At 10 am, Shweta is the model employee. She trusts her leadership, believes in the company’s future and tells every engagement survey that her manager has her back. By evening, she is something else, a consultant on a freelance platform, a small online seller, or a coder chasing a second invoice before midnight, sounds like the plot of a Bollywood movie?
Data from Randstad’s Workmonitor 2026 highlighted that even though Indian employees are among the most loyal, optimistic and trusting in the world, 58% are quietly running a second job to survive.
India’s workforce, it turns out, is living two lives at once.
High trust, high optimism
By global standards, Indian workers display exceptional faith in their organisations. About 79% of employees in India say they are confident their organisation will grow over the next year, compared with a global average of 51%. 89% of Indian workers say they trust their company’s leadership, well above the global figure of 72%, the survey said.
Furthermore, nearly 87% of Indian employees report a strong relationship with their direct supervisor, and an identical share believe their manager has their best interests in mind. Around 87% of Indian workers say they perform better when working with others and incorporating multiple perspectives.
On conventional engagement indicators, India appears to host one of the healthiest corporate cultures globally.
Economic pressure behind the optimism
Beneath the optimism hides an entirely different personality, one that struggles to survive in today’s economy. The report added that rising living costs have pushed Indian workers into one of the world’s most aggressive side-hustle economies. About 58% of employees in India say they have taken on or are actively seeking a second job, significantly higher than the global average of 40%.
While pay remains the strongest attractor when switching jobs, it is work-life balance that now anchors retention. About 57% of Indian workers cite work-life balance as the primary reason for staying in their current role.
While 67% of Indian employees still aspire to a traditional linear career, 55% simultaneously seek a portfolio career that allows movement across roles and sectors.
AI as a productivity lever — and a hedge
Indian employees are among the most confident technology users globally. About 86% say they are comfortable with the latest tools, and 89% report that artificial intelligence has already improved their productivity.
Nearly 59% of Indian workers believe AI adoption will primarily benefit companies rather than employees, reinforcing the incentive to remain economically diversified.
Furthermore, more than half say they have quit a job in the past because it conflicted with their personal life. About 43% have left roles due to insufficient independence, while 58% say they would refuse a job that lacked flexibility in location or working hours.