Research shows 91% of Indian employees are willing to work from office if they can socialize with co-workers
Report outlines three urgent pivots for leaders to help employees and organizations thrive
India, September 29, 2022: Microsoft today released the India findings of the 2022 Work Trend Index Pulse Report, “Hybrid Work Is Just Work. Are We Doing It Wrong?”
The data makes clear that hybrid work has created a growing disconnect between employees and leaders. They’re at odds about what constitutes productivity, how to maintain autonomy while ensuring accountability, the benefits of flexibility and the role of the office.
“Thriving employees are what will give organizations a competitive advantage in today’s ever evolving economic environment,” said Bhaskar Basu, Country Head – Modern Work, Microsoft India. “To bridge this gap, a new approach is needed that recognizes work is no longer just a place, but an experience that needs to keep employees engaged and connected, no matter where they are working from.”
To help leaders navigate the new realities of work, the Work Trend Index Pulse Report points to three urgent pivots every leader should make. The report is based on an external study of 20,000 people in 11 countries, including India, drawing on analysis of trillions of Microsoft 365 productivity signals, LinkedIn labor trends and Glint People Science insights.
1. End Productivity Paranoia: 93% of employees in India report they are productive at work, but 91% of leaders on the other hand say the shift to hybrid work has made it challenging to have confidence in employees being productive. This hyper focus on productivity is impacting health and wellbeing. 47% of employees and 58% of leaders in India report that they’re already burnt out at work. It’s imperative that leaders need to create clarity and alignment around company goals, eliminate busywork that doesn’t support those goals and listen to their people. However, the data shows that only 44% of companies rarely, if ever, collect employee feedback. Only 56% of employees in India can confidently say that their company solicits employee feedback at least once a year. This means that just under half of the companies in India hear about their employees’ experiences at work (44% versus a global average of 57%).
2. Embrace that people come in for each other: The data is clear- people need a better reason to come into the office than policy alone. 93% of leaders in India say getting employees back to the office in-person is a concern. The report finds that people are most likely to come in for each other than any other reason. 80% of employees in India say they need a better reason to go into the office besides company expectations, but they would be motivated to go for other reasons. 91% of employees in India would be motivated by the promise of socializing with coworkers and 92% by the prospect of rebuilding team bonds. The data underscores we have a deep human need to connect with the people we associate with, and that spending time together can help us build stronger relationships, which are key to doing our best work.
3. Re-skill to re-recruit your employees: 60% of employees in India say there are not enough growth opportunities in their company to stay long term. The findings make it clear that if people can’t learn, they leave. 90% percent of employees in India (versus a global average of 76%) say that they’d stay at their company longer if they could benefit more from learning and development opportunities, revealing a powerful retention tool. Currently 66% of employees in India say the best way to develop their skills is to change companies. However, 84% of Gen Z and Millennial employees say they would stay longer at their company if it was easier to change jobs internally. In a tight labor market, re-recruiting people and investing in their careers for the long run could be the difference between a successful and a struggling organization.
To address these challenges, Microsoft announced new capabilities in Microsoft Viva, the first integrated employee experience platform for the hybrid work era. The company announced the launch of Viva Pulse, a new app that empowers managers and team leads to seek regular and confidential feedback about their team’s experience, right in the flow of work in Teams. It also announced enhancements to Viva Learning’s integration with LinkedIn, now with the LinkedIn Learning Hub, along with new integrations in Viva Goals that bring goals into the flow of work, helping organizations align everyday work to business outcomes.
These new Viva capabilities will begin rolling out to customers in early 2023.
To learn more, visit the Official Microsoft Blog, Microsoft 365 Blog, and the new Work Trend Index Pulse Report.
About Microsoft
Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT” @microsoft) enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. Microsoft set up its India operations in 1990. Today, Microsoft entities in India have over 20,000 employees, engaged in sales and marketing, research, development and customer services and support, across 11 Indian cities – Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, New Delhi, Gurugram, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Noida, and Pune. Microsoft offers its global cloud services from local data centers to accelerate digital transformation across Indian startups, businesses, and government organizations.
