With growing startups, over 60% Indian employees prefer younger bosses, survey says
The mushrooming of startups has meant that young leaders are increasingly leading companies from the front, with over 60 per cent of India Inc employees preferring a young boss to an older and more experienced one, according to a survey. The TimesJobs Leadership Survey 2015 report said nearly 60 per cent of the entry-to-mid level employees would like to have young bosses. However, nearly 80 per cent senior professionals with over 20 years of experience prefer older bosses, it added.
"Young bosses have the passion, drive and ambition to prove themselves, and thus are able to lead by example and energize their teams to higher levels of performance. The energy, dynamism, fresh ideas and new perspectives that a young boss brings to the workplace provide a welcome change to the staid company culture that plague many corporates in India Inc," TimesJobs.com COO Vivek Madhukar said. With the startup boom, having a CEO who is in his or her mid-20s or 30s, is no more a rarity, it said.
As opposed to the popular belief that experience makes for a good leader, these young leaders are writing new rules and even gaining popularity, the survey added. So much so that nearly 60 per cent of India Inc employees today prefer a young boss (aged 25-40 years) over an older and more experienced one (aged between 40 and 70 years), it said. Of the total respondents, nearly 57 per cent said they worked for young bosses while 43 per cent worked for an older one.
Almost 80 per cent female and 56 per cent male employees opted for young bosses, the survey found out. Of the 60 per cent India Inc employees who prefer young bosses, nearly 46 per cent find them more understanding than older ones. . About 33 per cent feel that they are more practical and 21 per cent choose them because they are friendly, fun and easy to work with, the survey revealed.
While the IT sector saw nearly 75 per cent employees making their preference for young blood at the helm, the figure stood at nearly 63 per cent in non-IT sectors. The automobile sector, the survey said, is an exception with a higher preference for older and more experienced chiefs, with close to 80 per cent respondents opting for them. The manufacturing industry is split down the middle, showing an equal preference for both.
Furthermore, the survey said about 25 per cent feel that older employees reporting to younger bosses is a big challenge while 21 per cent find young bosses "unrealistic". About 14 per cent think young bosses lack business relevant knowledge.
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