Although India was lagging behind China in the economic reforms department by 13 years, India’s real GDP in 2014 was $1.55 trillion, which is right behind China’s 2001 real GDP, which was $1.56 trillion (at 2005 prices, EIU). Until recently China’s economy was growing rapidly, however due to the sudden slowdown many Chinese employees are becoming less optimistic about state of their economy  due to which they are more satisfied with their current job prospects. 

According to a recent report published by Michael Page India, about 50 percent Indian employees believe that the Indian economy is between the state of good and excellent while only 28 percent Chinese employees feel the same about their country’s economy. Indian employees are dissatisfied with their current job prospects as 21 percent Indians are unhappy with their salaries, whereas in China the number is 16 percent. About 31 percent Indian employees are not satisfied with the opportunities for promotion, in the case of China, it is 28 percent. Job security dissatisfaction among Indian employees is 20 percent, while in China it is only 14 percent. The dissatisfaction with their job prospects and confidence about their future is because Indian employees are more optimistic about the state of the Indian economy than the Chinese are of their economy. 

Commenting on these findings, Sebastien Hampartzoumian, Senior Managing Director, Michael Page India, says, “Interestingly, Indian employees seem to be less satisfied about certain aspects of their job compared to their counterparts in China. This can be attributed to an optimistic mindset and a better sentiment of market conditions hence higher expectations.”

About 74 percent Indian employees are optimistic about better skill development and 72 percent about career progression in the next one year. In China, it is 72 percent and 67 percent, respectively.  According to the report, 44 percent employees in India seek new jobs because of new skill development and 43 percent Chinese employees search for new jobs because they want to maintain a work- life balance. Hampartazoumian adds that this is because “India’s growth story has been closely linked to skill development over the last two years and seeing this taking importance over salary increase is very surprising.”

The study compared the responses of over 1200 employees in India and over 700 employees in China, from mid- senior level from across various organizations and sectors.