Why most Indians aim to retain jobs to remain confident

With nearly 66 per cent of active job seekers increasing their time spent on job search, there has been a modest rise in the overall confidence among professionals in India, a new LinkedIn report said on Tuesday.

Based on the survey responses of 1,303 professionals in India, the LinkedIn 'Workforce Confidence Index' revealed rising optimism towards job security as businesses slowly reopened last month in the country.

HR expert Prabir Jha said that it must be understood that retaining a job in the present times is in itself a strong confidence booster.

"Many people are also willing to take up to 50% cut in their salaries for an assured job. This means that whoever retains a job today, clearly knows that his/her role matters to the organization even in the new reality," he explained.

The findings showed that about two in three professionals will increase their time spent searching for (66 per cent) and applying to (64 per cent) jobs in the next two weeks.

The active job seekers aim to upskill today for a safer tomorrow as 68 per cent said they will increase their time spent on online learning to harbour long-term job security and career progression.

However, only one in four senior professionals said they would increase their time spent on searching for jobs in comparison to almost half (45 per cent) of the junior workforce.

The study showed that only 16 per cent of decision makers would increase the number of jobs they apply to, when compared to 48 per cent of the junior workforce.

"More experienced workers may have savings to support them in the long run," said Jha, explaining why senior professionals are not as inclined towards increasing their time spent on searching for jobs.