The Great Resignation is hurting IT sector the most: Lohit Bhatia

India is expected to see a rise in the number of resignations this year. Lohit Bhatia, President Workforce Management at Quess Corp Limited, spoke with DH’s Veena Mani about everything from the reasons for the trend to the sectors affected the most by the Great Resignation.

Lohit Bhatia, President Workforce Management,
Quess Corp Limited

Which sectors have been affected the most by the Great Resignation?

While the Great Resignation is primarily being talked about with respect to the IT industry, it is not the only segment where attrition is higher than pre-Covid levels. The IT industry has an estimated 4.5 million workforce and with attrition averaging 25-35%, we are seeing a churn of nearly 1.5 million workforce within this 12-month period. This is the largest single cohort that has impacted massive worldwide demand for IT, tech transformation and digital initiatives by companies. There are other segments too that are seeing higher attrition, especially sectors that the two years of Covid has reduced mobility and movement of talent for, namely retail, manufacturing, hospitality, startups, edutech and fintech.

What exactly is happening in the manufacturing sector?

Two scenarios are now playing out. One is the new investments and the other is due to increased demand and orders. The first is clearly a medium to a long term story that will take a few years to play out. Our estimate is that approx. 1.2 crore new jobs in manufacturing and 4-5 crore indirect jobs can be created by 2030 solely due to PLI based investments. Secondly, revival in some segments like auto and ancillaries, chemicals, pharma, steel and others that have seen increased production and demand will also see growth in requirements of personnel.

Why are people switching jobs?

People are feeling a new reset, just like we took time to adjust to the new normal or WFH , limited or no travel, and working in digital or virtual mode. Similarly, the restart of return to work and return to travel will require resetting, changing thought processes, and moving out of our comfort zones. Some are reacting to this change that they are uncomfortable making , some worry about work-life balance, some have found other passions in life beyond just work. Everyone is reacting in different ways. This is normal, but will eventually stabilize again.

How are PLI schemes likely to affect job creation?

Production and manufacturing can become the future services sector of India. If 30 years of liberalization could make India the largest in services and a huge IT and services exporter, imagine the impact of PLI on manufacturing and industries, coupled with a market of 1.4 billion people and $3 trillion GDP growing one of the fastest in the world. Our informal sector and unorganized employment covers agriculture, construction, goods and transportation, warehousing, and together these have 450-500 million Indians involved. For a proper balance, we need to be able to shift 150-200 million of these people into the formal workforce, gainfully employed with social security enabled jobs from manufacturing and industries.

When do you see the Great Resignation ending?

Nothing lasts forever. Companies will find that this trend will pinch balance sheets soon, and then the massive hikes will stop and thus attrition too. Having said that, industries that are under-penetrated and doubling fast will continue to see massive employment needs and such sectors will continue to see attritions in existing talent.

Are more people looking to work from home?

Only a small portion of segments and industries can allow WFH, which includes IT, ITes, and customer service. It is not possible for segments such as retail, hospitality, aviation, manufacturing, and logistics. Thus, this is a non-event in the national scenario while it may be important in the IT industry.

Tell us about the labour laws that you are working on with the government.

We are very bullish on the labour laws and we believe if done correctly coupled with PLI and other infra spends, India could easily double and triple its formal workforce from barely 100 million to over 300 million in next 10-20 years. This is the only way for equitable distribution of wealth across the nation.