Future of work in post-pandemic world

In recent times, the coronavirus pandemic has become the single most significant event to disrupt the world and has forever changed many aspects of people’s lives. One major shift is evident in the way people are hiring and getting hired.

Employees are now focusing on having flexible work timings, working from home, and prioritizing the wellbeing of themselves and their families compared to pre-pandemic work-life where their only target was to have a high-paying job. A lot of people quit their jobs to pursue their passion, shift to industries that they love to work with, and so on.

Although initially there were a lot of issues in terms of connectivity and streamlining various processes, most companies in the US report to have seen a 5% to 8% increase in productivity. However, Indian’s have seen a drop in productivity due to network issues, hardware constraints, and unavailability of technical support. The attrition rate of leading IT firms in India is now at an all-time high. As a result, the tech biggies are facing issues in executing projects. The attrition rate of Cognizant is at 21% for Jan to March, a quarter of 2021, in contrast to 19% in the same quarter last year. Infosys has recorded an attrition rate of 15.2%, and Wipro’s attrition rate stood at 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Meanwhile, the attrition rates of analytics professionals in India stood at 16.0% in 2020, dropping from 30.7% in 2019. Industry analysts anticipate a 22-23% attrition rate in 2021, which translates to one million resignations on a projected base of 4.6 million IT employees.

Top 10 Employee COVID-19 Concerns

This, however, is not entirely due to layoffs. Although during the initial months of pandemic lockdown, there was a job turnover plunge, and a lot of people were desperately hanging onto their job irrespective of how they felt, gradually, this has enabled most of them to figure out what they value in life. The demands and priorities of most employees have changed, and the pandemic showed that they have no reason to compromise whatsoever. It’s not just about the money anymore. Many individuals are seeking jobs that help in their career progression, provide work benefits such as retirement plans, health, disability, and life insurance, paid family medical leave, and emergency savings programs. There is an increased focus on work-life balance now more than ever. A survey by career site Joblist revealed that over 30% of workers said they’d give up part of their pay for a better work-life balance, with parents willing to take a 5% pay cut. Currently, most employees are expected to sacrifice a healthy work-life balance to meet their company’s needs, causing them to feel less fulfilled and less effective in their roles. Research suggests companies who adopt wellness initiatives improve employee loyalty, which retains top talent, saving them time, money, and resources required to acquire new hires.

A lot of employees also raised concerns about post-pandemic stress which has led to low morale, depression, and other mental health issues. Recent research by KPMG revealed that 94% of workers are stressed. Oracle concluded 2020 to be the most stressful year ever with people now at breaking point. 78% believe the coronavirus pandemic has severely affected their mental health; 40% are making more flawed decisions, and 90% conclude that newfound work-related stress affects their home lives. The culmination of this is causing unprecedented levels of depression (up 53%), anxiety (up 55%), and even PTSD (up 32%), which is further exacerbated by a growing backlash against employee surveillance.

This post-pandemic shift in employee priorities has given rise to new challenges for employers who are already struggling with high attrition rates and low employee motivation. With the lockdowns imposed, they had to quickly establish remote working. Retention of employees has gotten trickier, given the change in mindsets. The process of hiring is expensive and so recruiters are looking for ideal candidates who will stay with the company for a while. Numerous companies have reported that Covid-19 has further accelerated a strong focus on policies pertaining to the culture of learning and enabling remote working. 46% of organizations are now exploring ways to develop talent-based skills. But only about a third of them are trying to

understand the current skills and skill levels of their employees. 26% of organizations plan to reward skill-based incentives to employees.

With the global market slowly picking up, there has been a surge in hiring across various industries. Most companies have however realized that the hiring processes used earlier have now become obsolete. They are now rethinking the kind of talent they would like to hire. The focus on soft skills is now drastically higher owing to online interaction with clients and colleagues. With interviews becoming more virtual they are also finding it important to identify their preferred platforms for virtual interviews. Video-conferencing platforms can allow multiple people in remote locations to participate simultaneously and evaluate job candidates in a common environment. 84% of recruiters are in the process of adapting their hiring processes to facilitate remote exchanges. Of these, 58% are now using social media networks like LinkedIn, Facebook, and even Instagram to connect with potential hires and offering permanent work from home thereby attracting talent from across the globe.

The change in work patterns and shift in work culture is here to stay. To ensure that companies survive, they need to quickly adopt this new normal or risk losing their employees as well as become incapable of attracting new talent. With the competition so fierce, what is your firm doing to get back in the game right now?