25% workforce saw fall in incomes in India: LinkedIn

New Delhi: A quarter of the Indian workforce has reported a decrease in their incomes, while 39 per cent reported a dip in personal savings due to the impact of COVID-19 pandemic, a report by Microsoft-owned LinkedIn said on Monday.

While 42 per cent of Indian professionals will increase their time spent in job search in the next two weeks, 64 percent will increase their focus on learning, showed the professional network’s “Workforce Confidence Index”, a bi-weekly pulse on the confidence of the Indian workforce.

Despite widespread impact of the pandemic, only 55 per cent of respondents said that their companies are offering them remote working options, and only 25 per cent have flexible or part-time working hours, showed the findings.

The report is based on an online survey of more than 1,000 members on LinkedIn, and uses a scale from -100 to +100 to reflect professionals’ current sentiments about the jobs market, their financial status, career progression, and their expectations going forward.

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The index showed a sense of cautious optimism about the future with a composite score of +53 for the week of April 1-7.

Those surveyed feel confident about long-term outlook but are troubled with overarching concerns in the short-term regarding availability of jobs, company’s financial situation, and the impact of these factors on their incomes and personal savings.

Nearly half of Indian professionals are confident about achieving financial betterment in the next six months, while three out of five professionals believe they will achieve career progression in the next year, showed the survey.

Indians are also optimistic about long-term economic stability, as findings showed that 72 per cent of Indian professionals are confident about their companies bouncing back in the next two years.

“Based on the inaugural findings of the Workforce Confidence Index, it is reassuring to see a majority of India’s workforce remain confident about long-term outlook, and determined in the short-term to upskill, pivot, and adapt,” Ashutosh Gupta, India Country Manager, LinkedIn, said in a statement.

The report, however, revealed that self-employed individuals expressed lower confidence in job stability and financial betterment.

But they shared a similar sentiment with full-time employees towards career progression.

In contrast to the mostly optimistic outlook of active job seekers and self-employed professionals, senior management executives showcased caution about future outlook.

The findings also showed that 33 per cent of senior executives feel their companies will face tougher times in the next six months, and 69 per cent are confident of their companies’ progress in the next two years.

A third of Director-level executives feel there are worse times for their companies ahead, whereas only a fifth of individual contributor-level employees feel this way.

Despite the expansive outbreak of COVID-19, many professionals reported that their companies have still not offered them access to services that support physical health and emotional wellbeing.

Only 24 per cent of Indian professionals are receiving support from their companies for physical health and 22 per cent for emotional wellbeing currently, said the report.

–IANS