Happiness makes young professionals tick at work in India
Survey reveals most young professionals are ready to abandon their jobs for better career and growth opportunities if they do not have peace of mind at workplace.
An offer letter is a great document but it does not guarantee happiness.
Many of today’s young professionals are not happy at work, sticking around just for the salary. Peace of mind and happiness are highly valued. Otherwise, beware! They’re ready to abandon ship for better career and growth opportunities.
In the third part of a Hindustan Times-MaRS Monitoring and Research Systems survey, young workers in various organisations talk about taking a break from work, about things that make them tick at work and their future plans.
Just 30% respondents say they are happy at work, 47% among them from Mumbai and Hyderabad, and 32% from Delhi. Men (31%) are more satisfied with their jobs than women (29%).
Thirty four per cent employees aged between 25 and 27 are happier than 24% in their early twenties. Happiness levels are also high in social media (38%) followed by 34% in digital entertainment and media. Mumbaikars rate their jobs at 8.5 on the scale of one to 10. Hyderabad comes a close second, followed by Delhi at 8.1.
Yogesh Chabria, motivational speaker and author of the Happionaire Series, says the work ethics of young people, especially Generation Z, whose birth years start in the mid-1990s, are clearly defined.
“They know they won’t spend their life in (one) company and while they are there they look at it as a two-way relationship. They are looking to move ahead and grow. Their success is guided by the fact that they are constantly looking to grow their knowledge and skill set,” he says. Forty three per cent feel career growth and opportunities matter, most of them (52%) from Kolkata and 44% from Delhi and Bangalore.
Salaries are key for 38% of the respondents, including 51% from Kolkata and Mumbai. Thirty per cent respondents like the work they do, 36% among them from Bengaluru.
Garima Gakhar, assistant manager, leasing, at New Delhi’s Select Citywalk, involved in letting out space for showrooms, says her master’s degree in fashion management from the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) gave her good grounding in brand management, marketing and finance and legal matters. Once an intern at the Saket mall doing a project on shopping centres for the NIFT, she was hired there later. “In an industry like ours it’s important to learn how to use your common sense, your grasping power and learn from your work,” she says.
Networking and socialising with colleagues is important for 24% employees, including 30% from Bengaluru and 26% from Chennai.
Twenty three per cent survey participants appreciate the chance they get at work to maintain work-life balance, including 33% from Bengaluru.
Aaditi Sardana, 23, executive retail, Select Citywalk handles marketing for retail stores — specifically for perfume couture and watches - owned and franchised by the mall. She says she is motivated to give 100% to her job because every employee’s opinion matters to her organisation’s managers, and everyone’s made to feel a part of the team.
Overseeing events and promotions for brands like Tommy Hilfiger, Calvin Klein, US Polo, Dior and Chanel, this Modern School alumna and graduate from Boston University, says she values this feeling of “belonging” to her organisation. A year with a luxury goods department store Bergdorf Goodman in New York city left her feeling unhappy as she was “always the outsider there, no matter how good my experience with them looked on my resume.”
Chabria, who has addressed the European Parliament on his vision for a globalised world based on meritocracy and holistic values, says Gen Z’ers’ expectations at work are focused on two areas - the first is they want to learn and grow. They don’t like restrictions and also want work-life integration, where besides work they like to travel, have fun and explore the world.
About 39% professionals feel optimistic about the progress of their careers – most of them (49%) from Bengaluru, 46% from Hyderabad and 43% from Delhi.
Even though they are not too hung up on career planning, 36% professionals say they might in future opt for another function in the current industry.
Only 21% young employees want to grow vertically in the present function within their current industry.
Despite stepping into their first jobs just recently, 44% employees have started hankering for a break and want to do an educational course for better career growth.
Both Sardana and Gakhar want to work independently in their later years. The former wants to run a fashion consulting company for luxury brands, and the latter wants to work as advisor to international brands opening outlets in India.
Right now, however, the two young women, who love to shop, have access to an entire mall the whole day, grabbing lunch or coffee or browsing the latest fashion trends in clothing. They are not looking for a change at the moment.
