74% Parents Say Yes to Sending Children Back to School: Lead Survey

• 59% parents of primary and secondary students believe children suffered learning loss
• 22% say vaccination of school staff a top priority for full physical attendance
• Parents rate social distancing, healthcare facilities and sports as equally important

Mumbai, September 20, 2021: At a time when state governments are relaxing lockdown restrictions and schools are reopening after almost 18 months in a phased manner, EdTech major LEAD conducted a survey among parents to learn their views about sending children back to school.

The findings revealed that 59% of respondents felt that their children suffered learning loss due to the pandemic, and 74% parents are willing to send their children back to school. They believe that a complete school experience is possible only with reopening.

The survey was conducted amongst 10,500 metro and non-metro parents whose wards study in classes 1-10.

Keeping in mind the health and safety of children, LEAD’s survey indicated that for 22% of parents, vaccination of school staff is a top priority. Besides, 55% of metro parents rated social distancing as most critical, followed by healthcare facilities (54%); whereas parents from non-metros said sports and social distancing were equally important (52%).

Voicing challenges faced by children and parents during the pandemic, recalled how they used to juggle between ‘work from home’ and ‘school from home’ in the initial days. The study found that 47% of metro parents spent between 3-4 hours a day in their children’s school as compared to 44% in non-metros. Further, the survey indicated that majority of parents (63%) feel that engagement in a physical classroom leads to better social interaction amongst children.

LEAD Co-founder and CEO Sumeet Mehta said, “The last year and a half has not been easy for teachers, principals, schools and most importantly students. Children belonging to the lowest income strata faced the maximum learning loss due to inaccessibility of data and devices. Our survey clearly shows 74% parents say 'YES' to sending their children back to school. So let’s listen to parents, while enabling online learning for the 26% who are not ready. Schools need to be treated as essential utilities and parents must send their children back to school with a positive and open mind. Let us prepare to welcome them back to school by undertaking all the necessary precautions and safety measures.”

Higher dissatisfaction among non-metro parents

Only 40% of parents in non-metros said that their children studied on a personal computer, while close to 60% metro parents indicated that their child learnt on a computer/laptop even after a year into the lockdown. Most students from non-metros attended schools via smartphones, which often added to the worries of parents.

Data also indicates that the virtual learning environment of children has been a more worrying factor for non-metro parents than metro parents when it comes to skillsets for the future. 53% metro parents rated problem solving and logical reasoning as the most important skill, as against 47% non-metro parents. Similarly, more than 50% metro parents felt digital literacy was an important skill, as against just 45% non-metro parents. Vocational exposure and skills, ethical and moral listening, and coding and computational skills, were some of the other skills that parents in metros believed were important.

Some common areas of concerns

While 70% parents of both metros and non-metros said both the parents were involved in their children’s learning activities, the share of ‘only mothers’ being involved in their studies was higher in metros (21%) as compared to non-metros (18%), indicating increased responsibilities, especially for working women.

What parents across other cities have to say on sending children back to school:

Bengaluru	72% say YES to sending children back to school
Hyderabad	69% say YES to sending children back to school
Chennai	73%  say YES to sending children back to school
Pune	66% say YES to sending children back to school

About LEAD

LEAD (formerly known as LEAD School) is promoted by Leadership Boulevard, one of the fastest growing EdTech companies in India. It combines technology, curriculum and pedagogy into an integrated system of teaching and learning, thus improving student learning and teacher performance in schools across the country. LEAD School partners with 2,000+ schools with an estimated 8 lakh+ students in more than 400 cities, including tier 2 to tier 4 cities, in 20 States.

Majority of Teachers and Educators Do Not Believe Science Education is Fit for the Future - Global Survey

Science teachers in India are more optimistic vs. global average that the current curriculum for science is meeting the needs of pupils.

Nearly 2/3rd of India respondents believe that the pandemic has changed the focus of science education India, with focus moving towards Covid-19 and biological sciences in particular.

80 per cent of India respondents agree that the science curriculum taught in schools enables students to become scientifically literate and active citizens vs. 59 per cent in the United Kingdom and 67 per cent in Hong Kong

Wednesday, 14th July 2021: Fewer than half of the respondents (46 per cent) who took part in The Evolution of Science Education survey by Oxford University Press believe that the science curriculum in their country prepares children for the challenges our world will face in the future.

Only 31 per cent of teachers surveyed believe that science education in their country is fit for the future, according to a report published by Oxford University Press, the world’s largest university press.

The Evolution of Science Education includes insights from 398 teachers in *22 countries and regions—with most respondents from the United Kingdom (44%) and India (19%). While there are local nuances, there are also notable consistencies in key areas such as the science curriculum’s relevance in the future and how well it prepares pupils to navigate and address challenges the world will face, such as climate change and the evolving role of technology.

Sivaramakrishnan Venkateswaran, Managing Director - Oxford University Press India said -

The study of science helps to fuel curiosity in young minds and makes them think about solutions to challenges in everyday life. Its relevance in a pandemic-afflicted world has only grown. It was important to sense check what science teachers felt about how their subject needed to evolve. We are delighted with the strong participation of science teachers from India in our survey and their belief that the current curriculum is helping students to become scientifically literate and active citizens.

The research was undertaken alongside OUP’s active involvement in developing the science framework for the Programme for International Assessment (PISA) 2025. Teachers were asked to recommend ways in which science curricula might evolve in order to remain relevant to today’s world, and that of tomorrow. Their recommendations included:

• Science education should continue to prioritize practical skills through experimentation in the classroom.
• Content needs to be up-to-date and prepare learners for the future.
• There is a need for a greater connection between the science that is being taught in the classroom and what is happening in the world outside.
• Teachers requested a rebalancing of exams – away from the current focus on knowledge, towards assessing the application of science.
• COVID-19 has undoubtedly had an impact on science teaching in the last year, particularly restricting practical experimentation in the classroom, but the paper highlights numerous other issues that have been brought to light by the pandemic and need to be resolved.

Teachers surveyed believe the core purpose of science education should be inspiring learners to engage with science, teaching underpinning scientific concepts, teaching skills to enable effective experimentation, and helping learners to achieve a range of desirable outcomes through science. To ensure science education evolves and remains relevant in the future, teachers believe there should be more focus on climate change as well as tackling fake news and adapting faster to technological and societal change.

Andreas Schleicher, Director for Education and Skills, and Special Advisor on Education Policy to the Secretary-General at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said -

I always enjoy hearing teacher’s views on the future of education and welcome this report. The scientific challenges of the past year with the pandemic and the ever-growing signs of climate change mean that there has never been a more important time to focus on science, empowering students to thrive in a changing world. I look forward to continuing this conversation about the future of science education, particularly when we release the new PISA 2025 science framework next year.

View the report here.

Regional Insights

Doctor's health at risk in India, ~60% of them suffer from excess weight

Survey by digital therapeutics company Fitterfly indicates that doctors need to take care of their health

MUMBAI, India, July 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ahead of National Doctors Day, Digital Therapeutics Company Fitterfly, recently conducted a Survey to measure the degrees of health and wellness of 1000 doctors. The findings indicated that the gatekeepers of our health were at high risks themselves.

The survey conducted with doctors in the age groups of 25- 60, of 868 Male and 132 Female doctors using Anthropometry (human body measurements), Medical history, BMI category, levels of physical activities, taking into account their calories, carbohydrate, fat, micronutrients and protein consumption. All these doctors entered their meals and activity data in Fitterfly Wellness App. Fitterfly wellness app has India's largest database of recipes and micronutrient calculations for various age groups and health conditions. Fitterfly has been working with 1200+ doctors in the past year, helping them manage their health better.

Some of the key findings were:

• Over 60% of the doctors had a BMI in the overweight and obese category
• While 71% of the doctors had no prior health conditions, 6% had diabetes, 10% had hypertension, and 5% had diabetes and hypertension.
• Other common health conditions as observed included dyslipidemia, GI dysfunction, asthma, PCOS (Polycystic Ovary Syndrome), arthritis, migraine and hypothyroidism
• Based on the detailed professional profiling call and information given by the doctors, it was recorded that only 22% of the doctors were physically active.
• A majority of the doctors also had an imbalance of macronutrients - protein, carbs and fats consumed. 67% of the doctors were consuming really low protein as evidenced by less than 10% of their daily calories from protein.
• An alarmingly high percentage of doctors ~ 77% were consuming more than the recommended amounts of fat.
• The micronutrient analysis findings showed less than 10% of the doctors surveyed met 75% of the recommended value of various vitamins and minerals like zinc, omega 3 and iron.
• The survey indicated that one of the most important factor contributing to their health index has been faulty dietary habits and exercise regime. Erratic working hours and long daily schedules have resulted in the medical professionals not focusing on their health.

Speaking of the study conducted Dr Arbinder Singal, Co-Founder & CEO of Fitterfly, said -

Doctors are the torch-bearers of a nations' health, playing a vital role in keeping the population free of diseases. But, their hectic work schedules do not allow them to practice what they preach to their patients. On National Doctors Day we wanted to draw attention to the health quotient of our medical fraternity and urge them to care for themselves while addressing the health of their patients.

About Fitterfly

Fitterfly is a smart, personal digital therapeutic solution that is an anytime, anywhere companion for patients to truly achieve their health goals. The company offers a clinically validated, digital-led therapy that connects patients, health coaches and healthcare providers in meaningful ways to enable sustainable behaviour change that is at the core of good health.

Fitterfly achieves transformational outcomes for patients with personalised, data and coaching-led behaviour change via Vogital (voice and digital) touchpoints with a user-centric app. The programs are based on glocally accepted, evidence-based protocols and cutting-edge research.

Fitterfly's current product suite includes scientific and hyper-personalized DTx programs for diabetes, PCOS, obesity, pregnancy, and child wellness. They are the preferred digital therapeutic partner for a large number of doctors, hospitals, organisations like pharma companies, corporates and medical device companies.

The company is Co-Founded by Dr Arbinder Singal- CEO, Shailesh Gupta- COO, and Jayesh Sawant- CTO/CPO.

Website: https://www.fitterfly.com/

Logo : https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1522090/Fitterfly_Logo.jpg











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50% of India Inc Employees Most Stressed about an Uncertain Future during COVID-19

 36% plagued by Mental Health issues versus 17% for Physical Health

50% of India Inc employees have reported that an uncertain future is their topmost source of stress followed by Personal Finances (40%) and Career Growth (40%) as was revealed in a recently concluded survey by The7thFold, a boutique HR and Wellbeing firm. The high levels of stress that have emerged and continue to amongst India Inc employees during the ongoing lockdown is a huge area of concern.

Other sources of stress faced by employees were Self/Family Physical Health (32%), Work task and deadlines (31%), Self / Family Mental Health (25%), Performance Appraisal (22%), Social distancing / isolation (18%), Relationship issues (17%), Being laid off (16%) and Children’s Education (13%), Stress is the biggest trigger factor which impacts Mental and Physical Wellbeing. The lesser or the more managed the stress levels, the better the overall Wellbeing. 

The7thFold’s Employee Wellbeing Survey, 2020 highlights the impact of the current pandemic on the mental and physical wellbeing of employees in India. The survey conducted in July and August with 509 respondents across metros cities and diverse sectors aimed to recognize the distress faced by employees during these uncertain times and understand the role of organization support and benefits in the new normal.

Survey trends in the employee well-being space that emerged during COVID-19: 

Age and Salary: Age had a positive correlation with mental wellbeing; those above 50 years of age (12%) outdid those who were below 40 years - 37% (30-40) 24% (less than 30 years). Employees below the salary of INR 5 lakhs were more vulnerable and reported personal finances (55%) and career prospects (53%) as their biggest sources of stress. 35% of employees with an annual salary of INR 21 – 30 lakhs p.a. reported burnout and poorest mental wellbeing scores. 

Employment Status and Work Mode: Self-employed category is slightly better placed when it came to overall wellbeing as compared to others. 45% of employees working for an employer complained of Anxiety or Depression against 30% of those who were self-employed. 44% of employees working full-time from home reported feelings of anxiety. Boredom was least reported by those who worked fulltime from their workplace (26%).28% of work-from-home employees reported burnout with 48% feeling stressed due to task deadlines. 35% of employees working from home were worried about self/ family’s mental health. Mental Health of the unemployed was the worst. 47% of unemployed reported anxiety with 61% of them feeling stressed and 42% felt anger. 60% of unemployed showed stress regarding uncertainty of future & 61% for career growth. The blended model of working from home and workplace showed higher benefits than those employees who were full-time working from either home or workplace.

Work-Life Balance:

Coping Mechanism

Positive Coping Mechanisms

Negative Coping

Employee benefits: Employees seemed happy with the support shown by their employers. 87% of employees have reported that their employer provides benefits for their Well-being. The biggest expectation versus reality gap is seen for ‘Increased insurance to cover COVID’. 47% of employees consider it as a Top Benefit, however only 18% of employers offer it. Employees provided with ‘Safe travel arrangements to work’ show a significantly better mental wellbeing score over others. Wellbeing of employees who received an Increment and Bonus is significantly higher than others. There were no significant differences in wellbeing seen between those who received a pay-cut and those who received an increment (no bonus). Interestingly, data suggests that offering employees a bonus and no increment was better for their wellbeing than offering an increment and no bonus.

“It is a well known fact that physical and mental wellbeing are correlated, one cannot be managed at the expense of the other. The work from home concept due to COVID-19 was literally adopted overnight by employers creating a whole new set of challenges for all stakeholders. Organisations will thus have to now move towards a holistic Employee Well-being Model which prioritizes both pillars of physical and mental health,” said Hamsaz Wadhwani, Founder and Chief Executive, The7thFold.

About The7thFold:

The7thFold is a boutique HR and Wellbeing organisation and one of the few in India that focuses on building culture, mental wellbeing and performance through various people interventions. The firm conducts employee wellbeing online programmes and online interventions apart from Holistic Wellness programs. Founded by Hamsaz Wadhwani, who possesses over 2 decades of extensive HR experience across various functions and is one of the few seasoned HR professionals who is also a Mental Health Coach and psychotherapist. She is the only Indian to advocate the evidence based Science of Happiness programme founded by Prof Bruce Hood, University of Bristol.

3i Infotech included in Global Banking Platform Deals Survey by independent research firm

3i Infotech Limited (BSE: 532628, NSE: 3IINFOTECH), a global Information Technology company, committed to accelerating business transformation, has been recognized as a Solid Player and a Base and Regional Player in the combined and new deals categories respectively, for its banking product – Kastle, in the Forrester’s Global Banking Platform Deals Survey 2020. 

Speaking on the recognition, Mr. Padmanabhan Iyer, Managing Director and Global CEO, 3i Infotech said, “3i Infotech is honoured to have Kastle Universal Banking included by a prestigious institution like Forrester. We believe that this recognition reinforces our commitment of delivering next-gen products to our customers across the globe. By constantly upgrading our comprehensive set of IP based software solutions & IT services solutions, we have re-invented ourselves to address the dynamic requirements of BFSI industry.” 

“Kastle Universal Banking Solution is an end-to-end banking solution catering to the entire spectrum of banking across Lending, Islamic Finance, Core Banking, Treasury, Trade Finance, Integrated Risk Management, Digital Banking and Analytics. AMLOCK (Financial Crime Detection and Management Solution) coupled with Kastle Universal Banking Solution is a force multiplier for banks and financial institutions to be digitally equipped and be future-ready to meet their business goals. Multiple combined deals is a testimony to Kastle Innovative Banking Solution by banks and financial institutions across the globe. We are honoured by this recognition by Forrester,” said Krish Narayanaswami, President and Global Banking Head, 3i Infotech. 

Forrester’s Global Banking Platform Deals Survey 2020 is an independent survey conducted annually by Forrester. The research is published to guide decision-makers at financial institutions around the world. Forrester surveyed 35 key banking platform vendors about their 2019 deals and published the results from the survey in their report, The Banking Platform Market Remains Stagnant, Though Smaller Banks Are Turning To Fintechs - Forrester Report Link.

About 3i Infotech 

Headquartered in Mumbai, India, since inception in 1993, the Company has been committed to driving business value across multiple industry verticals and has a strong BFSI presence. The company has over 5500 employees in 31 offices across 12 countries and over 1200+ customers in more than 50 countries across 4 continents. With a comprehensive set of IP based software solutions and a wide range of IT services, 3i Infotech has successfully transformed business operations of customers globally. The Company has a very strong foothold and customer base in geographies like North America, India, Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and South Asia.  

Its flagship products include Kastle™ (Universal Banking Solution), AMLOCK™ (Financial Crime Detection and Management Solution), MFund™ Plus (Asset Management Solution), Premia™ Astra (Core Insurance Solution) and Orion™ (Enterprise Resource Planning Solution). 3i Infotech provides IT Services across Mobility, Data Analytics, Block Chain, Cloud Life Cycle Management, Testing Services, Infrastructure Management, Application Development & Maintenance, Professional Services, IT Consulting and BPO. 

COVID-19 Resulted 12% Startups to Shut Operations, 10% Faced Investment Called Off - FICCI-IAN Study

• 70% of start-ups say their businesses impacted by Covid-19, 12% have shut operations
• 33% start-ups said that the investors have put the investment decision on hold and 10% stated that the deals have been called off

The Covid-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on the Indian businesses and more so for the SMEs and Start-ups. With uncertainty in the business environment and an unexpected shift in the priorities of the government as well as the corporates, many start-ups are struggling to keep the operations going.

As per a nationwide survey on the 'Impact of COVID-19 on Indian Start-ups' conducted by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), jointly with the Indian Angel Network (IAN) with 250 start-ups, 70% of start-ups stated that their businesses have impacted by Covid-19. 12% of the start-ups have shut operations and 60% are operating with disruptions.

The survey depicts that only 22% of the start-ups have cash reserves to meet the fixed cost expenses of their companies over the next 3-6 months. The findings show that 68% of the start-ups are majorly cutting down their operational and administrative expenses. Close to 30% of the companies stated that they will lay off employees if the lockdown was extended too long. 43% of the start-ups have already started salary cuts in the range of 20-40% over the period of April-June 2020.

On the investment front, 33% start-ups said that the investors have put the investment decision on hold and 10% stated that the deals have been called off. Only 8% start-ups received the funds as per the deals signed pre-COVID. The reduced funding has led start-ups to put a hold on their business development, manufacturing activities and has resulted in loss of projected orders. The survey highlights the need of an urgent relief package for start-ups including possible purchase orders from the government, tax relief and swifter tax refunds. Further immediate fiscal support measures including grants, soft loans and payroll grants need to be provided.

Besides 250 start-ups, 61 incubators and investors also participated in the survey.

96% of the investors stated that the investment in start-ups have been impacted by COVID-19. 92% of the investors maintained that the start-up investments will continue to be low over the next six months. 59% of the investors said they would prefer to work with their existing portfolio companies in the coming months and only 41% stated that they would consider new deals. A comparison of priority investment sectors pre and during COVID-19 shows that 35% of the investors are now looking at investments in healthcare start-ups followed by EdTech, AI/Deep Tech, FinTech and Agri.

44% of the incubators surveyed highlighted that their day-to-day operations have been considerably impacted by the COVID-19. Most of the incubators are now supporting their portfolio companies by providing them virtual platforms to interact with mentors, investors, and industries.

Mr Dilip Chenoy, Secretary General, FICCI said, "The start-up sector is stressed for survival at the moment. The investment sentiment is also subdued and is expected to remain so in the coming months. Lack of working capital and cash flows may lead to major layoffs over the next 3-6 months by start-ups. The survey indicates that the Indian start-ups need an enabling ecosystem and flow of funds to continue operations."

Mr Ajai Chowdhry, Chair, FICCI Start-up Committee and Founder, HCL said, "The start-up sector should be viewed as a propellent for the country's growth and a contributor to India's vision of being Atmanirbhar. Start-ups have a huge potential to innovate. However, in the current times, the start-up companies are reeling under huge pressure owing to lack of working capital. We need to act now to save a huge number of innovations created in the last few years. And government and industry need to reach out to support them through funding and business opportunities."

Ms Padmaja Ruparel, President, Indian Angel Network & Co-Chair FICCI Start-up Committee said, "In these uncertain times, as investors, we must play an important role to provide the Indian startups funding, mentoring and handholding support to stay afloat and come out at the other end of this crisis. To that end, IAN recently announced a Debt Fund to help IAN portfolio companies raise working capital and ensure business continuity, by partnering with Debt providers. This must be replicated on a wider scale, so a larger number of start-ups are provided the capital support to make it during these tough times."

Mr Ganesh Raju, Co-Chair, FICCI Start-up Committee and Founder, TurboStart said, "The survey results clearly indicate that the startups are struggling in this unprecedented time in our history. To navigate the evolving situation, startups must focus on cash preservation so sufficient capital is available to ride out the crisis. While some have been able to secure new funding, others might want to consider alternative sources of funding. We have also seen a number of startups, re-think their businesses and evolve as per the current situation. Startups must use their strengths in innovation to re-strategize and re-think their business."

SOURCE - FICCI.in

Impact of COVID 19 on Deeptech Startups – Survey by CIE-IIIT Hyderabad

• Only 30% of startups able to operate as per their plans


• 75% struggling with sales and market challenges


• 80% startups are optimistic of prospects


• 36% startups found new opportunities

 As the global startup ecosystem gears up to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic, the Indian ecosystem is also very apprehensive. With rampant speculation on consumer behaviour and market reactions, there was a general sense of foreboding about the adverse effects and diminishing investments in startups.

In order to identify and present a comprehensive understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on deeptech startups, CIE-IIITH conducted an online survey to assess and understand how startups are coping, and what assistance they require. The survey was developed around different aspects encompassing operations-as-usual, financial status, areas of adverse impact, lateral activities adopted, survival actions, support from CIE-IIITH’s initiatives during COVID-19, scope for further support from the ecosystem and prospects in arriving months. 

According to the survey report, the operations are not usual as nearly 70% startups are able to do lesser than earlier planned. Only 30% of the startups are able to run with their routine planned strategies . Short-term cash flow seems to be the biggest worry for startups, medium-term concerns are smaller.  Most startups seem to be struggling with revenue generating activities in sales, marketing and business development. The help sought also is towards connecting with corporates, clients and channels.  Most surprising facet was the future outlook.  80% were optimistic about the future and 30% said they see a better prospect than they did pre-lockdown.





Commenting on the report, Prof Ramesh Loganathan, Chief Operating Officer of CIE-IIITH said, "The positive outlook towards the future that many startups have is extremely encouraging.  We are very glad that through our ResilienceUnlocked series of activities during lockdown, CIE-IIITH has been able to help some.  Specifically towards accelerating COVID-19 related innovations, connecting startups with markets, investor pitches  and startup peer experiences sharing”.

Only 14% Organizations in India Implemented Salary Cuts - Korn Ferry Survey Reveals

From customer-facing staff, middle managers to executives, most respondents both globally and in India believe that adjustments to rewards and benefits as a result of COVID-19 will likely affect employees throughout the organisation, according to a survey by Korn Ferry (NYSE: KFY).  22 percent of organisations surveyed in APAC expect a serious impact on their business, where the company’s annual business revenue is expected to decline by more than 30 percent, with around half of these respondents expecting that the impact will be at least 50 percent. 

In India, the most commonly implemented measures for rewards and benefits are on promotion and salary hike, with 23 percent organizations suspending the promotion increases and 18 percent organizations deferring and/or delaying salary increases. 36 percent of organizations have implemented or are considering implementing a salary freeze to manage costs. Given the government’s extensive requests on avoiding laying-off employees, the majority of companies have not implemented or are not currently considering permanent staff layoff/redundancies (84 percent) or temporary layoff/furlough (83 percent without government subsidy support and 91 percent leveraging government subsidy).  

Other India findings from the survey include:

• 51 percent of the companies in India will prioritize employee engagement.


• 54 percent of companies in India will encourage more open, transparent and frequent/always- on two-way employee communication.


• Beyond the pandemic, 55 percent of respondents in India indicated that they will continue to operate more virtually, with 63 percent said that they will be more disciplined about cost management moving forward. 


• 55 percent companies said they will operate with a more flexible approach to managing people costs

Commenting on the survey, Mr. Roopank Chaudhary, Client Partner, Korn Ferry India said, “Given the current circumstances and uncertainties on the recovery for market conditions, business leaders are trying everything to survive this storm and manage their costs. Among the dozens of ways organisations are taking out labour costs are layoffs, hiring freezes, reduced hours, less reliance on contractors, reducing overtime, delaying bonuses or merit increases, suspending certain benefits like retirement savings/capital accumulation programs, and many others.” 

“Communicative and action-oriented leadership is of utmost necessity during this period to make people feel secure and taken care of, and helping the workforce remain focused on preserving operations as best as possible as the outbreak spreads. Managing the challenges of this global pandemic will require innovation and agility amidst unprecedented uncertainty and business leaders will need to balance between implementing short-term measures to address immediate impact and keeping a long-term view on future growth.” he further added.

Global, APAC, ASEAN & ANZ findings from the survey include:

%	Global	APAC	ASEAN	ANZ	INDIA
Salary cuts effected	15	14	11	19	14
Annual salary increases cancelled/freeze	21	17	14	19	18
Annual salary increases deferred / delayed	23	14	12	16	18
Promotion increases suspended	22	17	16	15	23
Short-term incentive/annual bonus reduced, deferred or delayed	14	13	10	18	15
Temporary layoff/furlough (without government subsidy) effected or currently considering	18	15	10	18	17
Permanent staff layoffs/redundancies effected or currently considering	23	21	14	33	16

Korn Ferry Recommendations:

As organisations are facing decisions with respect to rewards, Korn Ferry recommends for organisations to consider the following six principles to alleviate the repercussion of the current situation:

1. Place employee well-being at the top of your priorities


2. Leaders should lead by example


3. Treat people like adults (share what you can as soon as you can, be honest, emphasize two-way communication)


4. Take a balanced approach (especially when considering labour cost reductions)


5. Remember this situation is temporary; avoid drastic near-term actions that could weaken prospects for bouncing back


6. Tailor actions to fit individual company/industry/regional circumstances; “best practices” are what is best for you

Women Score Higher than Men at Workplace in India: Report

As more and more companies are striving to close gender parity gap, a report has showed that twice as many woman professionals excel in organisational development and coaching talent compared to men.

About 6.56 per cent woman professionals excel in organisational development and coaching talent as compared with 3.26 per cent of man professionals, according to a report by SCIKEY Research.

This is mainly attributed to women's capability to nurture and connect emotionally with their colleagues and peers, the report added.

SCIKEY conducted a survey with 5,388 information technology professionals across India from 22 to 47 years.

Additionally, the survey report showed that woman bosses are not only more likely than men to encourage their subordinates' development but they are also more inclined than their male counterparts to check in frequently on their employees' progress.

Since woman bosses tend to train their juniors better, employees who work under women outscore those who work for men bosses, it added.

The SCIKEY report also showed that women are equally or more effective as men in negotiations when bargaining.

About 1.37 per cent women are good negotiators compared to 1.11 per cent men, it pointed out.

The behavioral trait showed that women are better negotiators than men because they use their wider social knowledge to negotiate along with the hard data to back the negotiation that men are usually not exposed to (social experience), it added.

Women professionals (6.67 per cent) have high conflict management ability compared to men (4.96 per cent), it said. This is attributed to women's ability to understand the reason for conflict because of the social experience and exposure both at workplace and family, they connect better with others and find creative outcomes simultaneously.

Both men and women seem to have low emotional resilience, the report said adding that 16.8 per cent women in the workforce are emotionally unstable compared to 14.7 per cent men.

In the experience range of 0-2 years, it was found that 6 out of 10 women in the industry were facing emotional stress compared to 4 out of 10 men, the report said.

With an increase in the work experience, these numbers increased to almost 8 out of 10 women being emotionally stressed compared to 3 out of 10 men, it said.

"While we do not have a conclusive reason for this, but it cannot be denied that the juggling of family responsibilities and work has never been easier for women and is bound to take a toll on their emotional stability.

"This lack of solid emotional wellbeing often makes women more prone to stress, loss of productivity and unhealthy family life," it added. PTI SM

More than Half of Netizen Share Phone Number Publicly - Survey

More than half of people in a survey said that they have shared their phone numbers and addresses publicly and close to three-quarters of netizens knowingly skipped terms and conditions and safety legal guidelines online, a report by internet firm OLX said on Friday.

According to the report, 66 per cent of the total respondents showed that they have been victims of online financial frauds and the UPI platform has been used by fraudsters to dupe netizens.

"52 per cent of respondents have publicly shared their phone numbers and personal addresses online while 26 per cent have admitted to sharing sensitive one-time passwords with others. The remaining 22 per cent of respondents admit to sharing bank account passwords, UPI pin, credit and debit card details with others," OLX 2020 Internet Behaviour Study said.

OLX studied the behaviour of close to 7,500 netizens between the age groups of 18-55 to understand the state of awareness and cyber safety preparedness for the report, the company said.

"73 per cent of respondents said they actively skipped the terms and conditions and safety-legal guidelines owing to the fact they were cumbersome to read and too complex to understand. This figure was 67 per cent in 2019. Only 27 per cent admitted to actively reading them prior to signing up for online platforms or services," the report said.

Contrary to the neglect, the report found that 72 per cent respondents were cognisant of the fact that conducting banking transactions over unsecured WiFi networks could jeopardize their own safety.

The survey found that parents have now become more vigilant over content that their kids access online compared to their attitude in 2019.

"In 2019, 60 per cent parents admitted to not supervising the content their kids viewed online while in 2020, 66 per cent parents actively monitored their kids internet access," the report said. PTI PRS

Netflix, Bloomberg, ServiceNow, Google, and Tesla has the Happiest Employees - Survey

Employees who felt they had significant growth (79% happy) in their organization were much happier than the employees who thought they had only moderate growth (57% happy), And of course, employees who responded that they had no growth (16% happy) were very unhappy.

From December 9th to 31st 2019, Blind, a community where more than 3.2 million verified professionals communicate anonymously online, surveyed a total of 10,129 users and asked the following questions:

Q1. In 2019, how much growth do you think you had while working at your organization?

• Significant Growth


• Moderate Growth


• No Growth

Q2. Are you happy at your current workplace?

• Yes


• No

Blind received survey responses from a total of 10,129 users. In order to rank companies, Blind gave each company a personal growth score by giving more weight to “significant growth” over “moderate growth” and for “no growth,” a score of 0.

Key Takeaways

• Bloomberg, JUUL, Cruise Automation, Facebook, and Spotify ranked top 5 on our list, where employees thought they had the most growth in 2019 — followed by Wayfair, Google, Lyft, Walmart, and Uber.


• Not surprisingly, employees who felt they had significant growth (79% happy) in their organization were much happier than the employees who thought they had only moderate growth (57% happy), And of course, employees who responded that they had no growth (16% happy) were very unhappy.

Companies with the Happiest Employees: % of employees that responded happy

Company	Happy
Netflix	85.71%
Bloomberg	74.07%
ServiceNow	71.43%
Google	66.88%
Tesla Motors	65.00%
PayPal	64.00%
Pinterest	63.64%
Facebook	63.25%
Lyft	61.54%
LinkedIn	60.87%
Spotify	59.09%
T-Mobile	57.14%
VMware	55.56%
Indeed.com	55.00%
Cisco	54.55%

 

Companies with the Least Happy Employees: % of employees that responded not happy

Company	Not Happy
Nutanix	76.00%
WeWork	70.45%
JPMorgan Chase & Co.	69.23%
Symantec	68.18%
Visa	66.67%
Qualcomm	66.67%
Intuit	65.79%
Oracle	63.75%
Grab	63.33%
eBay	63.16%
NVIDIA	61.76%
IBM	59.52%
Expedia Group	59.22%
Splunk	59.09%
Twitter	55.56%