<p class="p1">As restrictions in lockdown slowly lift, the confidence of the Indian workforce, be it towards finances or individual confidence, is steadily rising, a LinkedIn survey said today.</p>
<p class="p1">The composite score in the latest LinkedIn Workforce Confidence Index went up to over 53 – from over 50 in the fortnight of June 15-28, said the report.</p>
<p class="p1">The findings are based on survey responses of over 5,500 professionals in India during the weeks of June 1- July 26.</p>
<p class="p1">The results showed that nearly one in three professionals is anticipating their personal savings to increase, while two in five expect their personal spending to stay the same in the next six months.</p>
<p class="p1">Small business employees are witnessing a lift in their overall individual confidence levels — up from +49 to +58 since June 15-28 — as well as confidence towards finances — up from +35 to +51.</p>
<p class="p1">However, this optimism fades when it comes to job security, as the report showed that employees in small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) are less confident about holding on to their jobs than workers in large enterprises with 10,000 or more employees.</p>
<p class="p1">With low cash reserves and on-off lockdowns across several cities, business sustenance for SMBs continues to be a challenging affair.</p>
<p class="p1">Findings from the survey underscored a pronounced difference in how professionals from different industries feel about returning to the physical workplace.</p>
<p class="p1">The results showed that 46 per cent of professionals from recreation and travel, and 39 per cent of professionals from the consumer goods industry will return to work as soon as they are allowed to.</p>
<p class="p1">However, 50 per cent of software &amp; IT employees said they will continue working remotely for now.</p>
<p class="p1">This could be due to the fact they have transitioned to working remotely in a smooth manner, among other reasons.</p>
<p class="p1">Joining them in their cautious approach, professionals from transportation &amp; logistics, and media &amp; communications were seen wary about returning to the physical workplace.</p>
<p class="p1">Risk of exposure, poor sanitation, and lack of workplace policies worry most professionals who are reluctant to return to the physical workplace, showed the survey.</p>.