Working from home has not been great for many Indians.
Most Indian employees feel their employers are too demanding and their workload has increased significantly since they started working from home in March 2020, according to Microsoft’s first annual Work Trend Index.
“Self-assessed productivity has remained the same or higher for many employees over the past year, but at a human cost,” Microsoft said.
Microsoft’s survey included more than 30,000 people in 31 countries.
Globally, the digital intensity of workers’ days has increased substantially in the last year, the survey said. “The time spent in Microsoft Teams meetings has more than doubled (2.5X) globally, 62% of Teams calls and meetings are unscheduled or conducted ad hoc and the average Teams meeting is 10 minutes longer, up from 35 to 45 minutes year-over-year,” it said.
India’s Gen Z and work from home
Gen Z—those between the ages of 18 and 25—is struggling to cope with work from home the most in India.
Nearly 71% of the Gen Z respondents in Microsoft’s survey said they are merely surviving or “flat-out struggling.”
“Gen Z were more likely to struggle to balance work with life and to feel exhausted after a typical day of work when compared to older generations,” Microsoft said.
People in this age group also reported more difficulty feeling engaged or excited about work, getting a word in during meetings, and bringing new ideas to the table when compared to other generations.