Indian workers are significantly more likely than their global counterparts to feel underpaid despite receiving among the most generous salary hikes last year, a new survey has found.
While 69% of Indian workers surveyed by ADP Research Institute felt underpaid at least sometimes, the share was just 43% globally. Meanwhile, Indians remained dedicated to work, giving away 10 hours and 39 minutes of unpaid work time per week, the highest among the four countries covered in the Asia-Pacific region and much higher than the global average of just over eight hours.
ADP Research Institute is a workforce management solutions firm, and its survey, conducted online, covered over 32,000 workers across 17 countries in October and November 2022. The findings were released on Monday in a report titled ‘People at Work 2023: A Global Workforce View’.
The survey reflects how workers in India are feeling the pinch of the ever-increasing cost of living even as they grapple with what the report said was a “regular underpayment of wages”.
About 78% of the workers in India reported receiving a salary hike last year—the highest share among the 17 countries. The average hike was 7.2%, the highest only after hyperinflation-hit Argentina. In comparison, only 50% of the employees in China reported getting a pay hike, 70% in Singapore, and 66% in Australia. Driven by Argentina’s average, Latin American workers were the most likely across regions to have got a pay raise in 2022.
Indians have an even more optimistic outlook for the coming 12 months, with about 49% of the workers expecting a promotion in this period and 90% expecting a pay hike. In comparison, 83% of workers globally expect a salary hike in the next 12 months. The average expected hike in India is 8.4%, compared with 8.3% globally. Close to 20% of the country’s workers anticipate an increase of 4-6%, while 19% expect it to be in the range of 10-12%.
Pay disparities in terms of gender persist, with men receiving an average hike of 6.7% last year globally, as compared to 6% for women. Yet, 46% of the male workers are more likely to feel underpaid for their jobs, as against 42% of their female colleagues. The figures for India were not immediately clear.
Younger and older workers are more likely to feel overlooked by their employers when it comes to pay raises.
Just 50% of the so-called ‘Generation (Gen) Z’, comprising 18-24-year-olds, expect to get pay raises in their current company in the next 12 months, as do those aged 55 and over (49%), whereas around two-thirds of all other age bands anticipate one.
Globally, 62% of workers agree that no sector will escape the effects of economic uncertainty, but the technology/information industry is seen as the most ‘future-proof’ (44%). Almost 37% of those surveyed said they don’t feel secure in their jobs. Nonetheless, optimism about the next five years in the workplace remains high (87%).
A good pay raise becomes even more necessary when uncertainties regarding a global recession have surfaced.
Even if inflation has peaked, it remains historically high in many countries and may take some time to return to more comfortable levels. But the rapid interest rate hikes by central banks of almost all major economies and weak consumer demand have forced job cuts at many companies.
Meanwhile, a flexible working policy has also become one of the key factors for employees, especially after the covid-19 pandemic. It allows them the flexibility of working hours as well as location. About 44% of the workers in India said they had complete flexibility to choose whether to work from the office, remotely or opt for a mix of both, as against 24% in Singapore and 20% in Australia.
In terms of on-the-job training, 77% of workers in India feel their employers invest in the skill they need to advance in their career, versus 56% in Singapore and 53% in Australia. Indian workers consider management skills as the most important for their roles for the next five years.
The survey had 7,721 respondents in the Asia-Pacific region, with 26% of them working in the gig economy. The figures have been weighted to represent the working population of each country.