- New research from the Milken Institute in partnership with
Infosys analyzes attitudes towards the sudden shift to remote work
created by COVID-19
NEW YORK, March 4, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Infosys, a global
leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, today
announced the launch of the Milken Institute and Infosys report
'Future of Work: Insights for 2021 and Beyond'. The new report
highlights insights about remote work based on original research;
it examines the pandemic's impact on the workforce and offers
recommendations for employers and employees moving forward.
The report, based upon surveys of employees and managers of
large US-based companies, found that 80% of respondents are very or
somewhat satisfied with remote work, despite higher workloads and a
lack of social interactions with colleagues. Eighty-two percent of
managers said their employees are working more than they were
before the pandemic, with over half saying employees were working
'a lot' more.
However, access to remote work options remains inequitable
across income brackets with lower-income employees seeing fewer
remote job roles. Specifically, 69% of those with an income
below $50k / year said they saw
increased remote working opportunity, compared to 86% of those
making over $75k / year.
The report finds that the shift to remote work has allowed
employers to hire talent beyond where they physically operate. Some
firms have used this opportunity to double down on diversity and
inclusion. The report further explores differing sentiments among
demographic groups toward remote work, including a breakdown by
gender.
Key findings from the report include:
- 93% of women said they were satisfied with remote work,
compared to 88% of men.
- There is an increased focus on skills training, and more than
half of respondents cited training in some form as a benefit of
remote work. Most respondents (including employees themselves)
believed that employees should look for their own training
opportunities, regardless of income level.
- Companies responded to the COVID-19 pandemic in a number of
ways, from cutting jobs to reducing salaries.
- Some industries increased their efforts towards diversity
hiring.
- Employers reported a high level of trust in their employees to
be productive. Directors, senior management and C-suites all said
they trust that employees are working efficiently, but acknowledged
they have higher expectations and expect more frequent check-ins
from those they manage.
- Most employees saw increased job opportunities from remote
hiring, and employers were more willing to hire workers from
elsewhere.
- The COVID-19 pandemic has changed employment forecasts for
different sectors. Although utility companies experienced the
smallest decline in employment during COVID-19, it is projected to
have the largest decline of any sector over the next decade. By
contrast, while leisure and hospitality have been hardest hit, the
industry nonetheless expects strong employment growth.
"While the full impact of the pandemic remains unknown, it's
clear that the shift towards digitalization has altered the shape,
focus, and geographical dispersion of the American workforce," said
Michael Klowden, CEO, Milken
Institute. "This research provides insights into how Americans
view these changes. We hope to provide companies with a deeper
understanding of the pandemic's impact on employee sentiment to
manage their workforces through stronger and more equitable
approaches."
"The pandemic has accelerated trends we had already been seeing
and provided a rare opportunity to clearly envision the future of
work in a way that benefits the largest number of people," said
Ravi Kumar, President,
Infosys. "As training and reskilling become increasingly
important, companies that provide their employees with the greatest
advancement opportunities will continue to have a competitive edge.
They will also be able to meet the diversity, equity, and
inclusivity challenges the world is facing with greater
impact."
The study concludes that the future of the workplace—whether
in-office, remote, or hybrid—is already heralding significant
changes in the relationships between employers and employees.
Employees are particularly focused on adapting to the increased use
of technology, adjusting their work-life balance, and developing
trust and camaraderie in a remote setting. Drawing upon the
survey's results, the report outlines recommendations that address
both the rise of inequality and disruption stemming from the
pandemic. These include strengthening the relationships between
businesses and educational institutions, providing employees with
financial support for their training, and the need for agility in
business as we navigate the future of work and iterate on the best
solutions to the unique issues it raises.
About Infosys
Infosys is a global leader in next-generation digital services
and consulting. We enable clients in 46 countries to navigate their
digital transformation. With nearly four decades of experience in
managing the systems and workings of global enterprises, we
expertly steer our clients through their digital journey. We do it
by enabling the enterprise with an AI-powered core that helps
prioritize the execution of change. We also empower the business
with agile digital at scale to deliver unprecedented levels of
performance and customer delight. Our always-on learning agenda
drives their continuous improvement through building and
transferring digital skills, expertise, and ideas from our
innovation ecosystem.
Visit www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NYSE: INFY) can
help your enterprise navigate your next.
About the Milken Institute
The Milken Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank that
helps people build meaningful lives in which they can experience
health and well-being, pursue effective education and gainful
employment, and access the resources required to create
ever-expanding opportunities for themselves and their broader
communities. For more information, visit
https://milkeninstitute.org/.
Safe Harbor
Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth
prospects, financial expectations and plans for navigating the
COVID-19 impact on our employees, clients and stakeholders are
forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the 'safe
harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995,
which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause
actual results to differ materially from those in such
forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to
these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and
uncertainties regarding COVID-19 and the effects of government and
other measures seeking to contain its spread, risks related to an
economic downturn or recession in India, the United
States and other countries around the world, changes in
political, business, and economic conditions, fluctuations in
earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to
manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those
factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in
India, our ability to attract and
retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on
fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration,
restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our
ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for
technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication
networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete
and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our
service contracts, the success of the companies in which Infosys
has made strategic investments, withdrawal or expiration of
governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional
conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring
companies outside India,
unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic
conditions affecting our industry and the outcome of pending
litigation and government investigation. Additional risks that
could affect our future operating results are more fully described
in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings
including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended
March 31, 2020. These filings are
available at www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make
additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including
statements contained in the Company's filings with the Securities
and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. The
Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements
that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company
unless it is required by law.
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SOURCE Infosys