About 85 per cent employees in India believe that their productivity can be accurately measured irrespective of location, according to the EY 2021 Work Reimagined Employee Survey.

The survey – one of the largest global surveys of its kind –collated the views of more than 16,000 employees across 16 countries and multiple industries and job roles. It includes 496 employees from India and explores employee attitudes and experiences to work throughout the pandemic and into the “next normal”.

Given the choice, 69 per cent employees in India would choose flexibility in when they work. By comparison, 76 per cent want flexibility in where they work. However, globally, 54 per cent employees want flexibility in when they work and 40 per cent want flexibility in where they work. On average, employees would want to work between two and three days remotely after the pandemic. About 38 per cent employees said they want a shorter working week altogether, while 65 per cent want their employer to provide flexible timing for work.

Anurag Malik, Partner, People Advisory Services, EY India, said, “The COVID-19 pandemic has shown that flexibility can work for both employees and employers, and flexible working is the new currency for attracting and retaining top talent. Employers who want to keep the best people now and in the next normal will need to put flexible working front and center of their talent strategy and accordingly redesign their work models to increase flexibility for their employees.”

Despite the apparent willingness to move jobs for more flexible working arrangements, most respondents in India (91 per cent) say they are satisfied with their jobs.While, globally, 76 per cent employees say they are satisfied with their jobs. Also, more than half (54 per cent ) of the employees surveyed from around the world would consider leaving their jobs post the COVID-19 pandemic if they are not afforded some form of flexibility in where and when they work.

The prospect of increasingly widespread flexible working is leading to more demands for technology, both on-site and in the home office. 74 per cent of respondents say they want better technology in the office (e.g. faster internet and videoconferencing), almost half (45 per cent) say they want companies to upgrade at-home hardware (e.g. extra monitors and headsets), and almost the same proportion (44 per cent) would like re-imbursement for high-speed internet/phone expenses. However, despite the shift toward new ways of working and the rapid adoption of virtual meeting technology, a vast majority, i.e. 90 per cent (globally 67 per cent) would like to travel for business moderately to extensively after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The survey also canvassed attitudes to existing work practices, with employee respondents broadly positive about the impact of remote working. 63 per cent respondents in India felt that if company subsidy for home office set-up is provided by the employer, it would make their work life much easier.

The survey also explored employee respondents’ views on the COVID-19 vaccine and found that 84 per cent (globally 61 per cent) want their company to make vaccination a pre-requisite for working from the office. Attitudes toward vaccinations -vary between geographies.