The Economy of the world is shattered and India is also facing the brunt of it. The Job market is no longer secure and more Indians are now vying for good old Government Jobs. In this time Kelly has come out with the survey called “Indian workers willing to forego income and status for work with real meaning”. While the survey has many connotations, I am particularly concerned about some conclusions which have potential to spread a lot of dissent.

There is a lot of status attached with the job. The job and salary is so important in India that it is most important factor in determining the position of the person in the society. One of the conclusions of this survey says “Indian workers derive a greater sense of pride and self confidence in their jobs than workers in any other country. Some 94 per cent say their work gives them a sense of pride and 92 per cent say it raises their self confidence”. I am particularly worried about the pride and self confidence which will get shattered in case the job markets start to crack. All jobs are considered of prime importance and the status once maintained is difficult to change. It’s really disturbing to even think about those people who would have to let go everything they have earned through the hard work in all these years.

The other conclusions of the survey also concern me because it is not easy to live with shattered dreams. Experience is a big teacher but bad experiences have a potential to change the course of one’s life. The survey talks about aspirations of different age group

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For Gen Y the concern stems for the fact that — Is meaningful work really available in the market? One job is chased by hundreds of people and not everyone gets a chance. Also majority of Indians have less risk taking abilities and society as such does not approve of such action like the way it happens in United States. In India venture capital and other funding options are too hard to get and not many people take the risk to put their money in new ventures.

Gen X from the result seems to be content with what they have got from the life. The transition from Gen Y to Gen X seems to be so painful that they have started to accept things the way they are. They have taken so much personal responsibilities that risk taking abilities are nowhere in the picture. The job with good salary is helping them to pass each month in peace and they are satisfied with that.

The conclusion related to Baby Boomers is more of a surprise and something which relates to financial planning. During all these years Indians have started to live in a society which is very demanding and they have developed a status which needs to be maintained. The Baby Boomers today is worried with the lifestyle they have and the thought of maintaining it in the future. Current Job and salary does not hold promise and hence they need more from it in terms of status and money.

I have a different view on these findings and maybe this is just one side of the coin. The rat race in India is different and only few have succeeded in breaking the shackles. But things need to change and that too for the good.

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While I touched many issues of prime importance in this post but two most important are the attitude and ability to handle finances in a better way. Society needs a different mindset and seeds need to be sown at much earlier stage. I may be very pessimistic in my thoughts but I want to touch that corner of the mindset that can shed all apprehensions developed right through all these years. I will definitely write more on this through “personality development “and “your finance” section of my blog.

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