Workers in India are removed from able to return to the pre-pandemic days of working in an workplace, 5 days every week.

That’s in accordance with a brand new survey by employment website Indeed, which discovered that 71% — or about two in three — Indian professionals selected flexibility as the highest parameter whereas on a job hunt.

“This includes the ability to work from home, set your own hours, and take breaks as needed,” the job portal added.

Flexibility has been a rising precedence for working professionals, who report better work-life balance and productivity once they can select the place and once they work.

According to Indeed’s survey, which drew knowledge from greater than 1,200 job seekers in India, “work modes” corresponding to hybrid or distant preparations had been a detailed second (70%) for working professionals when evaluating a job alternative. 

In distinction, fewer job seekers (67%) contemplate the compensation provided for the job. That contains wage, advantages, medical health insurance, household go away and different studying applications provided by an organization. 

In an period of labor the place professionals need the selection to work the place they’re best, employers are much less prone to supply that flexibility than earlier than. 

“Employers’ attitudes towards remote work remains at odds with the preferences of job seekers in India,” Sashi Kumar, Indeed India’s head of gross sales advised CNBC Make It.

“The latter remain keenly interested in remote work, whereas employers are far less likely to mention ‘work from home’ in the job ads they post.”

According to Indeed, 6.5% of job postings on the platform in June explicitly point out phrases corresponding to “work from home” or “remote work” of their job descriptions. 

While that determine has “drifted upwards” in 2023 so far, it stays properly under the degrees noticed in 2021, it added. 

In distinction, Indeed discovered that job searches for distant or hybrid work stay elevated at over 10%. 

The survey additionally revealed that 63% desire to work in a hybrid setting specifically, the place they will earn a living from home some days and from the workplace on different days.

Yet, solely 51% of 561 surveyed employers said they supply that possibility.

According to Kumar, there are a number of elements which are contributing to firms’ need to have workers again in workplace.

“Companies are eager to restore a sense of pre-Covid normalcy, and bringing employees back to the office is seen as a step towards achieving that,” he defined.

“The traditional office environment has long been a cornerstone of corporate culture, and for many, it represents a place of communication, collaboration, and innovation.”

Employees additionally see having workers bodily current within the workplace as a method to “enhance productivity” and guarantee higher accountability.

However, Kumar added, “the future of work is undoubtedly evolving, and it’s essential for organizations to remain open-minded and adaptable in response to these changes.”

In the midst of financial uncertainty, job seekers have been facing longer job interview processes as firms turn into extra cautious with hiring. 

According to a June report from HR advisory Josh Bersin Company, in collaboration with workforce options agency AMS, the quantity of time it takes to hire a new employee reached “an all-time high” in 2023.

The report confirmed that common time-to-hire charges for the primary quarter of 2023 elevated throughout all industries by sooner or later — pushing the recruitment course of to 44 days on common.

This could also be why Indeed’s survey discovered that India’s job seekers mirrored the necessity for “more transparency and clarity” about jobs and interview processes. 

Its findings confirmed that solely 15% of candidates hear again from firms after interviews inside 10 to fifteen enterprise days, whereas 63% wait between 15 to 30 enterprise days.

In addition, nearly half of job seekers, or 48% surveyed, wish to know the wage vary from employers earlier than making use of for a task, Indeed added. 

While the size of the recruitment course of will depend on the scale of the corporate, business and function, Kumar mentioned that “clear communication” is essential particularly when attrition charges are excessive.