Changes at Work After the Pandemic and What Companies Can Do

The pandemic wasn’t kind when it took over and it has not been kind in what it has left behind for Indian healthcare and the economy. If you perceive the option to be able to do remote work as something good for the employee, and in ways useful for the company as well in certain cases, then your disappointment and disheartenment with the pandemic reduces slightly. Women were most affected in their jobs by the pandemic. So, let us examine this demographic first.

Impact on Women’s Jobs and Present Situation

Studies show that female workers are 7 times more susceptible to losing their jobs during lockdown and then 11 times more likely not to return to work than men, and this is the case even after the so-called restoration of the economy. This began most likely when women started to leave their jobs mid-pandemic for personal reasons, probably also to manage their work at home and their children, affecting their work-life balance. Today women are switching jobs a lot faster than men, which is a case for concern if they are not able to land a job soon.

The Effect of Pandemic on Mobility and What It Means

Google records CMR (Community Mobility Reports) data to understand and analyze the mobility of communities. As per this data and a study, the overall mobility to places of retail and recreation (includes shopping malls, theatres, cafes and restaurants) fell by 75% during the first lockdown, it picked up a bit after the unlock period, but then again declined sharply during the second wave.

The pattern for grocery and pharma is also similar in that it declined sharply, but the recovery was better during the unlock period and numbers picked up well before the second wave hit. Workplace mobility declined by 43%, and though it did recover slightly during the unlock period, it still became a lot worse during the second wave.

Shift in Jobs in Retail and Recreation

How does this relate to work or occupations? Jobs in retail and recreation suffered the most. But there is good news on the horizon. According to this article in Livemint, the Indian retail industry will recover in 9-12 months to pre-pandemic levels.

That is all well and good, but it has created occupational shifts. With the rise of quickcommerce and food delivery services gaining momentum, people have realized the convenience of ordering with just a click from the comfort of their homes.

This means more jobs for delivery riders and less jobs for restaurant staff or at least those people waiting at the tables. It also eliminates the need for travel consultants as travel bookings too have moved online.

Recovery of Grocery and Pharma

Indian Grocery and pharma did pick up after the pandemic and as per this article published in the Economic Times, the sales have seen a resurgence and is back to pre-pandemic levels for small stores and groceries.

This is indeed great news and can be attributed to the increase in availability due to FMCGs pushing products to smaller stores despite the existence of digital channels. According to us, this is vital to keep the economy in rural and suburban areas alive and well and must continue.

Loss of Jobs in IT

It is heartening to note that despite the pandemic, the purchasing power of the Indian population has been going up. However, due to lack of jobs, the inequality between the rich and the poor has also widened. It is true also that the economy is under duress because of loss of several traditional jobs as digital platforms took over and AI and automation continues to void several administrative and other entry and mid-level jobs even in IT.

A Ray of Light

Yet, despite all this gloom, there is hope. India’s Make in India program has only recently seen a rejuvenation with several companies venturing into the semiconductor industry and even several mobile manufacturers from China opting to manufacture in India, despite China being a manufacturing powerhouse. And India is also becoming self-reliant in defense manufacturing, with the development of indigenous ships and aircrafts soon. This also means several new and innovative job roles in these new sectors.

Apprenticeship Will Help Displaced Jobseekers and the Youth

But what about the displaced job roles in retail and leisure and other industries? This is where apprenticeship can be of great help. The Indian Government’s NAPS and NATS programs can give you a route to success even if you haven’t gone to a great college or even not gone to college at all. And this can save the people who have currently lost their jobs and are now looking to venture into other job roles.

Hiring apprentices will benefit companies also in this scenario in three main ways. First, the companies are venturing into uncharted territory when it comes to quality manufacturing in semiconductors, aviation and defense, and there will be a lot of new processes, new methods and most importantly innovative ways of thinking with materials and available resources. Apprentices are best suited in such a scenario because you must train almost every person you onboard.

Second, it becomes cost-effective for companies as they will get stipends from the government during the training process and apprentices need not be offered the benefits you offer your regular employees. Third, it helps boost your reputation as an employer when you support the youth of the nation and people who have been displaced from their jobs, through goodwill and nation-building. A point to remember here is that the big brands are brands who stand for the nation.

Government Training Initiatives Can Help Research and the Youth

There are a lot of jobs created by AI. There are also a lot of unemployed youth in the country. The Government of India has recently placed an order for several GPUs with its funds earmarked for AI development. “We have almost 5,000 crores earmarked for providing more than 10,000 GPUs that are required to support the creation of compute capacity under the mission,” said Abhishek Singh, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) at the Global IndiaAI Summit held in New Delhi.

This is very heartening because this can enable research in AI and help satisfy the needs of resource-intensive roles like data scientists and data engineers. And if such resources are made publicly available, then it will help even startups in AI access them at lower costs and further their progress on AI applications and tools, many of which may be ready in concept but haven’t been completed due to a lack of impetus. As a result, more jobs will be accessible to the youth who now will be more qualified and well-trained to handle AI applications.

How We Can Bring More Women Back to the Workplace

This brings us to another still unresolved problem. Women coming back to the workplace is not just crucial to compliance at the workplace and equal representation, it is great for workplace diversity as well. To bring more women to the workplace, it is important that employers listen to their needs and make them feel that they are being listened to.

If you value your women employees (and you should), you must also give them flexibility to work from their homes or anywhere else and flexibility in working hours as well. There also needs to be a buy-in from the women leaders in the company as well. They must ensure women have equal pay, equal access to resources and training, and equal opportunities at work.

Closing Words

The pandemic crushed the hopes of several millions. For a few who saw a business idea in the lockdown world, it became an opportunity to thrive. For the rest, it became the time to retire to a greenhouse to grow their ideas that would become trees that sustain themselves and even others in the process post the pandemic. No matter where your business stands today, you must pay heed to the occupational shifts and the changes in job roles that the pandemic has brought about. A few of them may be here to stay. We hope this helped as a guide to help you succeed.