Naukri.com rolled-out a survey to gauge the shift in hiring outlook amongst recruiters and also to understand jobseekers sentiments on working from home.

Below are the key insights of the recruiter and jobseekers surveys;

Hybrid Working: A Sweet New Normal for Employees: Led by the COVID-19 pandemic, hiring for remote jobs has increased by 3X as compared to pre-COVID levels this year. Interestingly, as per a recent Naukri survey done with over 4000 jobseekers, majority of jobseekers (59%) prefer a hybrid model of working. A significant 76 per cent of employees confirmed that WFH is equally or more productive than the office. The jobseekers’ insight mirrors the recruiters’ perspective as well.

What jobseekers love most about Work From Home: 42 per cent of jobseekers said that the best perk of working from home is time & cost saving while travelling. 23 per cent of those surveyed are loving the freedom to choose their working location while 15 per cent feel good about having more quality time with their families.

Most Organisations have lifted the freeze in hiring: According to Naukri’s Hiring Outlook W2 survey, only 11 per cent recruiters said that hiring is on hold in their organisations which half of them had confirmed the same in W1. Furthermore, 35 per cent of recruiters agreed that hiring is happening as usual against 13 per cent who confirmed so in W1.

Recruiters show strong intent of hiring bouncing back: On asking businesses when they anticipate hiring to go back to pre-COVID levels in W2 survey, 21 per cent recruiters said it will resume under 3 months, 26 per cent predict 3-6 months, and 34 per cent said it would take their organisations 6 months to 1 year to start hiring as per usual.

Job offer Deferments have reduced: In W1, 44 per cent of recruiters confirmed deferred joining, however in W2, that has declined to only 12 per cent.

Employers have indicated a positive outlook to extend increments: While 32 per cent recruiters confirmed that increments have already been rolled out in the W2 survey, another 34 per cent will be extending salary hikes in the coming months. 38 per cent recruiters have opted to offer increments in the range of 5 per cent-10 per cent, whereas one-fifth have voted for the 15 per cent-20 per cent increment bracket.

What jobseekers hate most about Work From Home

42 per cent of jobseekers confirm that working hours have extended due to the WFH set-up. Another 15 per cent agree that WFH increases fatigue due to increased screen time while 9 per cent miss fun breaks with their colleagues.

Productivity': Around 69 per cent of recruiters and 76 per cent of jobseekers feel that WFH is equally or more productive. To maintain the same, recruiters highlighted that their top priority has been to support employees with 24/7 IT support followed by some innovative initiatives like the introduction of a mandatory leave policy, encouraging no meeting days and rolling out home office set-up allowance. Additionally, employers are positive about increments and work-from-home perks to their existing employees. 66 per cent of recruiters confirmed that salary hikes are either planned or already rolled out in their respective organizations. 5 per cent - 10 per cent is the most opted for increment bracket by recruiters followed by 15 per cent - 20 per cent.