Adecco India CMD Vidya Sagar Gannamani told TOI around 15% of those who migrated to their hometowns are considering permanently residing there as they benefit from the lower cost of living. Additionally, their hometowns are less congested compared to bigger towns and they benefit from the improved infrastructure and connectivity that is now available in smaller cities.
Nearly 70% of the migrant workforce is in the junior to mid-management levels, according to Adecco. At the senior management level, the number is 10-15%. Many mid-sized and large businesses have extended their operations to tier-2 and -3 cities due to the growing availability of local talent, cost arbitrage, competitive wages, reasonable real estate prices, and lower cost of operations.
A study on the workforce distribution of Adecco India’s employees and associates indicates that more than 60% of those who migrated to their hometowns want to extend their stay temporarily. They want to ride out the pandemic since they are now closer to their extended families and can seek career opportunities from far-flung locations, which was not an option before.
“The crisis is unleashing economic, behavioural, and structural changes that are forcing both employers and employees to rethink all aspects of workforce management — from supply chains to distributed work. It is also creating a unique chance to embed inclusive workforce practices from top to bottom. During the pandemic, most companies succeeded in engaging the full talents and abilities of their workforce via remote working practices, while they migrated back to their hometowns,” said Gannamani.
According to Quess Corp, hiring trends in metro cities are seeing an upward surge, which indicates high demand in these geographies. The year-on-year trend for metros highlights the huge demand for professionals, mainly due to the IT/ITeS industry.
Quess Corp MD & group CEO Suraj Moraje said, “Since most IT companies continue to work in remote mode even now, it’s difficult to state if the migrant working population has returned to cities. Once companies ask their employees to report to work locations, we may see workers moving back to metros. Also, new hires may be instructed to work from office instead of working from home.”
“With vaccination drives being carried out at a rapid pace, companies are planning to recall up to 25% of manpower currently working from home, in adherence to government norms,” Moraje added. Wipro has already started the process of return to office in a staggered manner, while TCS has indicated acting similarly, depending on the number of Covid cases.
Industry sources said employees working remotely in their hometowns may have to be given some time to relocate back, gas they would have to rent a house to begin with. On the other hand, 70% of the migrant labour at the bottom of the pyramid — who typically work in manufacturing, supply chain, construction, e-commerce and retail — have returned to the cities, said CIEL HR Services CEO Aditya Mishra.
“Opportunities for them in their home towns are limited and some of them get used to the work environment and the lifestyle in the cities. Hence, the cities will always attract people from the small towns and villages,” said Mishra.
Among those who haven’t returned back to the cities, Mishra believes 10% are likely to remain in their hometowns and search for livelihoods there. “Construction in residential buildings, hotels, tourism and travel hasn’t gained momentum and hence the demand isn’t fully back yet. As a result, there is no remarkable shortage of people in the cities,” said Mishra.
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