Gen Z, born between the mid-to-late 1990s and the early 2010,  may seem like a generation comfortable with gig work but a new report’s findings are quite to the contrary. For Gen Z, , many of whom have just entered the workforce, a formal, contracted job with social security and healthcare benefits is more attractive than a high salary. The report has found that 95% of Gen Z workers would pick a stable job with a clear career path over one with higher pay. Furthermore, 79% of workers would take salary cut of 20% or more if the job provided security and benefits.

Overall, Indians value stability and career growth over salary, finds the new report, ‘New Collar Generation’, released by business services provider Quess Corp. The objective of its survey was to understand the priorities and perceptions of India’s working population after the pandemic years. “We wanted to discern what they considered to be their true objectives and meaning of work in the ‘new normal’; was the salary the driving factor, or were other considerations now at play?” says the introduction to the report.

The report is based on interviews with 4,179 respondents of all ages. It covers respondents from seven metros–Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune–and seven non-metros, Ahmedabad, Baroda, Coimbatore, Indore, Lucknow, Ludhiana and Nashik. It was conducted between September 2022 and January 2023.

A large of workers in India are in the informal sector, which leaves them without healthcare, retirement and social security benefits. At least 97% of them agree that they have a better chance of improving their lifestyle and that of their families with a formal job as opposed to one without a contract. 

The report found that 93% of the informal employees say that if an employer offered them a job with health benefits and a formal agreement as opposed to a higher salary without a contract, they would take it. The figure is higher for men than women; 63% women are “very likely” to compromise on a higher salary in lieu of health benefits and a formal contract, compared to 28% per cent of men.

According to the survey, 80% of informal employees expect their employers to provide them with ESI and medical benefits, and the expectation of ESI is even higher for the younger employees.

“The findings of our study offer a clear direction to policymakers on the desires of the informal workforce,” Lohit Bhatia, president of workforce management at Quess Corp told PTI. “With high aspirations regarding skilling, social security, and healthcare benefits, India’s informal economy is as aspirational to benefit from EPFO, ESIC, and other social security benefits as their formal counterparts.” As per current laws only companies with more than 10 or 20 employees are mandated to provide such social security benefits only for organizations that have above 10 or 20 employees. “This leaves behind a huge class of citizens that are not benefitted by these laws,” he told PTI. Over the past few years some states have made efforts to provide insurance coverage for informal and gig workers, but “it is crucial to recognise that there is still a long way to go,” he added.