Indian employees more confident about country's economic state than Chinese: study

Indian employees also less satisfied about salary, promotion opportunities and job security than Chinese counterparts

While market commentators debate over whether India is the next China or vice versa, Michael Page turns to job seekers, the drivers of economic growth, to uncover some interesting insights across the two Asian giants. A study by the global specialist recruitment firm found that, while both nations compete for the coveted number one position as the fastest growing economy, employees in India were far more confident about the state of their economy (50 per cent) over the Chinese who seemed to be less self-assured (28 per cent).

The study drew a comparison between the responses from over 1,200 employees in India and over 700 employees in China, from mid-senior level, across organisations and sectors. It found that employees in India were less satisfied about salary (21 per cent compared to 16 per cent in China) and opportunities for promotion (31 per cent compared to 28 per cent in China). They were also less satisfied about job security (20 per cent compared to 14 per cent in China).

 

However, employees in India were more optimistic about the next 12 months with regard to better skill development (74 per cent compared to 72 per cent in China) and career progression (72 per cent compared to 67 per cent in China). Also, 44 per cent Indian employees cited new skills development as the top reason for conducting a job search, while 43 per cent of employees in China sought work-life balance.

In both nations, overseas employment was generally seen as an attractive option. This was seen among 64 per cent Indian respondents and 64 per cent Chinese respondents.

Sebastien Hampartzoumian, Senior Managing Director, Michael Page India said, "Interestingly, Indian employees seem to be less satisfied about certain aspects of their job compared to their counterparts in China. This can be attributed to an optimistic mindset and a better sentiment of market conditions hence higher expectations."

The survey noted that Indians continued to be positive about the opportunity to develop new skills and the possibility of getting a promotion this year. In contrast, employees from China were slightly less confident.

Hampartzoumian added that India's growth story has been closely linked to skill development over the last two years and seeing this taking importance over salary increase is very surprising. In China, keenness to attain a healthy work-life balance is prioritised over new skill development, which seemed to be of greater significance to Indians. Both countries show-cased a willingness to explore working abroad.