Beyond Pay: Companies are introducing four-day work weeks, skilling, and mental wellness to retain talent; is it enough?

It’s not just about the money anymore for employees. From four-day work weeks, to skilling on the job and mental well-being exercises, companies are offering a host of benefits to retain top talent. Is this enough?

Not so long ago, the ideal workplace was one that offered a competitive salary. Not anymore. The increasing proportion of younger millennial and Gen Z employees now look beyond financial comforts and demand a more holistic work life that gives them time to enjoy other pursuits and the chance to learn on the job.

Over the past four years, the workplace has seen huge shifts necessitated by the pandemic, which has made remote working the norm. These changes have also forced recruiters at most Indian firms to tweak policies as they look to match up to the ambitions of younger employees and retain talent.

Once seen as western concepts, hybrid work, a more inclusive and equitable work culture, and, more importantly, a focus on upskilling employees to keep pace with technological advancements (like artificial intelligence and machine learning) and leadership courses are now becoming an integral part of the HR talent hunt modules.

There is also more investment in office infrastructure and parking facilities, four-day work weeks for employees who meet their targets ahead of schedule, and reworking rewards and recognitions for long-serving employees.

In fact, these are some of the innovative strategies being taken up by the top firms in this year’s BT-Taggd survey of The Best Companies To Work For in India.

“ The Key asks of employees now are work-life balance, pay, job security, career opportunities and mental support, working hour flexibility, and skilling and development ” 

 

Yeshab Giri 
CCO
Operational Talent Solutions
Randstad India

Writing on the Wall 

The survey finds that some of these perks are also catching on with older workers, who now see flexibility as a top priority. About 42% of respondents aged 50 and above value assignment flexibility the most, followed by quality of work (39%). Hybrid is the preferred model overall, but the work-from-home (WFH) preference is stronger for lower-paid workers. The survey found that 42% of those earning less than Rs 4 lakh annually prefer WFH, compared to 33% of those earning above Rs 12 lakh. 

Work-life balance is very important for employees. For the majority of respondents, the ability to manage personal engagements with work ranks the highest, followed by getting a chance to focus on individual and family well-being. This signals a rising demand for comprehensive well-being initiatives extending beyond mere flexibility in work hours. 

Upskilling initiatives like training them in Generative AI (Gen AI) are considered a welcome step by employees, but less than 50% of respondents say their employers are training them in Gen AI. One out of 10 employees says they have not received any support from their employer. This suggests a potential hurdle for organisations that might have begun implementing Gen AI but haven’t equipped their workforce to use it effectively.

Indeed, several talent acquisition reports highlight three key focus areas for today’s recruiters: the culture of a 10 to 6 job is being replaced by flexible work options in several sectors; a more socially responsive generation insists on prioritising diversity, equity, and inclusion (D&I) initiatives; and workers continue to prioritise the ‘future-proofing’ of their skills, particularly in light of the widespread adoption of AI. 

Yeshab Giri, Chief Commercial Officer of Operational Talent Solutions at talent agency Randstad India, says millennials and the Gen Z are more ambitious, and the onus is on companies to create a supportive environment for them to grow. “Key asks from employees now are work-life balance, pay, job security, career opportunities and mental support, working hour flexibility, and skilling and development,” he says.

He points out that notions of employment and loyalty are also changing. “For millennials and Gen Zers, the big question is what a job offers them in terms of personal growth,” says Giri.

A survey by consultancy BCG in December 2023 revealed that employers need to prioritise and invest to understand what really matters to their employees as younger workers were willing to vote with their feet. It found that 26% of Indian employees surveyed were at risk of leaving the following year. “[There] is an urgent need for employers around the world to help their employees find the right balance between functional drivers such as pay and job hours, versus emotional factors such as workplace respect, fairness, and recognition,” said Neetu Chitkara, MD and Partner, who leads the People and Organisational Practice at consultancy BCG India in the report.

According to World Bank data, India has a workforce of 593.7 million. Per industry estimates, 90% are in the informal sector.

But since employability remains a challenge—as many candidates do not possess the requisite skill sets despite having the educational background for it—retaining good talent is vital for companies. Otherwise, it could be an uphill task to hire the right talent.

“ Even senior employees need to be skilled to remain relevant. A lot of companies are now investing in skill development ” 

 

Ramesh Alluri Reddy
CEO
TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship

Skill Bill

The biggest challenge both employees and employers face is the blistering pace of technological change that is fundamentally altering many jobs. As a result, companies have had to work with employees to reskill and upskill them.

According to ‘The Randstad Workmonitor: The Voice of Talent in 2024’ report, Indian workers continue to prioritise the future-proofing of their skills, particularly in light of the widespread adoption of AI. According to the report, the Top 5 learning opportunities Indian employees are most interested in are AI, IT and tech literacy, data science and analytics, programming and coding, and software project management.

Ramesh Alluri Reddy, CEO of TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship, says to retain talent, investing in skill development is key because India has a very young working population with an average age well below 30 years. “Even senior employees need to be skilled to remain relevant. A lot of companies are now investing in skill development,” he notes.

He says many companies reimburse senior employees for any degrees and certifications they get. “For entry-level talent, there are various innovative methods supported by government policies. There is now greater acceptance and usage of apprentices in companies as well as work-integrated learning programmes,” he adds.

And it’s not just for permanent employees. Several staffing companies that provide temporary workers are also working on reskilling and upskilling these employees.

Suchita Dutta, Executive Director at the Indian Staffing Federation (ISF), says staffing companies, too, are working on upskilling their employees. “For instance, a mechanical fitter will have to upskill to remain technically knowledgeable and relevant in the case of automation,” she points out.

Diversity Please 

Recruiters highlight that employees favour employers who reflect their views, values, and take action to improve equity in the workplace.

Randstad’s Giri says new trends in hiring include equity, which means equitable opportunities cutting across all segments of talent and marginalised communities, not just women but also people with physical disabilities and the LGBTQ+ community. “The issue is how do we make them comfortable and provide a congenial work atmosphere? For employees with physical disabilities, companies also have to ensure proper access to workspace areas,” he adds.

Alok Kumar, President at Manpower, a part of the workforce solutions agency ManpowerGroup, says younger workers are keeping a close eye on which companies celebrate diversity and inclusion. “Workplaces that encourage meritocracy and encourage dialogues to build a healthy and equitable workplace shall be preferred by generations coming into the workforce in this decade,” he notes.

With the increasing thrust on hiring women returning from breaks to take up jobs, many firms that traditionally chose to hire men, especially in the manufacturing sector, are working with women. Experts note that this is driven by sectors such as automotive and electronics. “Women are opening up to jobs quite a bit. We have seen a 5x increase in the number of women being inducted into manufacturing, which has traditionally been a male-led workforce,” says TeamLease’s Reddy.

Remote Work

Though some companies insist on workers gradually returning to offices, hybrid and WFH have become irrevocable conditions of the modern workplace. 

What’s more, several larger firms are looking to hire local, non-metro talent with the requisite skills. They are even willing to pay the same amount as they pay employees in metros if the candidate meets their criteria.

Giri of Randstad notes that most companies (apart from the IT sector) are looking at a hybrid model of work where employees work for two to three days from the office. “However, in several sectors, WFH is not possible—such as manufacturing, engineering, logistics, and retail. Most women tend to prefer a hybrid mode of working as they are the primary carers at home,” he says.

Randstad India has started a four-day work week option for employees who meet their targets ahead of schedule. They can enjoy a Friday-Sunday weekend for the rest of the calendar year. A good number of people availed of this last year, the firm says.

Other Benefits

And that’s not all. There are a host of other benefits that companies are offering now to keep their top workers engaged.

For instance, post-pandemic, mental well-being has emerged as a key focus area. “Therapy is no longer seen as a bad word. With the fast pace of modern life and living alone in big cities, many employees often do not have a fallback option. In such cases, employers are now stepping in,” says a recruiter who did not wish to be named.

Dutta of ISF notes that during the pandemic, staffing companies stepped in to help the families of workers who passed away. “Staffing companies stepped in to figure out who was the next best person in the family to be skilled and brought into the labour force. These are very subtle things that are being done and are also motivating people to come into the formal workforce,” she highlights.

There are other ways in which staffing firms are looking out for their employees. Such workers often find it challenging to access loans as they move from job to job. Most staffing companies are trying to ensure that financial services are accessible to these workers. “This category needs financial independence and social security protection as well. While EPFO and ESIC coverage are mandatory, some companies also provide them with medical insurance, personal accident insurance, and death insurance,” Dutta says.

Many others are taking a fresh look at office infrastructure as well. This means providing adequate parking facilities, breakout rooms to de-stress, and nutritious meals.

The Beatles had sung the lines ‘Money can’t buy me love’ as part of their hit song, ‘Can’t Buy Me Love’ from the album A Hard Day’s Night (1964). Companies are waking up to it 60 years later.