Author: Liji Narayan | HRKatha

It makes sense to train managers to recognise mental-health challenges in employees within their teams. After all, managers are often the first line of support for employees in distress. This makes it crucial to equip and sensitise managers to champion mental-health initiatives and establish a workplace that feels safe in every which way. As per the State of Emotional Wellbeing Report 2024, by 1to1help, 30 per cent of employees who were referred for counselling by their managers showed signs of low suicidal risk, whereas a good 29 per cent displayed signs of high suicide risk. This is both good and…

Dissatisfied with the way labour officials have looked into the reports of discriminatory hiring practices at Foxconn, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has ordered a fresh probe. Foxconn, which manufactures Apple iPhones, and operates a plant in Tamil Nadu, was accused of discriminating against married women while hiring for assembly-line jobs. It all began when a Reuters investigation revealed that Foxconn systematically excluded married women from assembly jobs at its main Indian iPhone plant, citing family responsibilities, pregnancy, and higher absenteeism as reasons. It also found that Foxconn relaxed this practice during high-production periods. Not surprisingly, the report had…

Edenred, a digital platform for services and payments, has announced the appointment of Minaxi Indra as managing director. An alumnus of Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Bangalore, Indra comes with more than two decades of diverse leadership experience across global and Indian organisations. In the early years of her professional journey, she spent over four years with IBM as client relationship manager, working out of Mumbai, from 2003 to 2007. She then moved to Cisco as business development manager, for over three years. In 2010, Indra switched to SAP. She joined as large enterprise account manager-Tata Group (acquisitions and growth).…

Analytical skills or analytical thinking has been the top choice for employers when it comes to the core skills for the workforce. In 2023 and 2024, the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs survey had found analytical thinking to be the most sought after core skills by employers. The latest edition of the report reveals that 69 per cent of employers feel analytical thinking is the core skill for their workforce in 2025, while 67 per cent feel resilience, flexibility and agility are the core skills. A good 61 per cent feel leadership and social influence skills are the core…

As part of its endeavour to cut costs and streamline operations, British Petroleum (BP) is gearing to let go five per cent of its 90,000-strong global workforce this year. The move will impact about 4,700 permanent employees and 3,000 roles from its contractors. The job cuts have been officially made known to the employees via an internal communiqué, as reported by Reuters. Murray Auchincloss, CEO, British Petroleum, had said last year that he intended to cut costs by a minimum of $2 billion by the end of 2026 in an attempt to restore the confidence of investors and increase revenue.…

Ever heard adjectives such as ‘exciting’, ‘personalised’ and ‘modern’ being used to describe a resume? Add ‘boring’ and ‘interesting’ to that list. If you are wondering why you never got an interview call from that organisation you have been yearning to be part of, it is probably because your resume failed to ‘excite’ the hiring manager. Your resume may not have been ‘interesting’ or ‘attractive’ enough to catch the eye of those who were doing the selection. Maybe it is time to add some colour and incorporate images into your resume just as the 20 per cent of job seekers,…

Voluntary attrition in the agriculture and chemical space was the maximum in 2024, at 13.6 per cent and the minimum in the automotive space, at 8.2 per cent in 2024, says the Mercer TRS Survey report. When employees choose to quit their job on their own, it is called voluntary attrition. They could make this choice because they are unhappy at the organisation or are fed up of the culture at the workplace. When employees retire or move on from one job to take up another job offer, that is also called voluntary attrition. Some voluntary attrition happens when employees…

Yes, human beings have embraced technology as an integral part of their personal and professional lives, but not without reservations. As new technologies emerge and advancements take place, there has been a growing concern that technology may take over jobs done by humans completely. What with robots already replacing humans in many domains, this concern is rather legitimate. What is surprising is that India seems to have welcomed both artificial intelligence (AI) and humanoid/service robots more openly than many other nations. Bosch’s fourth annual Tech Compass survey tried to find out whether it was artificial intelligence (AI) or humanoid robots/service…

In an age when people are obsessed with their image and appearance, it is easier to find faults with our body than to appreciate it. Reams and reams have been dedicated to the benefits of eating right and exercising regularly, to improve our health and looks, and our life in general. There are also consultants who promise to give us an image makeover and gurus who assure they can cleanse our soul and lead us on the path to transformation and peace. Yet, people struggle and remain unfulfilled. Why? Simply because they have failed to realise that the key to…

The Master of your KPIs, the latest book authored by Pankaj Lochan is worth picking up for several reasons. For one, the author does not preach or sermonise. In fact, the first part of the book makes for a very smooth and interesting read. With his personal experiences and feelings as the head-manufacturing and P&L, Lochan, as the protagonist, manages to open his heart and let the readers in, giving them a full view of all that is going on inside—in the most undiluted form. So what starts off as an autobiography, ends as a valuable training session on management…

The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued the revised rule for modernisation of the H-1B visa programme and other non-immigrant visas. Starting 17 January 2025, the reform will facilitate smoother and more efficient approval procedures, and provide more flexibility to organisations when it comes to retaining their skilled workers. The revised version of Form I-129, employed for petitions for nonimmigrant workers, will also become mandatory starting January 17, 2025. A preview of the new Form I-129 is likely to be available soon on the official site of USCIS. Among the major changes is the revision of the criteria…

Over the next five years, the demand for big data specialists, fintech engineers, and artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) specialists will surge. How do we know this? Interesting data pertaining to growing and declining jobs has emerged in The Future of Jobs Report 2025 by the World Economic Forum (WEF). According to the respondents, the fastest-growing job roles by 2030 will be driven by tech advancements, including artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. In addition, there will be the influence of increasing digital access. Which are the top fastest-growing jobs? The job of big-data specialist is the fastest-growing one,…

As the first week of 2025 unfolds, New Year resolutions—once a staple of self-improvement culture—seem to be losing their charm. While some people draw up ambitious lists of goals, others resolutely pledge not to bother. For younger generations, particularly Gen Z, resolutions feel like relics of a bygone era, misaligned with their practical outlook and prioritisation of personal happiness. But what if the workplace could rekindle this fading tradition? More importantly, what if resolutions were reimagined not as rigid personal commitments but as a collective pursuit of well-being, spearheaded by HR teams? In an era where productivity, innovation, and mental…

Amit Chincholikar has been roped in by the Hinduja Group for the role of group president-human resources. Before this assignment Chincholikar was global chief human resources officer, Yokohama Off-Highway Tires. He steps into the shoes of Amanppreet Singh Bhatia, who has moved on after completing five successful years with the Group An alumnus of the Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune, Chincholikar is a Tata veteran, who had parted from his role as global CHRO at Tata Consumer Products (TCP) in January 2023. Since then he has been with Compport as a member of its advisory board helping steer the…

50% of recruiters are looking for analytical skills when hiring, while 50 per cent are looking for technical/domain-specific skills. About 40 per cent would hire candidates who have collaborative skills and can work in a team. Interpersonal skills come next, with 34 per cent recruiters looking for these in candidates. Thirty-one per cent recruiters seek strategy and leadership skills, while 16 per cent seek out data and AI skills in potential hires. Do the HR people and members of Gen Z agree on anything when it comes to the in-demand skills? Yes, they do. They both feel the ability to…

When Narayana Murthy, co-founder, Infosys had first talked of 70-hour workweeks, his statement hadn’t gone down well at all. There was social-media uproar. ‘What of work-life balance?’ questioned netizens. The death of a young EY employee due to work stress only gave birth to more advocates of work-life balance and employee well-being. While the world debated, not only did Narayana Murthy stay calm but he stood by what he said. In fact, at a recent event he once again called on the young professionals of the country to work harder and put in 70 hours of work a week if…

A harmless employees’ meeting becoming the scene of an attempted murder sounds like a scene out of a thriller. However, at Anderson Express, the supplier of solutions to various industries, an employee actually stabbed the company president in the middle of a staff meeting. There were about ten employees participating in the meeting and who saw their leader being assaulted. Nathan Mahoney walked into the conference room and fled the scene after stabbing the president on the side with a knife, below his ribs. He was caught by the police soon after. Erik Denslow, president, Anderson Express, had to undergo…

What are employers across the world doing to ensure gender equality? Manpower Group’s employment outlook survey for Q1 of 2025 assesses the equitable gender recruitment and retention practices based on interviews with 40,413 public and private employers across 42 countries. So what is driving progress in gender equality in recruitment and retention? Well, 53 per cent of the employers are building trusting relationships with teams, while 51 per cent are effectively supporting employee well-being. A significant 48 per cent are implementing policies to ensure equal career-development opportunities, while 46 per cent are offering support to employees caring for children, or…

Japan is said to have reported only 7.27 lakh births in 2024, which has become a cause of concern. Therefore, the Tokyo government has decided to do its bit to help the situation. It has announced a four-day workweek starting April 2025, so that the fertility rate improves. Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has announced that employees can choose any three days in the week to take time off from work. It is hoped that a shorter work week will encourage couples in Japan to spend more quality time with each other. This, in turn, it is hoped, will result in…

The YesMadam case goes from being bizarre to ridiculous. Barely a day has passed since the news of about a 100 employees of Yes Madam being fired for admitting to being stressed grabbed headlines and sent social media into a tizzy. Now the company that offers at-home salon services has issued an apology and clarified that no employee was fired and that those who had felt stressed had actually been given “a break to reset”. The Noida-based startup’s clarification said that the whole episode was part of the firm’s “planned effort to highlight the serious issue of workplace stress.” In…

Net Employment Outlook (NEO) stands at 40 per cent for India, says the Manpower Group Employment Outlook report for the first quarter of 2025. So has the outlook changed for the country? Yes, it has. India Outlook has increased by three percentage points in comparison to the previous quarter, and also the same time last year, when it was 37. In 2023, it was 32 per cent and in 2022 it was 49 per cent. The good news is that the net employment outlook—arrived at by subtracting employers planning to reduce headcount vs. those planning to hire—is the strongest for…

People with disabilities are opening up at work, and the human resources department has a role to play in this. According to a Deloitte report called Disability Inclusion @ Work 2024: A Global Outlook, 99.6 per cent of respondents who identified as a person with a disability for the purposes of the survey said they have disclosed at work (vs. 88 per cent of the overall sample). Also, these respondents were more likely than the overall sample to disclose to a person in HR or their direct supervisor, but less likely to disclose to members of their team or other…

There are changes happening in Walmart’s work/hiring policies. The retail giant has decided to stop implementing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies at work. That means Walmart will stop taking into account race or gender while choosing suppliers or hiring people. That isn’t all; the retailer will also stop funding its racial equity training centre that had been set up about four years ago primarily to address the inequalities in various spheres, including education, healthcare, finance, as well as the criminal justice system for Black Americans. It will no more participate in rankings by an LGBTQ advocacy group (LGBTQ+ workplace…

An employee of Apple, Amar Bhakta has alleged that the tech major spies on its employees via their personal devices. He also accuses Apple of restricting employees’ speech and curtailing their freedom. Bhakta, who has been working with the company for four years now, is a member of Apple’s digital advertising team. On 1 December, he filed a case under California laws, allowing employees to act on behalf of the state and retain 35 per cent of any recovered penalties. According to Bhakta, Apple makes it mandatory for its employees to use Apple products for official work. However, it also…

India’s electronics-manufacturing sector is already among the fastest growing in the world. Great news, isn’t it? The projected growth rate of this sector is 25 to 30 per cent. That’s even better news, right? Yes, but let’s not rejoice. There is an issue. While there is significant growth potential, there isn’t skilled talent available to take up the jobs in this sector. A report by TeamLease Degree Apprenticeship reveals a mismatch between the demands of the electronics industry and capable workers. With the sector making fast strides into the fields of artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), and Industry…

Two senior vice presidents, five vice presidents, 29 senior directors and 23 directors are amongst the employees laid off by Visa in the Bay Area. Several engineers and technical programme managers have also been rendered jobless. The impacted employees will be paid severance packages and provided counseling. They will also receive outplacement assistance. The payments company from San Francisco had earlier let go four senior vice presidents, 17 vice presidents, 17 senior directors and 17 directors in a layoff round in early November when it had laid off 91. In October it was reported that Visa Inc. was preparing to…