Hiring will not be impacted by any new coronavirus variant: Survey

As the country is recovering from the pandemic, a majority of C-Suite executives and employees (73 per cent) across sectors feel hiring will not be adversely impacted due to any new wave of COVID-19, according to a survey.

As COVID-19 cases continue to decline across the country, 73 per cent respondents believe that the new wave will not have an adverse impact on the hiring trends across sectors, while 27 per cent are unsure about the situation in the future, according to the survey by Genius Consultants.

The survey was done among 1,468 C-Suite executives and employees online across sectors including banking and finance, engineering, education, FMCG, hospitality, HR solutions, IT, ITeS and BPO, logistics, manufacturing, media, oil and gas, and pharma.

Further, the survey showed that over 69 per cent respondents are not anticipating a rise in job insecurity with the advent of the new variant.

The remaining fear that state-imposed restrictions and lockdowns could again halt businesses and possibly could result in salary cuts and layoffs, it noted.

When asked if the fear of the new variant could be more detrimental, over 71 per cent said it will not be as serious as hospitalisation had been low during Omicron and had a high recovery rate, which was encouraging.

Meanwhile, 64 per cent respondents feel that most companies will encourage 'hybrid work models' if there is a surge in COVID-19 cases, to ensure the safety of their staff and for uninterrupted business operations.

"The new variant causing the sudden rise in cases had been an extremely worrisome subject for industries across. The industries were slowly recovering and were performing quite satisfactorily.

"However, the new surge did not hamper and put any hurdle in the pathway of this growth. We hope that this variant is not as severe as the previous ones and that people recover quickly and remain safe," Genius Consultants Chairman and Managing Director R P Yadav said.