IT employees keen to continue to WFH, career takes a backseat

A good 57% of tech professionals would not consider returning to the IT services sector if their needs for desire for flexibility, career growth and value proposition are not met, a Teamlease Digital report has found.

This is worrying at a time when attrition in the space is already running high at 25% and employee-employer relations have been strained by differing views on work-from-home (WFH).

Employees are now looking for flexibility, a strong sense of ownership and much more,” according to the report titled Brain Drain: Tackling Talent Exodus.

“Employees want recognition, the opportunity to upskill, a sense of belonging and access to the right leaders and mentors,” said Rituparna Chakraborty, co-founder and executive director, Teamlease.

Chakraborty pointed out there has been a 30-35% increase in demand for tech skills and current demand for half a million youth could go up to 1.5 million by 2025. There has been an explosion in jobs in the startup world, she said.

The study debunks the myth that “a salary increase would improve performance and boost job satisfaction”. Employees’ needs and priorities have changed and they are re-evaluating their careers.

“With the usual demand for salary hikes and other benefits, the main attraction for employees in their new jobs is a ‘Great Reflection’ on the internal policies and external factors that should be relooked at by employers as we are viewing great changes in the employees’ feelings about work and life,” Sunil Chemmankotil, CEO, TeamLease Digital, said.

As the debate on moonlighting and hybrid work model rages on, it is clear that companies will need to be a lot more considerate about employees’ needs. As the report notes, organisations’ strategic hiring plans must take into account the aspirations of their employees and their betterment. “This ultimately translates into soul searching over whether an employee feels valued in his/her work or merely creates outcomes and value to benefit others,” the report said.

“A fundamental change in the employment value proposition leads to deeper employee-employer relationships, a strong sense of owning and purpose-driven work,” Chemmankotil, observed. The IT sector contributed 9% to the national GDP and accounted for 51% of services exports. The sector also added a total of 4.5 lakh freshers in the current financial year, which is the highest addition in a single year. Of this, 2 lakh employees were women. PTI