July 28, 2015: As starting a new venture becomes relatively easier, the trend of young leaders running companies is catching up. With the mushrooming of startups, having a CEO who is in his or her mid-20s or 30s is no more a rarity.
As opposed to the popular belief that experience makes for a good leader, these young leaders are writing new rules and even gaining popularity. So much so that nearly 65 per cent of India Inc employees today prefer a young boss (aged between 25 and 40 years) over an older and more experienced boss (aged between 40 and 70 years), according to TimesJobs Leadership Survey 2015.
"Young bosses have the passion, drive and ambition to prove themselves, and thus are able to lead by example and energise their teams to higher levels of performance. The energy, dynamism, fresh ideas and new perspectives that a young boss brings into the workplace provide a welcome change to the staid company culture that plague many corporates in India Inc.” says Vivek Madhukar, COO, TimesJobs.com.
Of the total respondents, nearly 57 per cent said they worked for young bosses while 43 per cent said they worked for an older/more experienced boss.
Almost 80 per cent female and 56 per cent male employees opted for young bosses over older/more experienced ones in the TimesJobs survey.
Sneha Sharma, who recently quit her job with a big IT firm to join a start-up in Bangalore, had this to say about her new boss, “He is cooler than the my previous elderly boss. Unlike the old guy, he understands my challenges and concerns in a much better manner. He doesn’t believe in the philosophy of using a stick to get work done. He’s much easier to approach and definitely less scary looking. ‘Work hard, party harder’ is his philosophy too.”
Preference for young bosses high across sectors
Nearly 75 per cent employees in the IT sector prefer a young boss and about 63 per cent employees in non-IT sectors prefer a young boss, highlights the TimesJobs survey.
The automobile sector is an exception with higher preference for older and more experienced bosses, with nearly 80 per cent respondents opting for them. Manufacturing industry shows equal preference for both (50% respondents prefer experienced bosses while 50% prefer young bosses).
Preference shifts with rise in age & experience
According to the TimesJobs survey, nearly 60 per cent of entry to mid-level employees prefer young bosses.
But nearly 80 per cent senior professionals with over 20 years of experience prefer older bosses.
Nearly 74 per cent employees aged between 20 and 40 years prefer young bosses while about 88 per cent employees aged over 40 prefer older bosses, finds the TimesJobs survey.
Reason for choosing a young boss
Of the 65 per cent India Inc employees who prefer young bosses, nearly 46 per cent find them relatively more understanding than older/experienced bosses. About 33 per cent feel they are more practical and 21 per cent choose them because they are friendly/fun and easy to work with, reveals the TimesJobs survey.
Nearly 46 per cent employees working for an older boss said they find them understanding while 40 per cent believe they are more patient than the young bosses and 14 per cent finds them relatively unbiased.
Both have their share of limitations
Be it a young or an older boss, they both have certain limitations. While older bosses are said to be inflexible and stern, the young ones lack experience and practicality, believe India Inc employees.
Nearly 40 per cent employees responding to the TimesJobs survey said that young bosses lack experience which at times impacts business performance and output.
About 25 per cent feel 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.
Nearly 68 per cent employees working for older bosses feel they are inflexible while 15 per cent rate them as unsympathetic and stern. About 10 per cent employees find them biased and 17 per cent think they are unrealistic, according to the TimesJobs.com study.
For a younger India Inc
When asked whom employees would opt for if given a choice, nearly 78 per cent, who currently work under young bosses, said they would stick with them.
The views of those working under an older boss were divided — 50 per cent opted for young bosses and 50 per cent preferring to stick with older bosses.
Overall, the survey results showed a growing penchant for young bosses.
This TimesJobs Leadership Survey 2015 on Preference for a Young Boss vs an Old Boss received complete responses from 653 employees across India.
For more such insights please visit TimesJobs.com‘s TJinsite section.
*Some names and identifying details have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals.
About TimesJobs.com:
TimesJobs.com, India’s leading career and recruitment portal, is one of the best-selling online ventures of the Times of India Group. Conceived and launched in 2004, TimesJobs.com currently has a candidate database of more than 25 million registered job-seekers across levels and functions who clock-in over 60 million page views a month.
TimesJobs.com is positioning itself as an engagement platform and knowledge resource for insights, information, analysis and opinions on the recruitment market. Well-known for its product innovations and unmatched deliverables, TimesJobs.com has pioneered the platforms of:
– JobBuzz.in for candidate engagement with company reviews and ratings
– TechGig.com as India’s leading IT network for careers, coding and competitions
– StepAhead for career assessment and enhancement services
– RecruiteX as the definitive demand and supply recruitment index
– The TJinsite knowledge series and a lot more.
TimesJobs.com serves a corporate customer base of more than 25,000 recruiters from across the globe. It has been serving clients like HCL, IBM, Yamaha, Godrej, HSBC, Mahindra, Bajaj Allianz, TCS and Thomson Reuters to name a few.