Indian workers have the strongest preference for full-time remote work: Report

Fifty-seven per cent of Indian workers have the strongest preference for full-time remote work compared with the global average of 37%, according to a study commissioned by software firm Atlassian and conducted by PaperGiant. They surveyed 6,192 knowledge workers across six different countries—Australia, Japan, India, Germany, France, and the US, who have worked remotely at any time during the past one year.

“12 months on, the new research tells a story of change. Indian workers continue to enjoy the shift from the office environment, with the highest preference for full-time remote work, and the lowest preference for hybrid work of all countries surveyed,” the report stated.

However, the past 12 months indicate the early stages of hybrid work transition. Workers are spending less of their week working remotely and the idea of hybrid work looks to be slowly gaining traction with a slight increase from 25% to 28% year-on-year, the report said.

Indian workers were seen as leaders in adaptability and they are younger than the global average. Keeping up with change, 82% of Indian workers recognized the increasing importance of remaining adaptable compared with the global average of 59%, the report said.

A significant percentage of Indian workers upgraded their remote workspaces over the last year, with 71% of workers noting improvements to their internet connection, 67% improving workspace functionality, and 63% improving workspace comfort and ergonomics.

Over the past 12 months, workers in India have had more success in adapting to long-term remote work compared with other countries surveyed. An area of major concern highlighted in the research was that 83% of new recruits are feeling insecure about their job, which is the highest globally. Workers recruited within the last two years feel less secure in their roles yet feel a stronger sense of commitment than their colleagues with longer tenure.

“The fact that a high percentage of new recruits in India compared with other countries surveyed felt more insecure about their job, or whether it’s to do with how managers are finding their work less appealing over the last year, are matters of concern that need to be addressed by organizations. Also, compared with others, Indian workers seemed to have a substantially different outlook and propensity towards remote and hybrid work,” said Dinesh Ajmera, site lead and head of engineering, Bengaluru, Atlassian.