This surge in confidence is largely fuelled by the rising optimism of Indian professionals towards their personal finances, with 1 in 3 professionals expecting an increase in their earned income (30%), personal spending (35%), and recurring debt payments (33%).

LinkedIn, an online professional network, today announced findings of the sixteenth edition of the Workforce Confidence Index, a fortnightly pulse on the confidence of India’s workforce. Based on the survey responses of 2,022 professionals for the weeks of October 5 - November 1, the pre-festive season findings reveal India’s improving financial outlook, as Gen X and Millennial professionals expect their earned income and personal spending to increase. This rising optimism comes at a time when the festive season approaches and as India’s economy slowly opens up.

The sixteenth edition of the Workforce Confidence Index shows that India’s overall workforce confidence continues to rise steadily with a composite score of +53, up 8 points from +45 in September. This surge in confidence is largely fuelled by the rising optimism of Indian professionals towards their personal finances, with 1 in 3 professionals expecting an increase in their earned income (30%), personal spending (35%), and recurring debt payments (33%). This optimism is shared mutually across generations as findings show 2 in 5 Gen X (40%) and Millennial (41%) professionals expect their earned income and personal spending to rise in the next six months. 

In other positive trends, the Media & Communications industry has taken a big leap in overall workforce confidence, with a composite score of +40, up 13 points from +27 in October. However, their confidence score is still low when compared to other industries like Manufacturing (+60), Software & IT (+55), and Finance (+52).

1 in 2 Gen X workers concerned about slow career growth when working remotely

Most Indian professionals, across generations, enter the festive season concerned about their career progression while working remotely in the pandemic. Findings show that 1 in 2 (45%) Gen X professionals are concerned about slow career progression while working remotely, while 1 in 3 (31%) feel they achieve less when working remotely. In stark contrast, only 1 in 5 (20%) Gen Z professionals are worried about achieving less while working remotely in the pandemic; 10% fewer than both Gen X (29%) and Millennial (21%) professionals. This could be due to higher-tech literacy and smoother remote work adoption amongst Gen Z professionals.

As lockdown restrictions continue to ease across the country, and professionals slowly return to work, many are still concerned about being safe when working on-site in the current scenario. Findings show that Gen Z professionals are 20% more likely to be worried about workplace sanitization than Gen X and Millennials. Gen Z professionals are also 7% more likely to be concerned about access to protective tools and equipment than other generations. Overall, concerns around ‘exposure to those who don’t take guidelines seriously’ and ‘inadequate employer policies’ are mutually shared across generations. 

Looking towards the post-pandemic future, about 1 in 2 Healthcare (56%) and Manufacturing (49%) professionals say they will mostly or only work on-site, while 2 in 5 Education (39%) and Finance (44%) professionals anticipate being in a workplace that offers both physical and remote models, after the pandemic.