The Coronavirus has brought on us a crisis of magnitude much worse than the 2008 global financial crisis. Some experts are claiming that the economic impact of the coronavirus crisis is comparable with that of the Great Depression, the period of devastating economic decline between 1929 and 1939, which saw mass unemployment, factory closures and the accompanying personal trauma.
India has also seen a huge drop in its GDP growth. In the fourth quarter of the fiscal year 2020, the growth rate went down to 3.1%, according to the Ministry of Statistics. According to a joint report by ILO (International Labor Organization) and ADB (Asian Development Bank), over 4 million young Indians have lost jobs due to Covid-19 impact.
Considering all these hard facts, it is understandable that most people are pessimistic about any quick or substantial economic recovery in the country. But a report recently released by LinkedIn (Workforce Confidence Index) reveals that workforce confidence continues to rise steadily in the country which means that the workforce is comparably more confident of its job security, career progression, etc.
LinkedIn Workforce Confidence Index is a fortnightly survey and captures professionals perceptions about – job stability, access to opportunity etc. These findings are based on survey responses of 2,022 professionals for the weeks of October 5 – November 1.
Findings of the survey
- Increased workforce confidence- India’s overall workforce confidence continues to rise steadily with a composite score of +53, up 8 points from +45 in September.
- Positive trends in certain industries- The Media & Communications industry has taken a big leap in overall workforce confidence, with a composite score of +40, up 13 points from +27 in October.
- Higher tech literacy facilitating GenZ in being more productive- 10% fewer Gen Z professionals (20%) are worried about achieving less while working remotely in the pandemic, than both Gen X (45%) and Millennial (39%) professionals.
- Concerns related to career growth- 1 in 2 Gen X workers are concerned about slow career growth when working remotely.
- Concerns around exposure to Covid- As professionals slowly return to work, many still hold concerns around access to protective tools and equipments, ‘exposure to those who don’t take guidelines seriously’, amongst others.
(GenX- belonging to the age group 39-54; Millennials- 23-38 years; GenZ- Less than 22 years of age)
The findings make it clear that even though the economies worldwide have taken a hit due to the Covid, some green shoots are visible. But at the same time, some concerns do remain which need to be addressed.
Insights for businesses to support their workforce in these times
Businesses should work on addressing the fears of their employees related to exposure to the Covid. Those who continue to work remotely should be helped in increasing their tech literacy so that their performance is not negatively impacted.
Apart from this, more innovative arrangements can be made between the employers and the employees to maximize performance as well as output while also providing flexibility to the employees.
Businesses have shown resilience during the pandemic by shifting most of the work online and by outsourcing the work to the remote workforce. Now that lockdowns are lifting and situation is turning back to normal, it is imperative that efforts be made in the direction of making work more flexible and productive as well creating further new job opportunities.
Komal is an English literature student with a keen interest in economic developments and politics amongst others. She is a part of Research & Content team at HrNxt.com