do their best, which adversely affects service. And as we all know, quality of service and customer satisfaction are of utmost importance in this sector.

About 23 per cent of QSRs do not comply with the Employee’s State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) provision, which ensures medical care for employees who earn less than Rs.21,000. That means employee well-being is being compromised to a great extent. Rules and regulations are being openly ignored. Fortunately, about 58 per cent of the QSRs offer gratuity benefits to employees who have completed five years of service. However, the unfortunate part is that very few employees are eligible for the same because attrition is rather high.

As per the report, 24 per cent of the QSRs that were surveyed do not offer leaves beyond the weekly offs. Therefore, burnout is rather common in this space.

Clearly, the industry needs to take action, and fast. After all, non-compliance will eventually attract penalties and have serious repercussions. Needless to say, the brand image suffers a beating along with operations being disrupted.

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Mynavi, a Japanese HR tech platform brings market exposure and access to a diverse demographic, reinforcing Awign’s position in India’s work-fulfillment sector. Moreover, this partnership and the patient capital will further enable Awign to focus on long-term strategic growth and deeper value creation without getting affected by the fundraising market environment. The company has offices in Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia, Poland, India and the US.

Awign, on the other hand, was launched in 2016 by IIT alumni Annanya Sarthak, Gurpreet S. Khurana and Praveen Kumar Sah. The work-as-a-service platform boasts a robust network of over 1.5 million gig partners and collaborates with over 175 leading enterprises.

This acquisition deal saw IndigoEdge, Anoma Legal and Aeka Advisors advising Awign along with their existing investors whereas Deloitte, Anderson Mori &Tomotsune LPC and Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas advised Mynavi.

Annanya Sarthak, co-founder and CEO, Awign, is confident that this acquisition will help the company embark on its “journey to becoming one of the largest HR-tech companies in India and outside.”

According to Sarthak, ever since the pandemic, the Work-As-A-Service concept has evolved and Awign has a deep understanding of the space. Digital transformation has only further helped Awign become a “market leader and value creator in this space”.

Through this partnership, Awign will be able to “scale its operations and go beyond its core strengths” with the “primary focus on strengthening our growth engine by onboarding enterprise customers worldwide and launching new categories in the HR space.”

Hidekazu Ito, managing director, Mynavi Solutions India, a subsidiary of Mynavi Corporation, feels that this “alliance with Awign is not just strategic but also a reflection of our shared commitment to making a significant social impact”. According to Ito, “The synergy between our visions, empowers us to tackle the challenges in the HR sector more effectively.”

With its presence in India, Mynavi wishes “to encourage India’s growth and create shared value.”

Not only will this partnership build a power team of best-suited talent, but it will enhance brand visibility both in India and internationally, investing in technology to expand its digital infrastructure and build better platforms. This will further help Awign onboard and serve more global enterprise customers.

It is pertinent to mention here that Awign collaborates with enterprises in various sectors—retail, FMCG, automotive, education, manufacturing, construction, pharmaceuticals and more—and specialises in streamlining work processes, ensuring high-quality outputs and managing costs effectively for large organisations.

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Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) reportedly granted pay hikes to its employees based on various factors, including their regular physical presence in the office. This update follows the company’s decision to require employees to work from the office five days a week, a move implemented months ago.

In February this year, TCS did ask its employees to return to office. Not just that, the company had warned employees of repercussions if they failed to comply with the mandate by March.

It had also linked increments and variable payouts with compliance to the return-to-office mandate. Therefore, employees who received lower pay hikes need not really be surprised if they haven’t taken the return-to-office directive seriously.

By January 2024, a good 65 per cent of the TCS workforce had started working from the office, for at least thrice a week.

In February, the company had set a deadline for return-to-office clearly stating that promotions, increments and even variable payouts would be connected to the new requirement for work from the office. For some time now, TCS has been letting employees know how important returning to the office is for teamwork, creativity and building a good collaborative atmosphere. However, some people are worried that this would disturb the balance between work and personal life, which will ultimately affect their well-being in addition to increasing the cost of commuting.

The company had witnessed a drop in its number of employees in the three months leading up to February 2024. At the time, it had over 6,00,000 employees.

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As per the Naukri Jobspeak report, the demand for data scientists and other traditional AI roles was also good. However, growth in information technology (IT) jobs was a mere one per cent in January 2024 compared to December 2023.

In terms of year-on-year data, the hiring in the IT sector was 19 per cent lower than in January 2023. In the healthcare space, hiring went up by seven per cent year-on-year in January. Maximum demand was for administrative roles in this space, which saw the maximum increase in hiring too.

Hiring grew by five per cent in the travel and hospitality sector compared to January of last year. With domestic and international tourism witnessing a spurt, there is higher demand for restaurant managers and service managers remained too.

Bengaluru and Mumbai witnessed the maximum hiring. There was a five per cent increase in new job offers in the FMCG space in January 2024 compared to January 2023. In the FMCG sector, the demand rose most for assembly-line operators, factory heads, production engineers and production managers. Kolkata and Pune topped the cities that offered new jobs in the sector in January 2024.

New jobs with salary in the range of 13-20 lakhs per annum saw slight decrease of one per cent. New job openings offering less than Rs 12 lakh per annum salary witnessed degrowth.

There was positive momentum in job opportunities for senior professionals with over 16 years of experience. January 2024 saw 19 per cent increase in hiring for this experience level compared to January 2023. New job offers for professionals with 13-16 years of experience went up by almost two per cent. Professionals with experience in the range of 8-12 years saw 18 per cent lesser job offers, while those with four to seven years of experience saw seven per cent less offers. Freshers saw 10 per cent less offers compared to the same time last year.

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Does Gen Z think AI needs to be feared?

Does Gen Z see artificial intelligence (AI) as a threat? Apparently not, according to a recent report, which says that 57 per cent of Gen Z members consider AI as a valuable tool to improve their productivity and make them more efficient. About 13 per cent considers AI as a transformative force, reshaping job functions and creating new opportunities. About 11 per cent sees AI as a collaborator, helping improve skills and decision making. Only 11 per cent members of this cohort see AI as a potential competitor capable of replacing certain tasks. A small number of them (about eight per cent) do not expect AI will affect their jobs in a significant manner or are uncertain about the same.

Is GenZ concerned about sustainability?

When it comes to sustainability, only 70 per cent of Gen Z is bothered about efforts in this area. About 24 per cent admits that sustainability efforts and environmental policies do matter to them, but only somewhat, while for two per cent it does not matter at all. Four per cent feel that sustainability efforts do not matter to them much.

What matters most to GenZ in a job?

Well, the report says 43 per cent look for a supportive and inclusive work environment, while 34 per cent seek job security. Only 25 per cent members of Gen Z are looking for flexibility.

How does Gen Z measure career success?

A significant 48 per cent of Gen Z feels that achieving work-life balance is how they measure success in their careers. For 29 per cent, achieving financial stability is the career success metric, while for 12 per cent, climbing the corporate ladder is the metric. Making a difference in the society is the metric for 10 per cent of Gen Z.

Is diversity and inclusion important to Gen Z?

Oh yes! A good 67 per cent of Gen Z admit that diversity and inclusion is very important, while 27 per cent feel it is somewhat important. Only about five per cent think it is not very important, while a mere one per cent think it of no importance at all.

Is data science the most popular field for Gen Z or management?

According to the Internshala report, 49 per cent of Gen Z would still pursue a management or MBA degree. A significant 32 per cent prefer to pursue engineering, while only 10 per cent go for media and four per cent for data science. Teaching is popular with just one per cent of Gen Z, while four per cent would go for design and three per cent for finance.

Which are the most popular profiles?

The jobs profiles that are most popular with Gen Z are not business development, marketing, web development, content writing, software development, front-end development, full-stack development, or even human resources. That means, Gen Z members are applying for job profiles other than these common ones.

Not surprisingly, maximum applications were from Delhi-NCr (17 per cent), followed by eight per cent from Bengaluru, seven per cent from Mumbai, six per cent from Pune, five per cent from Hyderabad, three per cent from Kolkata, two per cent from Chennai and two per cent from Lucknow.

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The top three sectors preferred by women students from business schools in India are fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG)/ fast-moving consumer durables (FMCD) and consulting (tied at numner one), followed by e-commerce and technology. The male students from business schools prefer consulting, FMCG/FMCD and banking and financial services and insurance (BFSI)/fintech in that order.

Amongst e-schoolers, the women prefer technology, education and core manufacturing and engineering in that order, while the men prefer technology, BFSI/fintech and e-commerce sectors.

The top three sectors popular with the women students of Arts, Science and Commerce are: consulting, education and e-commerce, in that order. Male students, on the other hand, go for e-commerce, technology and consulting.

This year, marketing has topped the list of popular domains, while general management has fallen to the second position as the most preferred domain for business schools students. The top two domains for students of Arts, Science and Commerce are finance and analytics. For e-schoolers, information technology and analytics are at the number one spot.

Interestingly, students from business schools rely on the feedback given to them by the alumni of their college regarding the organisation they are considering joining before they take up a job offer. Students from e-schools as well as those from Arts, Science and Commerce background prefer to go by what the existing employees of the companies have to say before taking up a job there.

The feedback that fresh job seekers value most is the one that comes from existing employees (excluding alumni), followed by college alumni working in the organisation and online reviews, in that order.

It is not just feedback that helps them decide. They also consider career-advancement opportunities before deciding to join a firm. In fact, opportunities for growth are more important to them than a competitive salary and benefits. What is least valuable to them is the flexibility to change domains and a diverse and inclusive environment.

While students from business schools as well as those from Arts, Science and Commerce colleges prefer competitive salary and benefits over growth potential, e-school students give more importance to growth opportunities than the remuneration being offered.

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While b-schoolers were open to quarterly feedback as a second option, e-school and Art, Science and Commerce students preferred feedback every time a project was completed.

But what is interesting is that while a good 51 per cent of b-schoolers and about 48 per cent of undergraduates seek feedback on a monthly basis, companies seem inadequately prepared to offer regular feedback. Right now, as per the survey, only 11 per cent of firms conduct monthly performance reviews for entry-level employees. Most employers conduct quarterly performance reviews. There is definitely a gap.

Does that mean there is a growing need for feedback and training at the workplace because colleges are unable to provide enough support to students in that area?

Colleges usually conduct monthly workshops by industry leaders to keep students informed about current company requirements and trending technologies. Most of the university partners lack sufficient time to match students’ diverse skill sets with the right mentors while conducting training sessions or workshops. A poor 28 per cent of colleges conduct monthly workshops by industry leaders, while 11 per cent conduct them just once a year.

Is there a growing need for feedback and training at the workplace because colleges are not able to provide adequate support to students?

Does the hiring process need to be changed? May be it would be a good idea to focus on candidates’ skill sets and also check whether they would fit into the company’s culture. After all, students seem to realise that it is not easy to land their dream job and every company cannot be a dream company.

Candidates dream of a suitable role, a great package and the ideal employer brand.

But is that what all students want? Do they all wish to work for a corporate house? Don’t they wish to be associated with a startup of have one of their own? The survey found answers to these questions too.

A whopping 81 per cent of students from business schools are eager to work with a corporate or startup. Only ten per cent wish to work independently, as freelancers or pursue an entrepreneurial dream. A very small percentage (9 per cent) wants to study further in India or abroad

Of the e-schoolers who were part of the survey, 75 per cent want to work with corporates or startups, while eight per cent would prefer to freelance or start something of their own. A significant 17 per cent of e-schoolers want to go for further studies.

When it comes to Arts, Science and Commerce students, 46 per cent seek corporate careers or jobs, 12 per cent wish to work independently, while 42 per cent want to study further, either in India or abroad.

Of those who seek corporate careers, 45 per cent of b-school students prefer working with an established or legacy firm, while 52 per cent of e-schoolers and 45 per cent of Arts, Science and Commerce students are keen to work with any company. The percentage of students seeking to work for startups only has reduced (by 14 per cent) from last year, to 10 per cent.

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These revelations are made by the Unstop Talent Report 2024.

So what changes do members of the HR fraternity think can be brought about in the college curricula so that students studying these can land better jobs and be offered perfect opportunities?

Greater exposure to real-world projects is the need of the hour feels the HR fraternity. Secondly, students need to get a chance to practically apply the knowledge they gain. They need to be given more opportunities to do so. The third change they wish for is increased focus on enhancement of problem-solving skills of the students.

The students agree to this. A competition is the ideal platform to allow access to all the three facets of improving a student’s employability. More competitions, hackathons and the like need to be organised to allow students to apply their learning. The more they participate in such competitions, the better their curriculum vitae will look and the more employable they become.

Competitions aren’t the only way students are opting to upskill themselves. They are also relying on online courses, internships, live projects and guest lectures.

In fact, 67 per cent of b-school students upskill via online courses, while 63 per cent do it via internships, and 60 per cent seek live projects. A significant 77 per cent of e-school students upskill via online courses, 74 per cent via internships and 65 per cent via live projects.

When it comes to Arts, Science and Commerce students, 75 via internships, 76 per cent via online courses and 66 per cent via certifications.

Of the university partners surveyed, 42 per cent believe lack of preparation keeps students from bagging good placements, irrespective of the quality of the companies participating in the campus hiring.

The biggest challenge for the HR when it comes to campus hiring is the skill gap and the inability to discover the right talent. Therefore, for most recruiting managers and HR, the year 2024 will be all about looking for the best way to find, engage and assess quality talent.

That means, in terms of priorities, the topmost priority will be to attract and engage the best talent, followed by discovering the right talent, reducing the hiring time, prioritising upskilling and reskilling and ensuring skill-based hiring, in that order.

In addition to these, there will be increased focus on diversity hiring in 2024. A whopping 84 per cent of the HR fraternity feels that it is essential to provide equal opportunities to applicants across genders in order to make hiring more diverse and inclusive.

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So how can India improve the quality of jobs? The Report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Institute of Human Development puts forward three suggestions:

1. Invest in and regulate sectors likely to be important sources of jobs for the youth of the country, such as the care sector and digital economy. Of course, the quality of jobs will remain a challenge and will have to be addressed.

2. Create an inclusive urbanisation and migration policy. As per the report, the country, in all likelihood, will face a higher rate of urbanisation and migration in the future. Most of these migrants will naturally be youngsters. After all, youngsters are increasingly looking for decent jobs and means of earning a livelihood. This will urge them to move to urban areas where they will have more opportunities to realise their dreams. That means, an inclusive urban policy will be required to address the needs of migrants, women and impoverished young people in India. The number of Indian youth migrating abroad is also on the rise. A whopping 3.5 million people migrated in search of job opportunities in the 2010 and 2021 period. Therefore, a migration policy to support them is a must.

3. Secure a strong supportive role of labour policy and labour regulation by ensuring a minimum quality of employment and basic rights of workers across all sectors.

The report suggests that India should look at overcoming labour-market inequalities. It is not just enough to create good-quality employment. Jobs need to be supplemented by measures that reduce the stark inequalities in the labour market.

Some recommendations suggested by the report are: crafting policies that boost women’s participation in the labour market with quality work; embracing different strategies to tackle the problems of youths not in employment, education or training, including those who are unemployed and youths (mainly women) who have opted out of the labour force for a variety of reasons; Imparting quality and mainstreaming skills in education for inclusion of socially and economically poorer groups and to improve employability. The quality of education needs to be augmented at all levels, with equitable access to all sections of society and in all regions; improving information and communication technology access and bridging the digital divide; creating a non-discriminatory labour market;adopting regional-level policy approaches to reduce labour-market inequalities across regions and states.

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The truth is, students are not happy with the outcomes of campus placement drives. Recruiters are not happy either. Both feel hiring platforms give better results than campus hiring drives.

On the other hand, most of the university partners (88 per cent) feel that students are placed better via competition-led on-campus opportunities.

If students are dejected that there is no hiring happening right now, they may be mistaken. The reality is that 81 per cent of HR departments are hiring. Only 19 per cent are not hiring right now. As per the survey among the 19 per cent of HRs that are not hiring presently, 11 per cent are not doing so because of a hiring freeze, while eight per cent actually have no vacancies to hire for. A significant 75 per cent have seen no change in hiring volume.

What students and job seekers need to keep in mind is that 88 per cent of HRs prefer skills over experience, academics, or references. Students realise this too.

Interestingly, more than 50 per cent of students surveyed feel they will not land jobs in the field of their preference. Three out of five students choose job security over salary increments.

As per the survey results, maximum hiring is happening in the tech sector. About 25 per cent of e-school students, 62% of b-school students and 26 per cent of arts, science and commerce students already have jobs or have received a job or internship offer. About 35 per cent of these have offers from the tech sector.

When it comes to salaries, b-schoolers are far ahead of e-schoolers with Rs 20 lakh per annum. The average salary of e-schoolers fell to about Rs 6 lakh to to Rs 10 lakh per annum.

While about 46 per cent of postgraduate b-schoolers did not receive any job offers at all, nine per cent received less than Rs 6 lakh per annum average salary, followed by eight per cent with Rs11-15 lakh per annum, eight per cent with Rs 16-20 lakh per annum and 20 per cent with over Rs 20 lakh per annum.

Forty-eight per cent of undergraduate e-schoolers and those from arts and science background received no offers. Twelve per cent received Rs 2 to Rs 5 lakh per annum, while 19 per cent were offered salary in the range of Rs 6 to Rs 10 lakh per annum, 10 per cent received Rs 11to Rs 15 lakh per annum, three per cent were offered Rs 16-18 lakh per annum, and only eight per cent were offered over Rs 18 lakh per annum.

This Talent Report 2024 was based on responses gathered from over 11,000 students, university partners and human resource practitioners. Of the participants of this survey by Unstop— the talent discovery, engagement and hiring platform—60 per cent were men and 40 per cent women. About 44 per cent of the HR practitioners were from the tech sector, followed by 10 per cent from e-commerce and startups, nine per cent from FMCG, eight per cent from BFSI/fintech, eight per cent from manufacturing, seven per cent from healthcare and 14 per cent retail, media, mobility and other sectors.

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The initiative recognises the unique skills, drive and perspectives that women bring to the workplace after taking time away for child birth and child care, during one of the most important phases in their lives.

The company acknowledges that giving birth to a child makes women more strong and ambitious. It instils in them “the power to capture the whole world”. Leverage wishes “to be enablers to these rockstar women and provide them the rocket thrust they need to change the colour of the skies”!

Therefore, Akshay Chaturvedi, founder & CEO, Leverage.biz, agrees that every day should be Women’s Day.

The company believes mothers rejoining the workforce possess unmatched grit, power and persistance to outperform others in the workplace.

A few years ago, the company—which is an AI-based marketplace that helps students with higher education and career guidance—had announced period leaves for women in the workplace.

Last year, that is, July, 2023, the study-abroad platform had raised funds to the tune of $40 million in a Series C round led by Educational Testing Service (ETS), the Princeton-based global education testing and assessment organisation. The company had posted a three-fold increase in revenue last month, even though its losses increased owing to more expenses. Its revenue from operations in FY23 was Rs 68.9 crores, which is 228 per cent than the Rs 21 crore revenue it posted in FY22.

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The hiring expectations for the Netherlands stands at 32 per cent, for South Africa at 29 per cent, for Switzerland at 29 per cent, for Mexico at 27 per cent, for Singapore at 24 per cent, for Finland at 23 per cent, for the UK at 23 per cent, Belgium at 22 per cent and Canada at 22 per cent.

Japan exhibits a hiring expectation of 11 per cent, while Australia’s is 19 per cent. Israel’s hiring expectation is understanding -1 per cent, while Romania’s is -2 per cent.

The survey covered 40,385 employers from 42 countries and asked them about their second-quarter hiring intentions.

Net Employment Outlook (NEO) is calculated by subtracting the percentage of employers who anticipate reductions to staffing levels from those who plan to hire. The percentage now stands at 22 per cent.

While the oulook remains steady in all regions, 31 per cent employers in North America reported the strongest hiring intentions, followed by 27 per cent in the Asia-Pacific, 19 per cent in South and Central Americas , and 15 per cent in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Employers in 12 countries admit to a stronger hiring outlook compared with the same period last year. India’s hiring outlook has improved by six per cent for April-June year-on-year. For Hungary, there has been a five per cent improvement, while for Belgium and the US there has been a four per cent improvement each.

In terms of hiring expectations by company size, it is 13 per cent for those with less that than 10 employees, 16 per cent for a workforce of less 10 to 49 employees, 23 per cent for 50-249 employees, 27 per cent for 250 to 999 employees, and 23 per cent for companies with over 5,000 employees.

In terms of industries, the global employment outlook is the strongest for the information technology (IT) space for the sixth consecutive quarter. However, it was one per cent less than the first quarter of 2024.

The employment outlook is 34 per cent for IT, 29 per cent for financials and real estate, 26 per cent for healthcare and life sciences, 21 per cent for industrials and materials, 18 per cent for consumer goods and services, 18 per cent for energy and utilities, 16 per cent for communication services and 16 per cent for transport, logistics and automotive industries.

Europe, the Middle East and Africa exhibited the lowest hiring expectations at 15 per cent, which is four per cent less than it was in the same period last year, and six per cent less than the first quarter of 2024.

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The survey reveals that only a mere 27 per cent of knowledge workers admit to enjoying a healthy relationship with work.

Why is this a concern? Well, strained relationships with work spell harm for business, as well as the employees. Not only does productivity fall at the workplace, employee morale, retention and engagement also suffer.

When their relationship with work is not how they want it to be, 34 per cent knowledge workers with unhealthy work relationship admit to being less productive at work, while only 23 per cent of those with healthy work relationship feel the same way.

Similarly, 39 per cent of workers with unhealthy work relationship are disengaged with their work, while only 22 per cent with a healthy work relationship are disengaged.

While 38 per cent workers with unhealthy work relationship feel disconnected from their organisation, only 22 per cent with a healthy work relationship feel the same way.

Unhealthy relationships with work also affect the mental, emotional and physical well-being of employees. A significant 62 per cent admit to experiencing the ill effects on physical health, with them consuming junk food, avoiding workouts/exercise, sleeplessness and weight gain.

Mental well-being is adversely impacted due to unhealthy work relationships, with 55 per cent admitting to experiencing lower self-esteem, feeling like a failure and gripped by a sense of isolation.

Daily life takes a toll too, as 48 per cent of the respondents said they felt so emotionally or physically drained due to their unhealthy relationship with work that they couldn’t complete their personal work.

About 59 per cent said they experienced so much lack of motivation that their passions took a backseat; that they lost interest in their personal hobbies and life beyond work. About 45 per cent thought it had a negative effect on their relationships with their parents, friends and even romantic partners.

Fifty-eight per cent of knowledge workers said their expectations of their relationship with work have increased in the last two or three years. In fact, a good 71 per cent of knowledge workers in growing economies said their expectations of how they are treated by their work and workplace have increased over the past couple of years. In mature economies, 50 per cent of knowledge workers said their expectations have increased over the past few years.

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Most women do not see any likelihood of the gender pay gap being bridged in the next one decade. Over 50 per cent feel that the gender pay gap will take five decades to close. Alarming indeed! About 28 per cent do not expect the pay gap to close in the next five years, while 17 per cent don’t see it happening in 10 years. A small percentage (nine per cent) think it very unlikely for the gender pay gap to close in the next 25 years, while eight per cent think that even 50 years isn’t enough to close the gender pay gap. Then there are about nine per cent that have given up all hope, for they do not think the gap will close EVER!

Is there any hope?

The success rate of countries in closing the pay gap has not been worth mentioning. Although measures have been adopted by the countries, employers and industries of the world in varying degrees to bridge the gap, women are far from satisfied with them. Only about 36 per cent women are satisfied with the steps taken by their employers in this direction, while only 25 per cent are satisfied with the actions taken by their industry. An even lower percentage (16 per cent) is satisfied with the actions taken by their country to close the gender pay gap.

This certainly speaks volumes about the lack of commitment and seriousness on the part of employers and governments in working to close the gender gap.

The Future of Women in the Workplace report further corroborates this fact. As per the findings of the report, women, worldwide, have been struggling to be paid what they deserve. In fact, 82 per cent of women across the world consider pay for value a very important issue. About 56 per cent of women, globally, admit they are not paid enough, while 57 per cent feel their total compensation is way too low.

More than 50 per cent of the women surveyed say their base salary is not adequate. The highest proportion of women who feel this way is in France, and the lowest in India.

While 43 per cent of women professionals in India say they are not paid enough, 56 per cent of women in Australia feel the same way, 73 per cent in France, 65 per cent in Canada, 50 per cent in the US and 59 per cent in Singapore.

Only 48 per cent of women in India feel they are paid the right amount. The figure is lower for Australia, at 44 per cent, even lower for the US at 42 per cent, followed by Singapore (33 per cent), Italy (32 per cent) and Canada (31 per cent).

A mere six per cent Indian women say they are paid too much, while in Australia only five per cent share the same feeling.

But not all women have lost hope. About 54 per cent of women surveyed believe the gender pay gap will close in the next 50 years. This feeling of hope is rather high among respondents in India, with a whopping 71 per cent optimistic about this. About 64 per cent women in the Netherlands and 60 per cent in Australia share the same optimism.

It is high time governments and employers went beyond debates and discussions. A special day of celebration on 8 March is not what women are looking forward to. Putting off focusing on closing gender pay gap till the next International Women’s Day will not do either. Employers and governments need to act, now!

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Interested candidates who are not less than 18 years of age and not more than 36 years old can apply before 8 April 2024, for Technician Grade I signal. For Technican Grade III, the candidates have to be in the age group of 18 to 33.

General candidates are required to pay an application fee of Rs 500, while the fee for those belonging to Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe (SC/ST) or Economically Backward class or Minorities need pay only Rs 250. Ex-servicemen, PwBD, women and transgenders need to pay only Rs 250.

Last month, the RRB had announced the recruitment of constables and sub-inspectors for the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Railway Protection Special Force (RPSF). About 2000 vacancies for constables and 250 for SI were announced.

As per the RRB notification, the recruitment drive aimed to fill 2000 constable and 250 SI vacancies. The candidates would have to go through a computer-based test or CBT, followed by a physical measurement test or PMT and a physical standard test or PST. Only those who have completed their 10th or 12th, diploma, or graduation from a recognised board, university, or institution in any discipline could apply for these positions.

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Accounts professionals in North America seem least affected by the pace at which technological change is affecting their job, with only 40 per cent admitting to being overwhelmed by the same. In the Middle East, 52 per cent were overwhelmed by the same, while in China, only 42 per cent were so. The figure for the UK was even lower, with only 22 per cent admitting that they are “overwhelmed by the pace of change of technology impacting their job”.

An encouraging 79 per cent of employers appear excited by the opportunities offered by aritificial intelligence (AI). They are sure AI will help finance professionals add more value. However, three out of five employees continue to be worried about the rapidity of change.

In the survey that covered about 10,000 professional accountants from across 157 nations, including China, India, the US and the UK, were queried about their concerns pertaining to work in the future as well as aspirations in terms of career. This annual survey of finance professionals, by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) examined the primary workplace issues including hybrid approach to work, diversity, mental health, mobility and inflation/cost of living.

Surprisingly, maximum number of Indian accounts professionals, that is, 58 per cent, were sure that their next career move would take them out of the organisation. Only 21 per cent said their next career move would be internal. In South Asia, which includes India, 59 per cent of the professionals interviewed said their next career move would be external, while only 20 per cent said it would be internal. About 54 per cent of accounts workers in Britain said their next career move would be external, while 23 per cent said it would be internal. The figures for China were 47 per cent and 25 per cent, respectively. In the Middle East, 63 per cent of professional accountants admitted that their next career move would be external, while 20 per cent said it would be internal. About 47 per cent of Chinese accounts professionals are sure their next move will be external, while 25 per cent said their career move would be internal.

About 63 per cent of the respondents admitted to mental health taking a beating because of pressure at work. Almost 50 per cent feel their employers fail to prioritise the mental health of their employees.

While 75 per cent of accounts professionals prefer the hybrid mode of work, many employers would still prefer full-time work from office.

A whopping 82 per cent of the respondents admitted that a strong diversity and inclusion (D&I) culture would be a pull factor when it comes to choosing an employer. At the same time, a significant 44 per cent of employees feel their organisation focuses more on certain aspects of diversity than others.

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This growth can be attributed to a surge in demand for digital marketing and analytics professionals. This surge is highest in Delhi/NCR stands, where the increase has been five per cent in the last one month, says the report.

There has been a seven per cent increase in demand for legal professionals over the past month. This surge in demand has been evident in particular because of increasing instances of mergers and acquisitions

With more organisations keen to leverage emerging technologies such as generative AI, the telecom/ISP sector has also witnessed significant growth in January 2024. There was an increase of five per cent in hiring demand in the banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) space, especially in tech and human resources roles.

When it comes to work models, hybrid remains the most popular, says the foundit Insights Trackr. Employees still prefer flexibility and choose work-life balance. About 21 per cent of the current jobs follow the hybrid model, while only nine per cent opt for work-from-home (WFH). A good 44 per cent of the job seekers are looking for hybrid opportunities, 17 per cent are seeking remote-work opportunities.

Maximum remote jobs exist in the information technology (IT) space, which accounts for 44 per cent of not only permanent remote jobs but also temporary job postings online (31 per cent hybrid jobs and 13 per cent fully remote jobs).

There has been a marginal growth of one per cent in the hiring of associate roles requiring work experience four to six year. In case of mid-senior roles requiring seven to ten years of work experience, there was a slight dip in hiring demand. Senior-level roles with 11-15 years witnessed a marginal dip in hiring demand too. However, the demand for those with over 16 years of experience witnessed a marginal rise of one per cent.

In January 2024, the foundit Insights Tracker sensed a five per cent fall in hiring compared to the corresponding period in 2023.

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The company was recently criticised for the way it handles explicit content and has been under the scanner for some time now.

Linda Yaccarino, CEO, X, is expected to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee at the end of this month, that is, 31 January, where she will reveal how X handles CSEM. Moving forward, X plans to adopt a ‘zero tolerance’ policy for such content.

The newly-formed moderation team will handle CSEM and also moderate hate speech. Job listings for these roles specify that moderators

In future, X will improve mechanisms for detecting and identifying inappropriate and reportable content. It will be tying up with the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC).

Last year, that is, 2023, X suspended 12.4 million accounts that were found to be violating CSE policy. The year before that, it had suspended about 2.3 million accounts for the same reasons.

A few years ago, Facebook had increased the salaries of its employees involved in content moderation work. The minimum wage was hiked when a content reviewer had filed a case against Facebook saying the work had caused her mental trauma.

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It also reveals how more organisations and employers across the globe are keen to adopt flexible workforce models, which allow them to access and leverage specialised skills and scale their teams dynamically. In other words, with increased adoption of flexible workforce solutions, companies are able to hire talented workers with specialised skills on the basis of specific projects.

As per the Mercer Mettl study, 59 per cent of organisations reaped the benefits of the gig economy by hiring one or more freelancers or contract workers. About 22 per cent of the respondents, including 7,500 HR leaders, admitted to embracing the gig economy saying that 40 per cent or more of their new hires were freelancers or contractors.

For any organisation, having employees from across multiple cities and nations working for them helps increase the depth of experience they are able to welcome into the organisation. About 61per cent of organisations realised this as they hired one or more remote workers in the last one year. This is in reponse to the evolving workforce preferences and the ongoing impact of global events.

Remote hiring helps employers reach out to a broader talent pool, with diverse skill sets, irrespective of their geographical location. This shift is also reflective of a transformative approach to talent acquisition, with focus on flexibility and adaptability.

About 18 per cent of organisations were inclined towards remote work and willing to hire 50 per cent or more of their new workforce in remote positions. Clearly, more organisations are accepting hybrid and virtual work models, allowing companies to access global talent pools and keep pace with the evolving workplace dynamics. Traditional hiring practices are also changing giving way to a growing prevalence of “remote work as a cornerstone of organisational strategy” said the report.

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Are job sites the only source of reliable hiring? Not really. About 11 per cent of the over 7,500 human resource leaders from across 48 countries and over 50 industries who were part of the Mercer Mettle survey admitted to depending on referral programmes. About seven per cent said they relied on social-media post, while six per cent said internal mobility was their go-to hiring channel. About six per cent referred to their company website for candidates.

Why do companies depend so much on job sites?

Well, these platforms act as hubs for companies to showcase vacancies and opportunities to an enormous pool of active and passive job seekers. The job seekers themselves find it convenient to access opportunities and present their candidature and profiles to a wide range of companies and employers.

The Mercer Mettle Global Talent Acquisition Insights 2024 report says that job sites are not merely websites with job postings. They serve as active ecosystems where companies/employers meet with job seekers/candidates, and vice versa. It is a common ground for talent seekers and job seekers to benefit from each other.

Employee-referral programmes are the second most popular hiring channel. After all, existing employee networks are a trustworthy way of finding suitable and qualified candidates. They also ensure that the candidates are good cultural fits.

In 2023, organisations did hire, but they hired with great caution reveals the report. About 56 per cent of the companies admitted that their hiring had dropped or had stagnated. Out of these, about 54 per cent were large corporations.

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So, what were the other challenges for organisations in 2023? As per the Mercer Mettl Global Talent Acquisition Insights 2024, the bygone year presented many other challenges for hirers, in addition to attracting top-tier talent. These insights from over 1,000 CXOs or those from even higher ranks can be valuable for HR leaders in the new year.

At least 37 per cent of the 7500 HR leaders who were part of the study, from over 48 countries and over 50 industries, said that attracting top talent was tough. This is understandable because of the increased competition for skilled professionals, which made them scarce. In addition, things were made more difficult due to evolving workforce expectations, which necessitated strategic employer branding and compelling employer-value propositions (EVP).

The second biggest challenge was the budget at their disposal, admitted 21 per cent of the respondents, who found it hard to balance financial considerations with the need to attract high-caliber candidates in a highly competitive hiring environment.

About 14 per cent said the changing job market made things difficult for them when it came to recruitment. Eleven per cent found it challenging to build a diverse workforce. Mismatched skills troubled ten per cent of the HR leaders and recruiters, while three per cent grappled with disjointed recruitment experience.

About 43 per cent of organisations believe that focusing on candidate experience matters the most. About 85 per cent of mid-sized companies posted least volatility in terms of hiring and no layoffs.

A whopping 76 per cent of organisations, as per the report, said that communication skills was the top skill they looked out for while hiring candidates. Data science jobs appear to be most in demand across organisations.

A good 60 per cent of companies believe building a strong employer brand is the future of hiring.

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What do the employers feel? Well, a good 48 per cent of them admit that work conditions do contribute to their employees’ happiness. On the other hand, 39 per cent of employers hold the overall wellbeing of employees accountable for their employees’ happiness. A small percentage (about 13 per cent)of employers feel that the personal lives of employees keeps them happy.

In the employees’ opinion, 11 per cent say that the workplace may contribute to their happiness. About 31 per cent does not feel that the workplace contributes to their happiness at all. However, a good 58 per cent of the workforce feels that workplace does contribute to their happiness.

Lack of happiness affects their mental and physical health admit 84 per cent of employees. About 74 per cent employees feel if happiness is diminished, it affects their sense of purpose. About 73 per cent employees feel lowered happiness impacts their enthusiasm and creativity. A good 63 per cent of employees admit that diminishing happiness adversely affects their relationships and social connections.

Why are these stats important? Well, employees with good physical and mental health will obviously be at their productive best. They are also more likely to attend office regularly and less likely to take medical leave. Such employees create a more healthy workforce and more positive workplace. They are also likely to enjoy better work-life balance. Also, happier employees with a strong sense of purpose will be motivated to stay committed to the organisational goals.

While about 70 per cent of employees in India exhibit varying degrees of happiness at work, 13 per cent of these are ‘very happy’. About 24 per cent claim to be ‘happy’, while 33 per cent are ‘happy sometimes’. About 30 per cent say they aren’t happy at their workplaces, while a majority of these, that is, 26 per cent are ‘unhappy’ and four per cent are ‘very unhappy’, says the Happiness Index.

Clearly, it is high time organisations recognised their employees’ sentiments. After all, happy employees will be more motivated to meet business goals.

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Computer science graduates were the second most employable with 66 per cent from this domain found to be highly skilled. While 64.67 per cent of BE/BTech test takers emerged highly employable, 64.63 per cent MCA candidates came out to be highly employable. That means, there is no dearth of quality engineering and computer applications talent among India’s youth.

The eleventh edition of the India Skills Report (ISR), based on a survey of over 3.8 lakh candidates who took the WNET, reveals that the overall employability of youngsters has improved to 51.25 per cent because over 51.25 per cent of those who took the test across various domains scored at least 60 per cent.

Of those with BPharma degrees who took the WNET, 54 per cent scored above 60 per cent marks across all states, which is better than last year. From the information technology (IT) sphere, 68.44 per cent were found to be highly employable, having scored more than 60 per cent on the WNET across all regions.

In terms of gender, about 51.8 per cent of the males who took the test across India, were found to be employable resources, compared to just 47.28 per cent last year, a marked improvement. On the other hand, amongst the women who took the test, 50.86 per cent were found to be highly employable, which is less than last year’s 53.8 per cent.

Data also reveals that a majority (87.83 per cent) of those who took the test are seeking internships with organisations. Although the majority of men who take the test appear to be keen to take up a job in any of the top cities in India, Pune is where they throng to, followed by Bangalore as the next preferred destination.

Interestingly, Haryana, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and Telangana house the maximum number of talented youth, that is, youngsters who are highly employable. What is even more interesting is that maximum employable resources (88.89 per cent) in the 22-25 age group come from Lucknow, followed by 82.45 per cent from Mumbai and then Bengaluru with 74.63 per cent. In terms of employable resources in the 26-29 age bracket, Pune ranks number one, accounting for 85.71 per cent of talent in this bracket, followed by Lucknow with 75 per cent and Jaipur with 71.80 per cent.

The report uses data from 152 corporations from across 15 different industries that were part of the Early Career Edition of the India Hiring Intent Survey for 2024.

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As per the report, 28 per cent of global employees surveyed across these eight countries do not see themselves staying on with their current organisation in a year’s time. The employees surveyed were asked whether they were satisfied with their current managers; whether everyone at their organization has a fair opportunity to succeed irrespective of their background; they have seniors at work who support them always; and whether they are allowed access to resources that would help them be successful.

Of the over 11,000 people who were covered in the survey, 16 per cent of those who plan to quit their organisation admitted to being satisfied with their current managers, while 13 per cent strongly believed that everyone has a fair and equal chance to succeed in the organisation regardless of their background. Eleven per cent of those planning to leave had received active support from someone senior at work. Only nine per cent of those planning to leave their organisation within a year answered in the positive to all the four questions. That means, these nine per cent were not only satisfied with their managers, but were sure they received equal opportunities and were well supported by seniors and could access resources for success.

So, why is the quality of managers so important? An alarming 74 per cent of those surveyed, across the aforementioned eight countries, strongly disagreed with all four of the following statements: ‘I have access to resources to help me be successful’;’ Someone senior at work actively supports me’; ‘”Everyone has a fair and equal chance to succeed’; ‘I am satisfied with my current manager’.

About 26 per cent of the employees surveyed in India plan to quit their current organisation within a year. In Australia, 36 per cent shared the same sentiment, followed by Japan (35 per cent), UK ( 32 per cent), Canada (28 per cent). In the US, about 26 per cent of those surveyed plan to quit their organization, while in France, 26 per cent intend to do the same and in Germany, only 19 per cent.

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The ‘Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2023: India perspective’ report by PwC reveals that 78 per cent of employees in India feel that their employer will help them be more adaptable and flexible, while only 60 per cent of their global counterparts feel the same way.

About 75 per cent India employees are very sure that their employers will provide them the required resources to build upon their collaborative skills, compared to just 58 per cent of their global counterparts.

While 75 per cent India employees are sure their employers find it very important for them to build their core business skills, only 57 per cent employees, globally, feel the same way. When it comes to critical thinking skills, 78 per cent India employees express confidence in their employers doing their bit to help their employees build on the same, compared to just 59 per cent of their global counterparts. A good 77 per cent India employees compared to 58 per cent of their global counterparts believe building on digital skills is very important and are confident their employers will help them in this area. About 60 per cent employees in India compared to just 47 per cent, globally, think it extremely important to build on green skills and are confident their employers will help them do so.

Seventy nine per cent of employees in India and 50 per cent of their global counterparts think it extremely important to build leadership skills and express their confidence in their employers to help them build on these.

In terms of specialist technical or trade skills, 76 per cent India employees are confident their employers will provide them the necessary tools and resources to build on these skills in the next five years. However, only 60 per cent of their global counterparts share the same confidence.

Clearly, there is an urgency to upskill amongst India employees as is seen from the fact that 53 per cent of them feel that new skill development is the main reason for them to pick up a secondary job compared to 36 per cent of their global counterparts.

Only 63 per cent of India employees, say that they would take up secondary jobs just to earn more money, compared to 69 per cent of their global counterparts.

A good 53 per cent India employees would take up a secondary job if it offers them an opportunity to learn new skills, compared to just 36 per cent of their global counterparts. Around 34 per cent India employees would take up a secondary job if they find it rewarding, compared to 29 per cent of employees globally.

If a secondary job gives them greater flexibility and career options, 40 per cent of India employees would go for it compared to 29 per cent of their global counterparts.

Interestingly, 35 per cent India employees and 25 per cent global employees will opt for a secondary job as a career backup or safety net. About 26 per cent employees in India and 24 per cent, worldwide will consider a secondary job as a stepping stone to starting their own business reveals the PwC report.

Twenty-four per cent employees in India would go for a secondary job just to test out what it’s like to work in a different industry or role, compared to 21 per cent employees, globally. About 27 per cent India employees and 19 per cent global employees will accept a secondary job for additional job benefits, such as healthcare and employee discounts.

The survey shows that more India employees than their global counterparts feel digital and green skills are most important. A whopping 79 per cent of India employees, compared to just 57 per cent of their global counterparts, feel that it is essential to acquire digital skills over the next five years. About 61 per cent of India employees also feel that it is essential to adopt green skills, compared to the global average of 39 per cent.

While 79 per cent India employees give maximum importance to analytical and data skills over the next five years, only 58 per cent of employees, globally, accord the same importance. In India, 82 per cent employees say adaptability and flexibility are important skills to acquire over the next five years, globally, only 72 per cent employees feel so.

A majority of India employees (80 per cent) feel it is important to acquire collaborative skills in the next five years, while only 68 per cent of their global counterparts feel so.

A good 77 per cent of India employees think it necessary to acquire core business skills over the next five years, compared to just 53 per cent, globally. When it comes to acquiring critical-thinking skills too, more India employees (82 per cent) think it is important compared to their global counterparts (68 per cent). In terms of giving importance to digital skills, India employees (79 per cent) are way ahead of their counterparts worldwide (57 per cent).

Sixty-one per cent India employees compared to 39 per cent globally attach importance to green skills and think it’s important to acquire them over the next five years. While 82 per cent of India employees think leadership skills need to be acquired over the next five years, only 63 per cent employees globally feel so. In terms of specialist technical or trade skills too, a good 73 per cent India employees find them important compared to just 56 per cent globally.

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According to a report by Oxford Economics and Uber India, four out of 10 working women owe it to the availability of safe ride-hailing services for their joining the workforce. About 41 per cent of male riders also share the same view.

A significant 33 per cent of women riders and 34 per cent of male riders have been able to switch from part-time to full-time jobs because their commuting worries have been solved by ride-hailing services.

Clearly, safety and flexibility are the main reasons why women workers rely so much on ride-hailing services.

Three-quarters or a whopping 75 per cent of the women covered in the survey and who use ride-hailing services to travel to admitted they did so because it is safer than any other mode of travelling. A good 72 per cent of the men surveyed agreed to this. Of the women who were motivated to opt for ride-hailing services a good 47 per cent admitted that it is the safety aspect that the services offered that helped them to take up their jobs. The maximum number of women who give credit to the safety of the services are from Chennai and Kolkata.

The flexibility offered by ride-hailing services allows women to efficiently manage their household work, family commitments and their professional duties. No wonder, 63 per cent of these women agree that ride-hailing services for official or personal work had encouraged them to join the workforce.

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Challenges faced by recruiters

Given the competitiveness of the job market, are recruiters able to find talent? It appears not, because 52.3 per cent of the recruiters surveyed are finding it difficult to get suitably qualified candidates for the job. So, what are the hurdles being faced by recruiters?

In 2024, it seems the biggest concerns will be the inadequacy of workforce, lack of time to hire, and the cost of hiring. Over 28 per cent recruiters feel it would be difficult to capture the interest of the candidates, while over 21 per cent feel engaging candidates would be a challenge. The main challenge in engaging candidates is managing communication across multiple platforms. That means, the need of the hour is to streamline communication channels.

Surprisingly, recruiters are also struggling with shortlisting candidates because the contact details, educational details and professional-experience details provided are either insufficient or incorrect!

Additionally, it becomes difficult and rather time consuming to shortlist candidates across platforms, filtering by skillset.

Another challenge is the need for regular and consistent follow-ups so that interest is generated in the candidates. Outreach efforts need to be more personalised. Again, approaches should be further streamlined and personalised.

Widespread use of technology

The good news is that technology is increasingly playing an important role in hiring. About 56 per cent companies are embracing technology to source and hire candidates from anywhere across the globe.

Recruiters in India are becoming more agile and efficient because they have cutting-edge technology solutions at their disposal. This allows them better access to talent within and outside the country. There are AI-driven search tools, personalised solutions and smart insights that help them ensure superior results.

Organisations are widely adopting diverse hiring technologies, with 46 per cent embracing applicant tracking systems (ATS), while 32 per cent are going for other complementary technologies including candidate sourcing software to better identify potential candidates across various platforms. Over 33 per cent are using interview-scheduling tools. About 28 per cent are employing tools for candidate insight tracking (28%), while 30 per cent are adopting advanced smart filters to shortlist candidates. A good 32 per cent are using candidate-assessment tools to evaluate candidates.

In addition to these, 23 per cent recruiters are also looking at specialised technologies such as candidate experience rating/commenting tools to refine processes based on applicant feedback. About 11 per cent are relying on candidate relation management/engagement tools for more meaningful connections through email and social media.

In terms of diversity and inclusion in Indian hiring, 71.5 per cent of organisations are making it a priority to ensure diverse hiring. Of course, gender diversity is taking precedence, with 78 per cent of organisations setting goals in this area. Only about 17 per cent are succeeding in terms of racial diversity, while 12 per cent are ensuring LGBTQIA+ representation and 10 per cent firms are taking care of disability inclusion in hiring.

When it comes to methods of recruitment, the survey indicates that third-party recruitment is the dominant method in India, with 49 per cent of all hiring taking place through third party. Only 39 per cent of hiring happens directly, while six per cent hiring is done via advertisements.

The survey covered 400 senior recruiters globally, with about 300 from India representing businesses of various sizes across industries.

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A year later, in terms of awareness, Indian employees are found to be well aware of the skills that will be needed in the future, with a good 62 per cent admitting that the skills required for their jobs will undergo significant change over the next five years. About 69 per cent know very well how these requirements will alter. That means, more Indian professionals are aware in this regard as compared to their global counterparts (43 per cent). However, what is surprising is that one third of Indians seem to lack the confidence in their own ability to master newer skills, while globally, 18 per cent professionals share the same underconfidence.

The survey by PwC, called Workforce Hopes and Fears Survey 2023, covered 2,502 participants in India with 88% of them working fulltime jobs. Of these, 80 per cent were men and 20 per cent were women. About 54 per cent of the respondents were millennials, 21 per cent Gen X, 19 per cent Gen Z and six per cent were boomers.

While last year, the survey found that employees gave a lot of importance to organisational trust, innovation and hybrid work, this year their expectations seem to have changed. While a year ago, monetary rewards, meaningfulness of work and sense of fulfillment were the most important takes for them from the workplace, this year they wish for more empowerment. Their expectations from their work environment have evolved over the last 12 months. Now, they want their jobs/ employers to offer them equal opportunities to learn, grow and remain relevant and competitive, given the pace at which the world is changing.

This year, the report reveals that 42 per cent of employees in India are likely to change jobs in the next 12 months, as compared to 26 per cent of their global respondents. In India, a significant 69 per cent employees are likely to seek a pay hike, while globally, only 42 per cent will do so. A whopping 70 per cent in India will demand promotions, while globally, only 35 per cent will.

About 50 per cent of employees are unsure how viable their organisations will be a decade from now. Interestingly, 41 per cent of CEOs in India too question the viability of their organisations for more than 10 years!

The survey covered respondents belonging to seven industries, namely energy; utilities and resources; financial services; government or public-sector units;, healthcare; retail and consumer; technology; media and telecom;and industrial manufacturing (IM).

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According to the employers who participated in the survey, the top five skills that are most difficult to find are: information technology (IT) and data, followed by engineering; sales and marketing; operations and logistics; and manufacturing and production, in that order.

When it comes to jobs that require artificial intelligence (AI) skills , employers consider the top three challenges are: training the existing staff to leverage AI in their roles, followed by the finding qualified workers. The third biggest challenge is to define roles which can take advantage of AI.

Employers feel that all technical skills must change at least by 54 per cent so that more sustainable practices can be accommodated. The sustainability skills available presently are far from sufficient to actually go green.

Of the 40,077 employers from across 41 nations who were asked about their first quarter hiring intentions, hiring managers across the Asia Pacific countries anticipate the second strongest regional employment outlook (30 per cent). This is two per cent less than the previous quarter but five per cent more than what was reported during the same time last year.

Employers in North America report the strongest hiring intentions of 34 per cent, followed by the Asia Pacific with 30 per cent, South and Central Americas with 28 per cent, and Europe, the Middle East, and Africa with 23 per cent.

India and China report the strongest hiring outlook of 37 and 33 per cent, respectively. Japan and Taiwan are following great caution with only 10 per cent and 19 per cent respectively.

In the area of communication services, 73 per cent of organisations report difficulty finding suitable talent. Irrespective of the shortage, employers globally anticipate a net employment outlook of 31 per cent, which is the same as last quarter but 12 per cent more than the same time last year.

In the consumer goods and services space, 76 per cent of organisations report difficulty finding the talent they require. In spite of the dearth of talent, employers worldwide anticipate a net employment outlook of 22 per cent. This is three per cent less than the previous quarter but three per cent more than the same time last year.

When it comes to the energy and utilities space, supply for talent is less than demand, with 71 per cent of employers struggling to find suitable talent. Globally, employers are looking at a net employment outlook of 26 per cent, which is a drop of five per cent from the last quarter.

Demand for talent is more than the supply in the finance and real-estate sectors too, where 72 per cent of employers are finding it tough to obtain the right talent. Despite the dearth of talent, employers in this space, worldwide, anticipate a net employment outlook of 34 per cent, which is more than the previous quarter and also more than the same period last year.

In the healthcare and life sciences space, 77 per cent of organisations are struggline to fill vacancies. Employers in this space anticipate a net employment outlook of 28 per cent, which is a fall of three per cent from the previous quarter and an increase of five per cent compared to the same time period last year.

In the industrials and materials space again, demand for talent outweighs supply with 75 per cent of employers struggling to fill vacancies. In the information technology sector, 76 per cent of organisations report difficulty finding the talent they need. In the transport, logistics and automotive space too the story is no different. About 76 per cent employers report difficulty finding the required talent However, irrespective of this shortage, employers globally anticipate a net employment outlook of 26 per cent in this sector.

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Not surprisingly, technology and collaboration spaces are the office aspects that are given the maximum focus. The likelihood of a budget being set aside for this is rather high, while redesigning. This certainly aligns with employee expectations as technology and collaboration spaces are also rated as most important by employees. Only about a quarter of employees feel their present office space(s) have adequate tech and collaboration spaces. Therefore, organizations seem to be focusing on these areas, with 67 per cent regularly enhancing their workplace layouts and 61 per cent budgeting for regular improvement of technology features in relation to workplace design.

How prepared are employers to cater to the expectations of their employees?

When it comes to remote workers, in-office staff and those working in between environments (such as while commuting) just about 52 per cent of employers surveyed feel they are ensuring a well-managed experience. About 43 per cent admit that issues with working from home pose the greatest challenge. Internet connectivity appears to be the biggest tech challenge for both employers and employees when it comes to working remotely. The second biggest challenge is difficulty collaborating with remote team members, followed by inadequate equipment or tools.

Only 66 per cent of employers in India believe they are providing a well-managed hybrid working experience for employees. In Australia, 44 per cent of organizations share this feeling, while in the Phillippines, 66 per cent feel so. In South Korea, only 28 per cent organisations feel they are offering well-managed hybrid working experience for employees, while in Thailan, 56 per cent organisations feel so.

About 63 per cent of employees feel their current collaboration tools are ineffective in enhancing their productivity at home, or just moderately effective. About 45 per cent employers admit to this. A good 73 per cent of the Baby Boomers and 72 per cent of Gen X feel their current collaboration tools lack effectiveness when it comes to improving their productivity outside of the physical office.

The positive thing is that eight out of 10 employers feel their organisation has either completed an office redesign or is planning the same, or is already in the midst of it. About 47 per cent of employers, globally, are planning to redesign their office space within the next one year, with 34 per cent intending to complete redesigning over the next 24 months.

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The data was derived from the key gender statistics obtained from the administrative records of state and Central government departments, reports of various surveys/Census and so on.

At the all India level, the WPR for men was 54.8 per cent and for women it was 24 per cent.

The labour force participation rate or LFPR figures weren’t any better. For men, the LFPR stood at 57.5 per cent, while for women it stood at 9.4 per cent in 2021-22. At the national level, 57.3 per cent was the LFPR for the male population and 24.8 per cent for the female population.

According to the broad employment status in Delhi, in 2021-22, 33.1 per cent men were self-employed, while 63.3 per cent men earned regular wage or had salaried jobs. About 3.5 per cent were casual labourers. When it came to women, out of the total number of women in the workforce, only 17 per cent were self-employed, 83 per cent were in the regular wage/salaried category, while none were casual labourers.

As per the distribution of workers in usual status [principal status (ps)+ subsidiary status (ss)] by broad industry division, of the total women in the workforce, 59.74 per cent were engaged in ‘other services’, while 14.73 per cent were engaged in ‘trade, hotel & restaurant’ and 14.19 per cent in ‘manufacturing’ in 2021-22.

Out of total male workers, a good 29.77 per cent were engaged in ‘trade, hotel & restaurant’ in 2021-22 followed by 24.02 per cent in ‘manufacturing’ and 22.87 per cent in ‘other services’ in Delhi.

The unemployment rate or UR was 5.1 per cent for the men in Delhi and six per cent for the women, in 2021-22. At the national level, it was 4.4 per cent for the men and 3.3 per cent for the women!

Interestingly, according to the data from the Bureau of Police Research and Development, as on 1 January, 2021, of the total 90,523 police personnel in Delhi, women accounted for only 10,720!

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Jaipur witnessed two per cent rise in hiring demand, YoY as well as MoM. Ahmedabad posted a two per cent rise in hiring demand YoY, but a one per cent dip MoM. Vadodara saw a five per cent rise YoY, while Kochi posted nine per cent rise YoY and four per cent rise MoM. Coimbatore saw four per cent rise YoY and 13 per cent MoM. The metros, clearly, haven’t done as well as the tier 2 cities.

Hyderabad posted five per cent drop YoY and one per cent drop MoM in terms of hiring demand. Chennai posted a four per cent dip YoY and two per cent dip MoM. Bangalore posted 11 per cent drop YoY and three per cent MoM. Kolkat posted a rise of 14 per cent YoY but a fall of five per cent MoM.

Bangalore posted a one to two per cent fall in hiring demand in the following sectors: banking,financial services and insurance; engineering, cement, construction, iron/steel; IT-hardware, software; BPOs/ITES as well as production and manufacturing. Chennai saw a seven per cent increase in hiring demand in production and manufacturing, followed by one per cent in BFSI, and two per cent in BPO/ITES. There was a dip in hiring demand in the engineering, cement, construction, iron/steel as well as in the IT-hardware software industries. Bangalore, Chennai, Delhi-NCR, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune saw a dip in hiring demand in the IT-hardware/software industry. The maximum fall of ten per cent is seen in Mumbai. In the production and manufacturing industry too, Mumbai posted the maximum fall in hiring demand MoM, of -8 per cent.

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According to the November 2023 foundit Insights Tracker, the IT- hardware, software space registered a drop of six per cent in hiring activity, not just yearly, but also in the last one month.

Specifically, there has been a dip of 16 per cent year-on-year in the hiring demand in the the IT-hardware, software sector and a six per cent MoM decline. While finance and accounts did witness a monthly increase, it dipped 13 per cent year-on-year.

On the other hand, the retail sector witnessed extraordinary annual growth of 30 per cent in November 2023. It has been on an upward path over the past two years.

Modest growth of two per cent has been seen in the healthcare space, followed by legal functions (one per cent). The marketing and communications sector has been going steady in terms of demand for hires. A two per cent drop in hiring was seen in the software and hardware space in November, reflecting the challenges faced by this sector.

Overall, only nine out of 27 industries witnessed increased yearly hiring activity.

The biggest growth in hiring of 32 per cent year-on-year was witnessed in the shipping and marine space. However, the sector saw a seven per cent month-on-month dip in growth. Since November 2022, this is only the third time that the shipping industry has seen a dip.

The government/PSU/defence sectors witnessed a nine per cent year-on-year increase in hiring, and a 14 per cent MoM growth. The retail space has grown well with a 30 per cent year-on-year increase in hiring and a three per cent month-on-month growth. This upward trend has been going on for two years now. Thanks to the rapid move towards embracing technology, the office equipment and automation space has witnessed a 13 per cent increase in hiring driven by artificial intelligence and Internet of Things (IoT).

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According to the CII–Deloitte Report on School Education, titled Yearly Status of School Education (YeSSE), even better infrastructure facilities have not helped reduce the high drop-out rate at different stages. This goes on to reflect in the low GER. In 2021-22, GER at the primary, upper primary, secondary, and higher secondary levels was 103 per cent, 95 per cent, 80 per cent and 58 per cent, respectively. The ratio is a cause for worry at the upper primary, secondary and higher secondary levels.

Lack of quality teachers in addition to lack of Low Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) at the primary and upper-primary levels and lack of Grade Appropriate Learning (GAL) across levels are the reasons for low GER.

Government school teachers are notorious for their sense of entitlement and their strong unions. But not all teachers lack the passion to teach. Many are extremely passionate about their profession, while a significant will give their all provided they receive the much-required push, encouragement and support.

When teachers fail to be included in educational reforms, they cease to sit on the fence and become totally disengaged from their work.

What is the solution?

The YeSSE report suggests embracing a balanced approach based on four areas:

1. Better recruitment process and training: The process of hiring teachers needs to be improved. The responsibility of the government does not end with just hiring the right teachers. It has to extend to training them and developing them further via various systems of handholding/support, co-teaching, projects, exposure visits and so on. This kind of training and support is required pre- and in-service. It is essential to motivate teachers so that they deliver their best and ensure good results. Opportunities to exchange their knowledge with their peers and receiving and impart mentoring should be ensured.

2. Better work environment: Teachers need to be rewarded for their efforts and hard work too. When they realise that their performance is being noticed and their hard work is being appreciated and recognised, they will put in their best efforts to teach. It is also important to ensure that they are paid decently and fairly and not bogged down by non-academic work.

3. Better involvement: The opinions of teacher should be given importance during the designing and implementation of educational reforms.

4. Better technology: Teachers should be encouraged to embrace technology. They should be provided with the tools required to teach better, help source better content, develop lesson plans, assessments and effective practices. They should be given appropriate support for creation of online/e-content and taught ways to reduce workload, build their capacity and leverage opportunities to showcase their efforts. This is where teacher-exchange platforms and networks come into play.

Students are already very tech savvy. It is more important now for teachers to embrace technology and access quality content, learn and explore new skills and so on.

There are a total of 14,89,115 schools across the country. Of these, 52.3 per cent, the largest share, are schools run by the Department of Education. They also have the highest share of student enrolment, that is, 44.1 per cent. Imagine if the teachers in all these schools are trained well and better empowered to teach the future workforce of the country! The quality of the workforce will go up manifold.

As per the YeSSE report, the five states with the highest number of schools are Uttar Pradesh with 2,58,054, that is, 17.3 per cent of the total number of schools in India, followed by Madhya Pradesh with 1,25,582 schools, that is, 8.4 per cent of the total. Maharashtra comes third with 1,09,605 schools, that is, 7.4 per cent share, followed by Rajasthan (106,373 schools and 7.1 per cent share), and West Bengal (94,744 schools and 6.4 per cent share).

These schools will only be energised if they have competent, motivated and engaged teachers who are capable of creating a better learning environment for students.

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If one looks up Wikipedia, the definition of prompt engineering is as follows: “Prompt engineering is the process of structuring text that can be interpreted and understood by a generative AI model. A prompt is natural language text describing the task that an AI should perform.”

What is more interesting is that prompt engineers can earn in the range of $1,00,000 to $2,00,000.

So, how exactly do prompt engineers work? They may tell the AI system to assume certain roles so that they can answer specific technical questions associated with that role. They can feed in new information that was missing from the LLM so that the responses are more specific and suitable to the questions asked by the users or customers. They help extract more refined responses from the LLM by suggesting better-framed questions.

However, knowledge of coding may be a requirement in prompt engineers as they are also required to create prompts as inputs for the system so that the robot is able to give just the right answers to its customers.

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In 2020, men held 79 per cent of flexible jobs, while women held 21 per cent. In 2021, there was an improvement in women’s participation, with women holding 27 per cent of flexible jobs and men holding 73 per cent. There was no change in 2022, while in 2023, only 25 per cent women are working flexible jobs, while men are working 75 per cent of them.

In 2020, those less than 24 years of age held 27 per cent of flexible jobs, while in 2021, the figure increased to 29 per cent. In 2022, it dropped to 26 per cent, and in 2023, it further dipped to 19 per cent.

In 2023, there has been a whopping increase in the percentage of jobs held by those in the age bracket of 25 to 30 years. A good 51 per cent of the flexible jobs were worked by this age cohort. In 2020, only 45 per cent of this age group held flexi jobs, while in 2021, 42 per cent held the same and in 2022, 41 per cent did so. Almost 70 per cent of flexi workers in the workforce are upto 30 years of age.

A significant 62 per cent of flexi workers who are gainfully employed are at least graduates. About 52 per cent possess higher skills, while students accounted for 17 per cent of the flexi workforce.

In terms of initial level of education, 62 per cent of flexible workers were highly educated in 2023 compared to just 55 per cent in 2022, 68 per cent in 2021 and 47 per cent in 2020.

As per the report, flexi staffing saw over five per cent YoY growth among other formats of employment. That means, there is a growing demand in the flexi employment formats with flexi jobs being preferred over others. It is interesting to note that the rate of unemployment and inactivity have both dropped significantly for the flexi workers related to formal staffing companies.

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Applicants need to be fluent in English. Knowledge of additional languages, such as Spanish, French, Chinese, Russian and Portuguese will be an advantage.

The internship period is May to September.

Along with their curriculum vitae, interested candidates need to upload their statement of interest and proof of enrolment in a graduate degree.

Interns for the operations (field) can expect to work in the areas of economics, finance, human development (public health, education, nutrition and population), social sciences (anthropology, sociology), agriculture, environment, engineering, urban planning, natural resources management, private-sector development and associated fields.

Interns in the corporate-support field can expect to be working in the accounting, communications, human resources management, information technology, treasury and other related services.

Hourly salary is paid to the interns by the World Bank. Up to $3,000 is also paid as travel allowance wherever applicable, depending on the manager’s decision. This allowance will cover the flight tickets to and from the city of duty.

Internship programmes usually last at least four weeks, with most positions being based in Washington, DC and some in other locations.

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Starting with the first dimension, that is, talent reporting, data and analytics, mature organisations make use of centralised reports and allow their managers access to self-service reports. They depend on visual dashboards and generally have a dedicated HR analytics team in place. The likelihood of such organisations using data to inform people and explore predictive analytics to anticipate future business needs is high.

When it comes to culture and technology, the CHROs of mature organisations are an active part of strategic planning processes and drive the people agenda. They implement the latest HR and talent technologies to ensure progress and to push the business ahead.

In terms of skills strategy, mature organisations are able to identify skills that exist in their workforces and address skills gaps. They focus on turning the business into a skills marketplace.

Another trait associated with mature organisations is that when it comes to succession planning, recruitment is proactive, whether from within or outside the organisation. There is complete transparency regarding vacancies and projects. There is openness about the job and skill requirements.

The next dimension, that is, learning and development (L&D) finds mature organisations implementing effective learning programmes. Additionally, they empower employees to build skills required for their own development and career progress. These organisations are adept at identifying the skills required today and in the future.

Performance at mature organisations is driven by leaders as a strategic process to accomplish business goals. The HR teams not only review data but also identify trends and biases. Each member of the workforce is aware of the performance goals, metrics and outcomes.

As part of their content strategy, mature organisations curate the learning content on a regular basis. Employees are encouraged to self-cute content, upload the same and even educate others in the organisation.

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Only 38 per cent of US companies wish for their staff to work from office full time. This has also dropped by one per cent compared to the last quarter. At the beginning of 2023, about 49 per cent of companies wished for their employees to work from office full time. That means, as the year progressed, more companies realised the benefits of offering full flexibility. At the start of 2023, only about 51 per cent of US companies offered full flexibility. This number has grown to 62 per cent.

The report finds that younger companies are more open to full flexibility. While seven per cent of US companies are fully remote (with no office space), 26 per cent maintain physical offices but do not require their staff to be there physically to work. About 28 per cent of offices follow the structured hybrid model. That is, 18 per cent have their employees working for a fixed minimum number of days a week, while five per cent specify certain days of the week when the employees are expected to be in office, and two per cent have employees coming in to office minimum percentage of time. Three per cent employers expect their employees to work from office for a minimum number of specified days.

What can be the reason behind full flexibility being increasingly preferred? The report says fully flexible companies perform way better than their peers. Their revenue growth is 16 percentage points higher than their peers!

With each passing year, firms established or launched since 2010 will form a bigger portion of the total companies in the US. Ninety-three per cent of the Flex Index firms that were launched after 2010 offer their employees 100 per cent location flexibility. If the tech companies are excluded from this base, 87 per cent of the companies established after 2010 offer flexibility to employees to work from any location.

Going by these figures, it is expected that in the future, companies expecting their employees to come to work full time will drop to 15 per cent or even lesser. Also, it isn’t just the 100 per cent flexible companies that perform better than their peers, even the firms following structured hybrid post better revenue growth than their peers whose staff work from office all the time.

While 33 per cent offices in the US do not require their employees to work from office at all, three per cent expect them to work from office for one day a week, 10 per cent for two days, 14 per cent for three days in a week, and two per cent four days a week. About 38 per cent require their employees to be in office full time.

It is clear that with each quarter the number of organisations embracing structured hybrid has been going up, and fewer organisations are expecting their employees to work from office. At the beginning of 2023, about 20 per cent companies were following a structured hybrid model of work. This figure rose to 29 per cent by the fourth quarter. While most companies had employees working five days from office before the pandemic, with the emergence of the structure hybrid model, a significant number of companies have shifted to 2.54 days of in-person work from office.

Time for organisations in India to embrace full flexibility?

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Only one per cent of organisations in India are at the transformative level of maturity. In other words, these establishments have created talent programmes that promote a highly self-driven learning culture and have adopted skills as a common language across the organisation. They identify, analyse and leverage skills to support workforce planning and make strategic business decisions. Transformative talent programmes implement automated processes that are integrated with people, job roles and skills data to inform workforce decisions. The HR and talent leaders in such organisations are looked up to as strategic partners and their teams facilitate achievement of organisational and business outcomes.

As per the Cornerstone Talent Health Index India Report, 38 per cent of organisations in the country are in the sophisticated level of talent health, while 41 per cent are in the administrative level. That means, 38 per cent of the organisations have really advanced in terms of creating a strategic talent programme and have put in place processes and adopted tools to drive optimisation.

Sophisticated talent programmes promote a strong learning culture and use certain analytics to fulfil the developmental requirements of their employees. These organisations have begun speaking the language of skills across the business to spot the skills gaps, yet, they lack skills data to make strategic workforce decisions. Talent programmes at the sophisticated level of maturity consist of automated processes. The chief learning officers and the chief HR officers of such organisations are looked up to as strategic business partners. Such organisations make valuable investments in talent in a democratic manner.

Organisations at the administrative level of maturity in talent health have already laid down the foundation for their talent programmes and are now looking at strategic initiatives that are becoming successful. Administrative talent programmes are not limited to compliance but go on to offer some skill-building opportunities for employees. However, skills have yet to become a common language across the organisation. While the programmes and processes within administrative talent are often manual, the process of automating them has already begun. The HR departments in such organisations are well on their way to becoming strategic partners for the business, despite the majority of the budget decisions being taken top-down.

Globally, the average talent health index (THI) score is 88.1, while for India the score is 82.9! Spain has amonst the highest scores, of 88.9, followed by the UK at 87.6, Germany at 86.9, and Australia and N Zealand at 86.7. Japan has a THI score of 86, while Singapore and Hong Kong have a score of 85.4 and France of 84.

The seven dimensions of talent health, as per the Cornerstone report are: talent reporting, data and analytics; culture and technology; skills strategy; learning and development; content strategy; performance management; talent mobility

The three weakest dimensions for organisations in India are talent reporting, data and analytics, followed by learning and development, and finally, technology and culture.

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The answer lies in the mismatch between employee experiences of the new hires and their expectations. Earlier, employees were known to remain highly engaged in their new jobs for a minimum of 12 months, but now they are already considering quitting in that period.

More than a third (39 per cent) of employees admitted that they would move on from their present organisation within the next 12 months, which is an increase of six points from last year. The survey also reveals that new hires reported KPI scores much worse than the tenured employees across the board.

Only 38 per cent of the employees who have been with the organisation less than six months intend to stay on with the organisation. About 65 per cent of the employees who are less than six months old in the organisation are engaged, while only about 66 per cent of these new hires feel a sense of inclusion.

That is why, CHROs today are more focused on onboarding. Last year, the figures were different. According to our 2023 State of HR Report, focus for CHROs on onboarding was nine points below talent attraction and hiring. While 50 per cent CHROs focusssed on attracting and hiring talent, 41 per cent focused on onboarding.

The report suggests than an effective onboarding programme can ensure that new employees are set up to deliver value to the organisation.

But this doesn’t happen when employees with less than six months of tenure are often excluded from annual-engagement surveys. That means, it is essential for the onboarding process to have its own listening programme.

It is the employers’ duty to ensure that their new employee-experience programmes are able to fulfil the expectations of incoming talent. It is these employee experiences that shape the first impression employees form of the organisation giving them a fair idea of what it would be like to work there.

High time employers began to focus more on the onboarding experience, which includes the social aspects – whether employees are working in the office, remotely, or in the hybrid mode. Socialising is essential for new hires to come up to speed, establish connections, and learn to navigate the new workplace culture.

This also has financial benefits. After all, losing new hires costs the company a lot more than losing a tenured employee what with the expenditure incurred in hiring and training amongst others. Instead, it makes more sense to make the new employee experience positively memorable so that the new hires stay on and may be even attract others like them.

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As per the Qualtrics 2024 employee trends survey, 37,000 employees across the world expect their organisations to embrace new technology. What is clear is that employees are also very keen to see their organisations using the technology for good —as a tool for optimising productivity. A good 53 per cent of engaged employees said they’re comfortable with AI at work, whereas 30 per cent of disengaged employees shared the same feeling.

They want AI to help them with their work so that they feel more energised and are able to delegate tasks. They expect AI tools to optimise their productivity, offer them convenience and allow them to focus on the part of work that appeals to them. They want AI to help them delegate tasks that they don’t want to do themselves so that their work becomes more efficient overall.

Simply put, employees would rather have AI serve as an assistant to them than as a manager. A whopping 65 per cent of the C-suite admit being comfortable with AI, whereas only 46 per cent of managers share the same comfort. Tasks that involve writing are what drive employees to seek help from AI. A significant 61 per cent of the employees admitted to this, while 51 per cent agreed or strongly agreed that they would want AI to serve as a personal assistant. Forty-six per cent agreed or strongly agreed that they would want AI to handle internal workplace queries, while 37 per cent agreed or strongly agreed that they would want AI to handle performance appraisals. Only about 29 per cent wished for AI to handle job interviews

The research also found that the highly engaged employees were more open to embracing AI at work. Also, the more senior the employee, the more was their willingness to embrace AI. The more positive the employees felt about their organisation, the more was their trust in the same. The engaged employees were more likely to see the benefits of AI in boosting productivity. The senior people were more likely to believe that their organisation would use AI in their interest.

The disengaged employees did not trust their organisation would use AI to their benefit. They were more likely to think that their organisation would use AI to get rid of them and harbour negativity towards the technology. They were inclined to believe that AI would only help their organisation in poor decision making.

Studies revealed that about 68 per cent employees believed that certain jobs would be threatened by the adoption of AI, while 23 per cent believed their own jobs would be replaced by AI.

A significant portion of youngsters in the 18 to 24 age group used AI in higher education.

Employees today are keen to embrace AI but want to do it on their own terms. They would be more comfortable if the controls of the AI were in their hands.

When it comes to decision-making that involves emotions and social aspects, the reliance on AI is less. In case of job interviews, for instance, employees are not keen to have AI involved, as it lacks emotions. This explains why merely 29 per cent of the employees wish for AI to handle job interviews

While 46 per cent employees in Asia Pacific and Japan are open to AI, 48 per cent are keen to embrace AI in Latin America, while only 38 per cent in America and 38 per cen tin Europe, the Middle East and Africa are keen to embrace AI. That means, the employees in certain parts of the world are more cautious about using AI than in other regions. They want employers to use AI but ethically and responsibly. That brings us back to balance.

The only exception to this cautiousness is seen in employees with disabilities or those who are from the LGBTQ+ community. They are more willing to use AI for human-centered activities, such as performance appraisals and job interviews, as they feel that it will be less biased than humans. They find AI to be more inclusive in nature. About 37 per cent vs 29 per cent employees with a physical or mental disability felt they were more comfortable than the global average if AI interviewed them for a new job or for a promotion.

So employers who wish to adopt technology and also win the trust of their workforce will need to ensure that they embrace AI in an ethical fashion and employ it responsibly.

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Therefore, it is important for employees to see their leaders as capable of managing change and in possession of the required tools to do so. Employees who perceive their leaders have the tools

to help them manage change are five times more likely to feel a sense of community, six times more like likely to thrive at work and 10 times more likely to feel a strong sense of trust.

The best part is that 76 per cent are less likely to experience burnout.

But are leaders equipped enough to manage change?

As per an OC Tanner research, only 27 per cent leaders feel they are well prepared to help their workforces navigate change. Not many admit to having received effective training that would help them manage change either.

According to a Gartner report, on an average, employees witnessed and underwent about 10 planned enterprise changes last year, compared to two in 2016! This does not even include the innumerable unplanned changes.

Irrespective of the kind of change, what is certain is that change does result in anxiety and fear amongst employees. No matter what the size of the change, employees do tend to feel skeptical. Not surprisingly, therefore, only 15 per cent of the employees covered in the OC Tanner Survey were confident that their leaders were capable of managing change and disruption in the future. This is disappointing.

The reason for this low confidence is that the change-management methods of the past, which were primarily top-down, liner and process-driven, no longer work in today’s work environment. It doesn’t help that most traditional managers fail to involve their employees in planning the changes.

That is probably why, a Garner research revealed that only about 34 per cent of all organistaional changes are successful, while most (about 50 per cent) are failures.

People should be at the centre of change

Organisations should consciously make employees the focus of their change strategies. The research report reveals that by doing so the wellbeing of the employees can be increased, workplace culture can be strengthened and any friction that may arise from the process of change management can be erased.

As per the report, employees at people-centric organisations are 12 times more likely to report a well-managed change experience, while they are 11 times more likely to report a positive change-management experience.

In addition, they are five times more likely to feel included, five times more likely to wish to stay on with the company and 78 per cent less likely to burn out.

Clearly, for a long-term and lasting effect of change, the support of employees is essential. This can ultimately ensure organsiational and business success. That means, instead of imposing change on people, it is better to bring about change along with them.

Communication & culture are key

Employees need to be kept in mind all throughout the change process. This requires strong communication and healthy workplace culture, where employees are respected and open to new ideas and change. Genuine communication and a supportive culture make a huge difference in employees’ change experiences. This can be achieved via employee recognition.

When employees realise their work is seen, acknowledged and valued, their confidence in the organisation’s changes also increases. This is because, they trust that the organsiation will implement changes taking them into account and keeping them in the middle of it all. In organisations where employees are frequently recognized for their hard work, employees are nine times more likely to feel they receive sufficient support to handle change. In such organizations, employees are eight times more like to believe their leaders possess the tools required to help their employees with the change. Such employees are also ten times more likely to trust their organization and nine times more likely to believe the organization cares about them. That is not all, in organsiations where recognitions is an integral part of the culture, employees are eight times more likely to believe changes made are positive .

No wonder 92 per cent of employees at organisations with integrated recognition believe change in general to be positive. Their employees are five times more likely to stay on with them for at least three more years.

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India’s median salary hike is predicted to go up by 9.8 per cent in 2024, which is quite close to the actual salary hike in 2023, that is, 10 per cent.

The survey reveals that the IT sector will probably reduce hikes to 10 per cent, compared to the 11 to 12 per cent hikes of the past. This reduction is a result of close monitoring of cost structures in the IT space.

In other sectors, including pharmaceuticals, manufacturing, media, gaming and global captive centres (GCC) significant expansion is happening, as is reflected in their hiring outlook. Hiring is steady in the GCCs of financial services firms, mid-sized firms, as well as product and platform companies.

India’s voluntary attrition rate has fallen from 15.3 per cent in 2022 to 14.6 per cent in 2023. However, it still remains the highest in the Asia Pacific.

About 36 per cent of the companies surveyed anticipate good business-revenue outlook for the next one year compared to 42 per cent during the same time in 2022. About 28 per cent of companies are looking to hire in the next one year, while about 60 per cent have already increased team size in 2023 by more than what they did in 2022.

The WTW survey reveals that job opportunities remain highest in IT, engineering and sales in the next one year. While 61 per cent of the hot jobs will be in the IT space, 59.8 per cent will be in the engineering space, 42.9 per cent in sales, 38.6 per cent in technical skills trade, 11.8 per cent in finance, and 10.6 per cent in marketing. About 3.1 per cent of the hottest jobs in the next 12 months will be in human resources.

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