A work-life balance and stability are the two most important features of a job for Mumbaiites, according to a survey conducted among 730 students and young professionals by
Hindustan Times and Synovate, a market research company. The respondents were final-year undergraduate or Masters
students, while the professionals were executives with up to three years of experience.
While 19% of those interviewed rated a work-life balance as the top priority, 17% said job stability mattered the most. At 13%, the opportunity to grow ranked next, followed by money, at 12%.
“The two most important things for me in a job would be the work profile as well as the work-life balance,” said Himani Shah, 21, a second year MBA student at KJ Somaiya Institute of Management Studies and Research. “If you are working all the time and don’t get enough time for yourself, that affects your work. You tend to perform better if your personal life is good.”
Of the student sample, 13% also rated the opportunity to grow as the third-most important parameter, but jointly with money.
“I’m not expecting to be paid that well at the beginning,” said Nupoor Monani, a fifth- year architecture student now doing an internship. “But I hope I get to learn as much as I want to, at the beginning of my career.”
Of all those interviewed, 53% said that Mumbai had a large number of career opportunities, 36% said that they were just adequate and 11% said they were few. And 70% of them said that Mumbai had better opportunities than other Indian cities.
“Mumbai has the best opportunities career-wise,” said Parth Contracter, 25, who moved here from Ahmedabad two years ago to work at a law firm.
“The main reason I moved to work here was the exposure this place offers.”