IET India study captures Voices from the Ground: Unheard impact of COVID-19 on India's workforce

BANGALORE, India, Jan. 18, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- IET India today released findings from a new report that captures the concerns regarding the uncertainties post COVID-19 on India's workforce across sectors and various career stages. According to the recent study jointly conducted by IET India and Feedback advisory, a market research company, about 92% prefer using their own vehicle instead of relying on shared mobility solution. While 77% feel that they are able to manage their teams virtually, 74% feel it is difficult to coach a new employee in the work from home setup. 60% of the respondents feel that job security is a thing of the past, 67% the job growth is going to be stunted, and 48% prefer to continue working from home in the future.

The motive behind this study conducted by IET India was to consolidate the voices of professionals, so that enterprises can shape useful approaches to address the concerns of Indian workforce. A total of 789 voices from the ground across India contributed to this study.

Based on the results of the survey, the following are the key highlights:

Increase in EV adoption and infrastructure development: Recent laws allowing the sale of EVs without batteries, and customers paying for batteries as fuel through battery swapping, form an inflection point in India's EV journey.

Augmented public transport: Augmented Reality is emerging as the perfect tool to simplify mega transport networks and systems and make them more understandable and personalised.

Workplace as an ecosystem: Workplaces need to be flexible. They need to enable changes as rapidly as people and organisations require. Individuals and teams will choose the right space based on the task required and where they feel the most productive.

Employee wellbeing: Workplace wellbeing of employees will have a direct impact on the bottom line of organisations. It will move from being a vanity function to a strategic function of the boardroom.

Shekhar Sanyal, Director and Country Head, IET India, said: "Our report 'Voices from the ground' is a result of a deep dive to understand the unheard perspectives from the Indian workforce. This is raw unadulterated finding without expert bias or opinions. We believe that the world we look forward to, starting from 2021 is going to be very different from the one we imagined, and this report will serve as an anchor of reality for business leaders as they start rebuilding in the post pandemic world. "

Anitha Kaveri, Head of Sectors and Special Projects, IET India, "We believe that our report, Voices from the ground, presents not just what India's workforce is experiencing or what their anticipations about future are, but also lasting implications  expected on multiple sectors. Our effort has been to highlight opportunities that have opened up across  industries and signpost challenges that need creative solutions. We look forward to working with multiple stakeholders in building these roadmaps."

The study hints that the post-pandemic world will be a matter-of-fact and utilitarian one powered by technology, where individuals will be in charge of their own skills, seeking newer and more meaningful ways to gain social capital, ready to do what it takes to surmount their fears spurred by the uncertain job market. We also imagine that organisations will pioneer new ways of working, attracting and retaining talent.

The common thread that runs through all of these scenarios is indeed technology - EV adoption, EV infrastructure, augmented public transports, on- demand offices, and talent, personalised learning and rewards are all part of what we imagine will take off on the other side of 2020. The possibilities are limitless and these avenues are what we want to focus on, as we stand on the precipice of a new world!

About the IET:

The IET is one of the world's largest engineering institutions with over 168,000 members in 150 countries. It is also the most multidisciplinary - to reflect the increasingly diverse nature of engineering in the 21st century. The IET is working to engineer a better world by inspiring, informing and influencing our members, engineers and technicians, and all those who are touched by, or touch, the work of engineers.

Institution of Engineering and Technology - India

The IET office started operations in India in 2006, in Bangalore. Today, we have over 13,000 members and have the largest membership base for the IET outside of the UK. Given the increasing global importance of India as an engineering hub* our aim is to make an impact that has relevance both locally and internationally. Our strategy is to make a meaningful impact on the overall competency and skill levels within the Indian engineering community and play an influencing role with industry in relation to technology innovation and solving problems of public importance. We want to do this through working in partnership with industry, academia and government, focussing on the application of practical skills within both learning & career lifecycles, driving innovation and thought leadership   through high impact sectors.