Facing risk . Economic uncertainty could threaten to wind back “pandemic progress” in workplace: LinkedIn research

Bengaluru, November 14

LinkedIn’s new global C-level research shows that flexibility and employee benefits introduced during the pandemic now face risk due to the ongoing economic uncertainty. 

According to the research, 9 out of every 10 business leaders in India say the current economic climate could threaten flexible working (91 per cent), while other areas of work life such as learning and development (90 per cent) and employee wellbeing (89 per cent) are most likely to be affected, too.

More than two-fifth of India’s business leaders are looking to reduce employer learning and development budgets and opportunities (43 per cent), and nearly half (49per cent) are looking to reduce flexible and hybrid working roles (49 per cent). Additionally, 71 per cent also prefer employees to work more frequently from the office, opposed to working from home. Despite this, 82 per cent of business leaders believe that hybrid working is here to stay for the longer term.

This comes at a time when an analysis of remote job postings on LinkedIn shows that remote roles are on the in decline, although applications to those roles exceed supply by nearly two-fold in India. In September 2022, 11.3 per cent of paid job postings in India offered a remote working option. However, remote working roles received 20.3 per cent of all job applications.

Cost-cutting

With companies reducing flexibility and growth opportunities, the C-level research shows that a majority (86 per cent) of business leaders in India are concerned that these cost-cutting measures will have a negative impact on employee motivation levels, which may also be why 84 per cent agree they aren’t able to find the right talent today.

Ashutosh Gupta, India Country Manager, LinkedIn, said: “The sheer scale of the ongoing uncertainty is forcing many leaders to rethink what and how much they can offer to their employees today. While flexibility and learning are usually the first to go when times are tough, pulling back on these in the present situation could demotivate employees, widen the skills gap, and inflate retention rates. At a time when professionals are just as threatened by the age of uncertainty as businesses are, leaders must adopt a forward-thinking approach and continue to invest in their people.”

LinkedIn commissioned YouGov to survey 2,929 C-level executives across the globe (US, UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Sweden, UAE, Brazil, Mexico, India, Singapore, Australia, China, and Japan) from organisations with 1,000-plus employees and an annual turnover of £250 million-plus between September 27 and October 19. The survey was conducted online.

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