India's frontline workers fear being outpaced by new technology

Six in 10 frontline workers in India worry that they could lose their jobs if they don't adapt to new technology, a new Microsoft report showed on Thursday.

Nearly 88 per cent of frontline workers in India are excited about job opportunities tech creates.

Higher pay, skill development and better employee benefits are top reasons for frontline workers to consider new jobs, according to Microsoft India's 'Work Trend Index' report.

"Even as we continue to endure pandemic uncertainty right now, frontline workers are standing up to the challenge of keeping the wheels of the economy running," said Rajiv Sodhi, COO, Microsoft India.

"There are clear signals about the opportunity to align business outcomes with the wellbeing and growth of frontline employees. It's encouraging to see that technology can help at this inflection point," he said in a statement.

Also Read | Economists pin more blame on tech for rising inequality

Covid-19 has also strengthened ties and frontline workers have turned to each other for weathering this storm together.

In India, 86 per cent of frontline workers report that they "feel very bonded to co-workers" because of shared stresses brought on by the pandemic.

But their connections to leadership and company culture are weak.

"Sixty-six per cent of frontline workers say that leadership does not prioritise building workplace culture, and that jumps to 69 per cent for those in management positions on the frontline such as department heads, store managers, and shop-floor supervisors," the findings showed.

Sixty-five per cent of frontline workers say messages from leadership don't make it to them.

Things are especially trying for frontline managers (67 per cent) who say their higher-ups are not effectively communicating with them either.

At the same time, 17 per cent of frontline workers feel their voice is not being heard when communicating workplace issues, said the report.

While 23 per cent of frontline workers in non-management positions don't feel valued as employees, many workers (65 per cent) wish more was being done to help with physical exhaustion or to support mental health (64 per cent).

"As we embark on year three of the pandemic, 41 per cent of frontline workers believe that work stress will either stay the same or worsen in the coming year," the report mentioned.

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