INDIA @ WORK
About half of Indian professionals do not enjoy their work. An HT-C fore survey reveals our attitude and involvement towards work lives
More than half (52%) of working professionals in India do not enjoy their work and do not look forward to new challenges at work. About 29% of the work force in both organised as well as unorganised sectors feels that wasting time at work has become an unwritten office culture. These are some of the findings of the work ethics survey conducted by Hindustan Times and C- fore, where working professionals, across sectors and salary brackets were quizzed to study the level of honesty and dedication Indians feel towards their professional lives. The survey threw up some interesting as well as distressing facts.
Psychologist Pulkit Sharma says, “The fact that half of the surveyed professionals do not enjoy their work can be directly linked to efficiency. A non-enthusiastic group will not be able to deliver efficiently.” Experts say, this shows that the foundation of finding passion in work is lacking amongst Indians. According to Anand Kumar, sociologist, Jawahar Lal Nehru University, “It indicates that the majority is working because of compulsions; obviously there is a little chance of them putting their best foot forward.” It's often also the lack of a happy work atmosphere that results in compromised work ethics.
The link between productivity and employee happiness was established by the findings of Towers Watson/National Business Group Staying@Work study, 2011-12, where two-thirds (66%) of companies in US and Canada with effective productivity programs performed better versus 50% of companies with ineffective programs. In another study, the Continental Europe Ethics at Work, 2012, the majority of the surveyed European employees perceived their organisation as having positive indicators of an ethical culture. Naturally the majority (77%) of employees’ thought that honesty is practiced ‘Always/Frequently’ in their organisation’s daily practices.
Interestingly, the survey showed that a non-enthusiastic approach does not stop us from bonding at work. 45% said that they provide cover for their colleagues and do not mind sharing their work in their absence. Kumar says, "Indians are homogenous by nature so empathy with colleagues comes naturally; however the bonding often has more to do with our personal inclinations. It's not uncommon to see a greater harmony amongst workers from a cer- tain region." Sameer Malhotra, head, Deptt. of Mental Sciences, Max Healthcare says, " It is important is that one should be able to work seamlessly on an individual level too." Recession, according to experts played a part in making people value office more. Rajesh Kumar, CEO, My hiring club, a recruitment firm, says, "Indians are big on reporting on time. Though they may be confusing time spent may not be consistent with the productivity."
Another key finding was that we regard punctuality as a big virtue, with almost two-thirds (66%) agreeing that it is important to report to work on time. Social scientist Shiv Visvanathan says, "Indians are known to spend long hours at work but often the reasons are varied. For lower level workers in MNCs, an office space may provide amenities like an AC and an Internet." Naresh Maheshwari, MD, Pergo India says, "Reporting to work is desirable but long work hours do not translate into more work, we often confuse quality with quantity."
52% of the respondents claimed that they push themselves extra, when they are going/or are back from a holiday. Suchi Mukerjee, CEO, Limeroad.com, says, "The concept of claiming holidays is getting redefined in many new professional set-ups." Sharma agrees, "As long as one works dedicatedly, one must feel free to take off and recharge. The idea of pushing yourself extra because you took an off may seem idealistic but is actually like punishing yourself for no fault." A 2006 study by accounting firm Ernst & Young found that for each additional 10 hours of vacation employees took, their year-end performance ratings from supervisors improved by 8 percent. Frequent vacationers were also significantly less likely to leave the firm.
The other surprising trend - pleasantly so, was that 50% of workforce believed in taking responsibility for errors committed at work. Sociologist Anand Kumar says, "With the changing protocols, people have started speaking against wrong. Maheshwari however is little skeptical, he says, "Taking responsibility differs from level to level. Often employees in middle and upper level think that it is justified at their position to take responsibilities, however it should be conscious call, across positions.”
METHODOLOGY: The survey was conducted in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai and Bangalore amongst a sample of 986 employees. 30% of respondents were females and 49% of respondents in unorganised sector.