The Indian workforce is no longer running after high salary packages as factors like workplace flexibility, opportunities for learning and development, good workplace culture, among others, have become a priority for employees before considering a job, said a survey.
At the time when major companies are making it mandatory for their employees to return to office and work five days a week, majority of the Indian employees have indicated that they would leave a job if it lacked flexibility and sense of belonging at the workplace, a survey pointed out.
According to Randstad India’s Work Monitor 2025 survey, at least 52% of Indian employees indicated they would leave their jobs if it lacked flexibility as compared to 31% employees globally. More than 65% of Indian employees would quit if they didn’t feel a sense of belonging at work, significantly higher than the global average of 55%, it said.
At least 67% of Indian employees are willing to leave their jobs that don’t offer them learning and development opportunities, surpassing the global figure of 41%, said the survey that took response from 27,000 talents across 35 markets in Europe, Asia Pacific and the Americas.
Important factors when considering jobs
Value alignment: At least 64% of Indian employees would quit jobs if the leadership viewpoints did not match with theirs, while 70% would not accept a job with a company that does not align with their values on social and environmental issues, the survey pointed out.
Flexibility at workplace: About 60% of employees would not accept a job that lacks flexibility in working hours, while at least 56% would decline a job offer if it didn’t provide flexibility at the workplace, it said.
Relationship with managers: Around 60% of respondents in India would leave a job if they lacked a good rapport with their managers, the survey mentioned.
Workplace community: Around 90% of Indian employees emphasised the need for a workplace that feels like a community, whereas 93% believe they perform better when sharing a sense of community with colleagues, it added.
Reasons for Indians quitting jobs
At least 43% of the respondents in the country said they quit jobs due to lack of friends at the workplace. This is more than 5x higher than 8% global average, the report said, adding around 55% quit jobs due to toxic workplace culture as compared to 44% global average.
At least 53% of Indian employees left jobs because they couldn’t express their personal viewpoints without judgment or discrimination compared to 27% globally.
Rise in demand for AI and technical training opportunities
According to the Randstad survey, AI training has emerged as the most sought-after learning and development (L&D) opportunity, with 43% of Indian respondents prioritising it compared to 23% employees globally.
This demand is the highest among Gen X with 46% making efforts to take some kind of AI training, compared to 41% employees globally, followed by Gen Z (41% in India compared to 19% globally).
Other key areas of interest include the following:
● IT and technological literacy (12% in India versus 30% globally)
● Programming and coding (6% in India versus 19% globally)
● Data science and analytics (5% in India versus 17% globally)
● Management and leadership skills (5% in India versus 20% globally)
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