A new report by Great Place To Work has revealed a deepening retention crisis in India's professional services sector, with 1 in 2 employees actively seeking a new job even as Gen Z representation in the workforce has doubled to 34 per cent in 2025, up from 17 per cent in 2023. The findings, released on 25 August and based on a study of over 130 organisations representing more than 1.1 lakh employees, paint a stark picture of a sector struggling to hold on to its people.

Scale of the Retention Crisis

According to the report, approximately 1 in 2 employees are actively exploring new opportunities, and among those who have already decided to leave, three in four plan to exit their current organisation within the next 12 months. The data suggests that incremental improvements to physical workplace conditions have not translated into the deeper cultural shifts employees are looking for.

'The downward trend suggests that while employees acknowledge minor physical or basic workplace improvements, they have not yet experienced the systemic, cultural changes required to foster long-term loyalty and discretionary stretch,' Great Place To Work noted in the report.

Gen Z's Growing Footprint and Low Tolerance for Ambiguity

Gen Z now constitutes 34 per cent of India's professional services workforce, double its share of just two years ago. The cohort is characterised by low tolerance for ambiguity around pay, recognition, and promotion criteria — and is quick to leave when those expectations go unmet. This demographic shift is amplifying the sector's existing retention pressures, as organisations that fail to offer transparent career pathways risk losing their youngest talent first.

Akshat Shah, Managing Director of Great Place To Work India, said: 'Professional Services leaders must redefine engagement and retention for their talent, aligning with the personalised expectations of the diverse workforce.'

Frontline Managers Bear the Heaviest Burden

One of the most alarming findings concerns frontline leadership: an 86 per cent of frontline managers and supervisors are actively looking for a new job, compared to 53 per cent of individual contributors. This gap signals that the people responsible for holding teams together are themselves on the verge of walking out.

The report described these managers as 'shock absorbers for the entire industry, carrying the compounded weight of project delivery pressures, client demands, and team care, while being expected to translate every organisational change without disruption.' The risk of a hollowing-out at the mid-management layer could have cascading effects on project continuity and client relationships.

AI Adoption Outpaces Employee Readiness

The report also flagged a critical gap in artificial intelligence readiness. While nearly 6 in 10 organisations are meaningfully deploying AI in day-to-day operations, only 2 in 10 employees strongly agreed they had been adequately briefed on the risks and benefits of the tools they are expected to use. This disconnect between adoption speed and workforce preparedness adds another layer of anxiety for employees already weighing their options.

What Needs to Change

The report's findings collectively point to a sector at an inflection point. Willingness to go beyond formally laid-down duties has steadily declined even as basic workplace conditions improve — a sign that surface-level interventions are no longer sufficient. Industry observers note that without structural changes to how managers are supported, how Gen Z expectations are addressed, and how AI transitions are communicated, attrition in professional services is likely to worsen before it stabilises.