AI anxiety, skills gaps emerge as major workplace risks for Indian firms: Report
New Delhi, June 10
Nearly half of Indian organisations worry about investing in artificial intelligence without adequate employee training and 52 per cent cited weak cyber threat literacy as "top people" risks, a report said on Wednesday.
The report from Marsh said Benefits inflation is the number one people risk in India, with 65 per cent of HR and risk professionals expecting health and benefit costs to rise over the next one to two years.
Technology disruption, rising economic pressures and shifting talent dynamics are reshaping the enterprise risk landscape.
Organisations and their people are operating under sustained uncertainty driven by rapid AI adoption pressures and a deepening talent crunch, the report said after collecting responses from over 4,500 HR and risk professionals across 26 markets - including 311 participants from India.
Within India, these workforce-related vulnerabilities directly impact organisational resilience and business performance, the report said.
Around 96 per cent of employees trust their employer to provide access to affordable, quality healthcare and 54 per cent depend on their employer for medical coverage.
However, 41 per cent of respondents said benefit decisions are made without considering long‑term cost impact and 40 per cent said they are made without adequately considering the health and financial impact on employees.
The report highlighted that 41 per cent of respondents say benefit decisions are made without considering long‑term cost impact and 40 per cent say they are made without adequately considering the health and financial impact on employees.
Labour shortages are the top concern for HR professionals in India. It is the fourth overall risk, the report noted.
Inadequate supervisory and leadership skills emerged as India's most powerful risk multiplier as 62 per cent of respondents said weak leadership would have a catastrophic or high impact on organisations.
Meanwhile, lack of transparency, fairness and inclusion also featured within India's top five risks, more prominently than in the global rankings.
— IANS
Reader Comments
The benefits inflation part hits close to home. My family's health insurance premium increased by 20% this year. Employers are cutting corners on mental health coverage while expecting us to upskill constantly. And 40% don't even consider employee impact when making benefit decisions? Shameful. We need better regulation, not just corporate promises.
Having worked in HR for over 15 years, I can confirm this report is accurate. The talent crunch is real - we're losing mid-level managers to better-paying Gulf jobs, and the leadership gap is terrifying. Weak supervision means even the best AI tools get misused. The 62% figure for catastrophic leadership impact is probably an understatement! 😅
I work for a tech startup in Bangalore and I'm constantly worried about job security. My company invested in AI without any reskilling plan. We're expected to learn on our own time. The report says 49% of firms worry about this, but I bet the number is higher. It's exhausting. 😩
As a risk consultant, I see this daily. Indian firms focus too much on cost-cutting and too little on long-term resilience. The lack of transparency and inclusion is a cultural issue - many companies still have hierarchical decision-making that excludes junior voices. Until that changes, every AI implementation will create more problems than it solves.
Interesting data from Marsh. But I think they're underestimating the people risk. 65% worried about benefits inflation? That's probably because healthcare costs are
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.