Informal Workers Prioritise Prestige And Career Potential Over Wages: New Collar Generation Report

Quess Corp, a business service provider has published the ‘New Collar Generation Report’. The report sheds light on the lack of social security coverage among the majority of workers and their desire to feel inclusive and secure at the workplace. The report surveyed 4,179 respondents of all ages across 7 metros and 7 non-metros across India. 

India’s informal sector constitutes more than 90 per cent of the 500 million working individuals. The objective of the survey was to understand the priorities and perceptions of India’s working population post-pandemic. 

Expectations of informal workforce for security

 According to the report, informal employees prioritise factors such as prestige and career potential over wages. 80 per cent of the informal employees expect their employers to provide Employees’ State Insurance (ESI) and other medical benefits. 

The younger informal employees, 83 per cent - 18 to 25 years and 81 per cent - 26 to 35 years expect a higher ESI. Furthermore, 79 per cent of respondents would compromise on 20 per cent or more of their salary if it provided security and benefits equivalent to their formal counterparts. 

Lohit Bhatia, President of Workforce Management, Quess Corp said that the findings of the study will help direct the policymakers on the desires of the informal workforce. He mentioned that the current laws enable coverage of social security benefits only for organisations that have above 10 or 20 employees, which leaves behind a huge class of citizens that are not benefitted by these laws. 

Role of technology in job discovery for informal sector

Government initiatives such as E-Shram, a portal created for the registration of unorganised workers across the country, has over 285 million registrations. Technology plays an important role in educating workers about the benefits that come with formal employment. 

As per the survey, 84 per cent of respondents agree that technology does play an important role. 70 per cent of the respondents have benefitted from online job portals, online news portals and company websites to search for information about job security and benefits. 

Informal sector women priorities towards health and security

Women, especially in low-income communities in India, holistically view their lives and not independently as ‘jobs’, ‘care giving work’ and 'upholding traditions'. The research shows that the priorities of women working in the informal sector are highly towards health and security, while for men, it is inclined towards career building. 63 per cent of women claim that they would compromise on a higher salary instead of health benefits and a formal agreement, compared to only 28 per cent of men.

The uncertainties during the pandemic made the expectations of informal employees move into a secure, formal work category. It indicates a new wave of empowerment that needs to be urgently considered by private businesses and the government.