Tata Power emerged as India's most attractive employer brand in 2023, followed by Amazon and Tata Steel, according to HR services firm Randstad.

The Tata Group's power utility bagged the top spot this year from rank 9 in 2022. "Tata Power Company scored very high on financial health, good reputation and career progression opportunities, the top three Employee Value Proposition (EVP) drivers for the organisation," the Randstad Employer Brand Research report says.

Amazon climbed up rankings this year to emerge as the runner-up, followed by another new entrant in the top 3 list - Tata Steel, which occupied the third spot, the survey shows.

Tata Group-owned e-commerce platform BigBasket emerged as the most attractive startup employer brand in the country.

The report reveals that work-life balance, good reputation and attractive salary and benefits are the three most important EVP drivers for the Indian workforce when choosing an employer.

Women tend to place more emphasis on work-life balance, according to the survey. 49% of the respondents mentioned that they are willing to resign or have already resigned from their current job to improve their work-life balance.

On moonlighting, nine in ten employees (91%) agree that an employer is much more attractive if they are allowed to take up additional jobs or assignments for supplemental income. The desire to take up a second job is relatively stronger among women than men (92% vs. 89%), a subtle hint of the prevailing gender-pay gap, the survey notes. The sentiment to moonlight is strongest among the workforce within the age group of 25-34 years and it shows a gradual decline thereafter.

While remote jobs are far from those of 2021 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, remote work is still done by the majority. 40% of the surveyed employees work partly remotely, and 21% fully remotely, the survey shows. In the past three years, the group of full remote workers has more than halved (48% in 2021 to 21% in 2023), while the number of partial remote workers has increased from 36% in 2021 to 40% in 2023.

India's auto and auto components sector is the most sought-after industry for employees, followed by IT, ITeS & Telecom, and FMCG, retail and e-commerce.

The fear of job loss among the workforce continues to be nearly the same in 2023 (29%) as compared to 2022 (28%). Of those who have that fear, 57% plan to switch jobs in the next six months. The job loss fear is higher among those who recently switched (38%) than those who did not (25%), indicating that recent joiners do not yet feel secure about their job at their new employer. Five in 10 employees (51%) are willing to consider re-joining their ex-employer, out of which 56% consider a great employer brand to be the primary reason behind this decision.

"This year's findings suggest that changing times lead to changing expectations. Talent is getting increasingly serious - not just about the job, but a long-term career progression and job satisfaction that allows them to enjoy the non-material benefits of being associated with the employer, along with identifying a clear purpose at work," says Viswanath P.S, managing director and CEO, Randstad India.

30% of the surveyed employees have already switched jobs in the last six months, and 43% plan to change employers in the next six months, the report says, adding that lack of career progression opportunities is a top reason for employees to leave.

"Job switching intent is higher than in 2022, indicating the need for employers to offer a holistic benefits package with a healthy combination of monetary compensation, flexible and favourable work environment and adequate career growth opportunities," Viswanath adds.

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Tata Power, Amazon among most attractive employers in India: Randstad