Over 60% employees ready to quit work: survey

If you thought a job is something people are dying to hold on to when the going in the market is tough, you couldn't be more wrong as a survey has found that more than half are ready to quit work, switch professions or take a break.

"62 per cent of the respondents were ready to consider quitting, taking a career break or shifting to a firm with flexi-work options in order to handle familial responsibilities better," said a survey conducted by Outlook Business and Avtar Career Creators.

The survey was conducted on 745 private sector employees between November and December 2009. The survey found that high competition at work place lead employees towards extreme job conditions, but they are gradually realising the need for family life.

There is a crying need for work-life balance measures. Hyper competition has meant all the stops are being pulled out for customer service, which leads to extreme jobs. There is a renewed awareness and interest in personal life, the survey said.

"In a society filled with conflicting responsibilities and commitments, work-life balance has become a predominant issue in the workplace," Avtar Career Creators Founder-President Saundarya Rajesh said.

According to the findings from the survey as many as 40 respondents felt that internal issues of the company are responsible for unhealthy work life balance and an equal number said they know people who took a break or resigned last year due to their responsibilities at home.

The survey was done across seven cities – Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Pune across varied sector, including FMCG, IT, ITES, consulting and telecom,.

According to the survey, while 38 per cent of the respondents blamed the location of the work-spot for bad work-life balance, 44 per cent believed a balanced life would give them time to study or train further.

"Companies with good work-life balance initiatives have an edge in attracting fresh talent as the economy gets back on the growth path," Outlook Business Editor M Anand said.