The potential of white-collar migrants in building self-reliant India — giving back to the homeland
The context
In the last few months we have witnessed things that usually are reserved for reel or print fiction dealing with apocalypse. In India, one of the familiar sights, now literally symbolizing the tyranny of the whole country is that of migrant workers walking miles, under scorching conditions to travel back to their places of origin. It is estimated that 40 million migrants (and adding), mostly employed in the unorganized sectors were impacted in the first two months of India declaring COVID-19 as a pandemic.
There is though, one segment of migrants about whom no one reported, lest of all they themselves no longer identify as being one. In fact, I might (will) face severe flaks for calling them migrants. I refer to white-collar professionals, who left their places of origin, several years back either in the pursuit of higher education or better career prospects. Over the decades these professionals, mostly occupying the upper middle-class income group, have made the Indian metropolitan cities and Tier-1 cities as their “new homes”, building their lives around the “new normal”. This segment, which continues to pay its taxes, does not usually seek out EMI moratoriums, has been working from home with business-as-usual and situation-not-as-usual circumstances is the subject matter of this point of view article. Yours sincerely identifies personally with this segment.
The uniqueness of the situation
The harsh predicament of a construction site worker can never be actually compared with a white-collar professional who has a secured salary every month and gets to choose his/her place of occupation than be forced to take it up. But if we draw an analogy, it calls for some reflection on why at all did these persons have to leave their homelands and consider a life in the cities (which by the way was/is no less harsh in its own context). One of the strongest reasons is that they did not/could not find professional opportunities in their hometown which were commensurate with the education that they had received or the lifestyle they had aspired for. Another could be that as the current 80s and 90s generation were growing up, the Indian economy too was shifting from being dependent on indigenous industrial establishments towards foreign investment infused services and technology outsourcing. The prospects that these industries presented in the cities looked far more lucrative than the fortunes our fathers could gather working in industrial hubs, often government owned and closer to their/our homelands. In comparison, it was easier to migrate to and thrive in a city with a ready ecosystem supporting professional development. In turn, they were able to achieve an income level much higher than they may have earned in their homelands and ensure better lives for their immediate and in several cases for their extended family living with them or back in the homelands.
Coming back to the discussion at hand, even to suggest that these professionals abandon the life that they have so painstakingly built-up in the cities be abandoned and a march back to the towns and villages be done will sound repulsive to this very segment of white-collar migrants whose case I advocate today.
But wait! Before you start panicking that I am advising you to dispose the grand property you recently acquired in a plush Bangalore or Gurgaon residential complex (and are paying heavy EMIs with 0 moratoriums) and migrate back to the “opportunity-dry, system-faulty” homeland, continue reading further! You may choose to disagree with the whole concept but even if portions of it get you thinking, my job is done.
The suggested levers of success
As India moves towards being self-reliant and being vocal for local, perhaps it is a good opportunity to think on how this talent pool that has its heart in the homeland but is concentrated in the few metropolitan cities across the country can be incentivized to (consider) a return to their places of origin and contribute and help build the local economy there. A secondary view can be that encouraging these professionals to contribute to the success of their homelands will reduce the burden of national development on a few hubs in India (which anyways are battling a constant pressure on their infrastructure and a controversial debate on insider v.s. outsider) and broad base it across the country.
However, this cannot be a one-lane highway. Just as the government needs to build the enabling platforms that encourage people to even start thinking about their homelands and contributing to its development, it is an equal responsibility on our parts to reflect on what we owe to where we came from.
Start the dialogue: In the recent weeks I have seen several insight-rich and data-backed point of views surfacing on my LinkedIn feeds and within the professional network. These advocate building multiple industrial hubs to accelerate the pace of economic development and rebuilding India in the wake of the health crisis and also suitably employ the people who had to abandon their workplaces in the cities and migrate back home. The intent is also to reduce the infrastructure pressure on the metros, who themselves are dealing with people who have returned both from within India and outside. However, I am yet to come across any platform that discusses how skilled white-collar professionals such as engineers, management specialists and legal experts among others, can be made equal thought-partners in the development of their homelands. The need therefore is to start a dialogue (caution: a dialogue and not an instructional monologue!)
Build the ecosystem: My interactions with friends and colleagues on this subject has been that they do miss home and find it therauptic to keep going back on vacation or to honor family bonding. But in all these years outside, they are used to the enablers that the cities provide them to thrive and succeed. These enablers extend far beyond physical infrastructure and extend into domains such as work culture, supportive political regime, efficient pace of decision making within the regulatory framework, and an ecosystem comprising like-minded people. If such a similar system can be created even in the Tier 3,4,5…N destinations across the country, these professionals may feel more comfortable in considering moving back. This in turn will contribute to the socio-economic growth of these towns and destinations and over a period of time help build a talent pool in these homeland destinations that is technically, socially and executive-presence wise as competent as counterparts in larger cities. Overall this is likely to attract greater attention from both multi-national and domestic investors and job creators. In doing so, they will cease to be outsiders in their own homelands and instead be drivers and co-contributors of its success.
Leverage the intangible intellectual assets inherent in white-collar professions: The current pandemic highlighted the intangible nature of most of white-collar professions and the fact that these can be equally effectively performed while working from home. As the economy is thinking about opening up in phases, maybe it is worthwhile to consider that if this ‘work from home’ arrangement can be converted into a permanent new normal. Some may argue that team management, people leading roles and professional networking activities are better performed in a physical space than in a virtual environment, I may want to draw their attention that a significant number of us actually work with colleagues spread across time-zones and geographies and have been doing marvelously well, leveraging collaboration tools such as video conferencing and virtual think boards (think Zoom!). Therefore, if this intangible nature of work of knowledge workers can ensure that they can meaningfully continue with their jobs in the cities but live in their homelands it would again build up the ecosystem back there which would propel the local economy in those destinations to greater heights.
Incentivize the network: When qualified professionals start associating themselves with the development of their hometowns, they not only bring their own expertise but also carry-over the collective value of their networks. These networks can comprise entrepreneurs, industry veterans, those in the know of government and policy matters, among others. Even if members of this network do not belong to these “homelands” or are particularly not emotionally attached, they may consider and drive an investment decision here if the merits appear strong, profitable and ecosystem seems worth putting the money into. In doing so, these professionals are still contributing to the growth of this network by becoming enablers than actually investing in building an asset or people heavy organization, which carries a higher component of risk and monetary component.
Encourage an entrepreneurial mindset: For most people in the segment about which I am writing, are used to the built-in comforts of their employer provided ecosystem be it in terms of doing-work enablers, client networks, and similar such. However, several of them fail to realize that in the neo modern world no one either in business or in a salaried job performs a complacent process-oriented work and we actually are mini-entrepreneurs and innovation leaders in our own workplaces. If this same mindset can be encouraged at a broader economic and policy-level then it may give these professionals the confidence to undertake the risk of turning actual entrepreneurs and developing something that co-contributes to their regional and national economy.
Consider the social impact: Professional considerations aside, just like the migrant blue-collar and unorganized sector workers, the white-collar counterparts too literally are responsible for two or multiple households. This commitment is often financial and more often than not, emotional. Having their elderly parents shift with them to the cities is a difficult decision when in several cases the parents shift only if too infirm or have no other option. Over time enabling them to adjust to the faster pace of a city life becomes a challenge area in itself. If there is an incentive to have the same working and living conditions even in the homelands, there is a possibility that the whole family can live together, save a certain amount which either can strengthen their spending or their investment capabilities, depending on priorities.
