'Infant attrition' on rise; accounts for 10-15% of annual labour movement: TeamLease Services

Mumbai: Poor work-life balance, flexibility, and job dissatisfaction are leading to 4-5 per cent annual increase in 'infant attrition' -- employees quitting within six months of joining -- mainly in sectors like consumer durables, IT, and software, and BFSI, a senior executive of TeamLease Services said.

"Infant attrition in India, mainly seen in the 22-32 years age group, is growing annually at 4-5 per cent and is mostly driven by factors like poor work-life balance and flexibility, which is particularly important to younger workers, job dissatisfaction, inadequate onboarding, insufficient compensation, making employees seek better opportunities," TeamLease Services Chief Strategy Officer Subburathinam P told PTI.

Lack of career development opportunities, culture of the organisation, work environment, managerial impact, and changes happening in the family are also prompting new hires to leave in search of environments where they can grow and advance, he said.

Infant attrition can also imply that there are more job opportunities, allowing people to switch, he said.

"In India, the concept of infant attrition gained significant attention in the early 2000s, particularly within the IT sector. The rapid growth of the IT industry led to high demand for skilled professionals, and companies faced challenges in retaining new hires," Subburathinam said.

This phenomenon, he said, can have a significant financial impact on companies in the country and it is estimated that infant attrition accounts for about 10-15 per cent of annual labour movement.

"It can lead to substantial costs, including recruitment, training, and lost productivity," Subburathinam added.

Infant attrition refers to the phenomenon where employees leave an organisation within a short period after joining, typically within the first six months or during the probation period, some companies also consider three months as infant attrition.

Subburathinam further said, with 49 per cent consumer durables sector is witnessing highest infant attrition, where new hires leave within the first six months.

Other sectors, like IT and software, Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) and telecom, retail and manufacturing are the other sectors that are witnessing this phenomenon, he added.

This trend is particularly pronounced in south India, where the infant attrition rate is as high as 51 per cent, he noted.

When it comes to gender, Subburathinam said, the overall male attrition stands at 84.5 per cent and women attrition at 15.5 per cent.

Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and Telangana are the states with the highest infant attrition rates, he added.