the pandemic changed the future of work

The pandemic changed everything, Undeniably, looking back on where we started and where we reside now, there’s a stark difference in our mindset and our lives. The consumer-based economy has changed to a creator-based economy which opened new avenues before us.

A survey by Harris Poll suggests that the future of work after a pre-pandemic era changed for everyone. According to the se findings, 67% of blue-collar workers believe the pandemic changed how people view blue-collar jobs, and 75% of white-collar workers agree with the statement.

Covid raised a big question about how our progressive liberal policies have only been reserved for a cohort of people – The educated white collar. The missing link from these changes is the workers who fall into other categories without a reliable, secure state of employment aka the 95% of India’s workers in the blue-collared sector.

There’s a lingering question how will the world be different after covid-19? The answer lies in digitization. The world of hiring moved online as automation took over and remote and hybrid work became the norm for most employees.

Post-Lockdown Effects on Indian Labour Market

Starting from the basics, there are approximately 500 million internal migrants in India, most of whom are rural migrants or seasonal migrants from neighboring countries, shifting to India in search of better conditions.

Sadly, almost all migrants in India were taken in by severe job cuts and faced a dwindling monetary situation since COVID-19. A major chunk of these migrants were a part of the informal labor force, working in factories and construction sites, making their situation even more hazardous.

Coming to terms with this unsteady situation, many migrants were left with no other choice but to return home. Although the country has started to become stable again after the lockdown, some migrants have chosen to stay in their hometowns. The uncertainty about future events and unfavorable reports about the policies in place, and the political turbulence that wrecked the country, played a huge role in influencing their decision to return to their hometowns.

Pradhan Mantri Gharib Kalyan Rojgar Abhiyaan, aka the scheme that has been implemented in six states to provide income to the unemployed. However, it was only available in certain counties where state or county governments effectively report the number of returned immigrants, and it did not reach areas where the administration does not collect this data.

The Reality of Work After Covid

The current situation of a post-pandemic India has to include the major working population of any country and bring forward new progressive tools to support the birth of a new world – and soon. There will be changes observed in the way the world operates now and we are optimistic about what’s to come.

Digitization will pave the way and it is forecasted that job demands will see a boom , as the world opens up. The job market is expected to recover and new opportunities will be available for the blue and grey collared workers.

Migration led to the widespread dispersion of workers all over the world, which has actually led to a more open approach to employment. As the digital age of hiring, upskilling, and job search has started, finding jobs in a desirable location has become easier. Workers will no longer have to leave their homes solely in the search of a well-paying job and can browse work within accessible locations.

Another noteworthy emergence has been observed for employers as technology has made it easier to find a verified workforce quicker. Technology brought forth end-to-end solutions with on-demand work, background checks, digital hiring and onboarding, payroll processing, and skill development. Transparency led to a stable mindset for both employers and employees.

The gig economy was bursting and earned great recognition for its services during covid. It led to acceptance amongst people for a newer genre of work, and it is preferred among youth who are aiming to find better living conditions. All in all, the world has rapidly evolved and we’re heading to a better time in the age of the digital economy.

The Future of the Job Market – What Do the Experts Predict?

WEF underwent a study on this transformation that we’re heading towards and stated the upward push of machines and automation might do away with eight to eighty-five million jobs effectively by coming 2025. That seems to be a noteworthy number of jobs being replaced.

Worry not – On a similar note, the WEF expects ninety-seven million new jobs to be created, which means a surplus of 12 million jobs. The demand increased and emphasized the want for “reskilling” and “upskilling” from employers and governments, to make sure this wave of workers are more than sufficiently geared up for their destiny. WEF predicts the modern workforce to be divided similarly amongst human beings and machines.

The Government of India wishes to adopt a massive upskilling and reskilling project to retrain the brick-and-mortar workforce so that you can facilitate the process of them keeping their jobs. According to the WEF report, almost half of its personnel will require some degree of retraining within the subsequent 5 years.

Less than 48% of India`s labor pressure is digitally skilled, consistent with the WEF report, primarily based totally on projections of senior commercial enterprise leaders who constitute about three hundred international groups that together rent eight million workers.

By 2025, computer systems and automation will be managing a lot of the heavy lifting. This can be most commonly observed in statistics processing, administrative responsibilities and recurring guide jobs for white-collar and blue-collar workers.

How Did Covid Impact Blue-Collar Workers?

The reality of the blue-collared workforce of India which amounts to 500 million people, is that they were left without support and tools to up-level, or even sustain themselves. As lockdowns came down, the everyday workers were the worst hit and encountered a hard setback, particularly in the sales, manufacturing, retail, hospitality, e-commerce, household workers, and construction industries.

Falling prey to fraudulent scams and persistent financial instability has been prevalent for a long time, and that was exacerbated by the pandemic. 1.1 million Women due to juggling responsibilities between work and family, had to leave their jobs causing a wider gap.

Two years later, now the world has adapted to online hiring and become inclusive of blue-collar workers too. 

So What’s The Silver Lining?

In 2023, the blue-collar economy and the gig worker collectively remain an untapped force that when harnessed correctly, can uplift India’s economy greatly. To ensure the white-collar workforce isn’t the biggest player in the game, OTU came up with a platform solely designed for the blue-collar and grey-collar sectors.

Download our app and explore thousands of jobs with one click. After all, we’re talking accessibility and the digital age!