60 Decibels and Upaya Join Forces

As a component of the Quality Jobs Index, 60 Decibels is partnering with Upaya Social Ventures in the Dignified Jobs Collaborative.

By Shruti Goel from Upaya and Tripti Singh at 60 Decibels

The 60dB Quality Jobs Index aims to enable organizations and investors at the forefront of sustainability and social impact to understand the quality and impact of jobs they are providing.

For employees worldwide, their jobs continue to be an unrewarding experience that scarcely provides enough to get by. 80% do not feel engaged at work and the cost of disengaged employees is over $7.8 trillion to companies.

And yet the benefits to providing quality jobs are huge: for the employee and employer alike. Good jobs mean good business, with a positive impact on profits, productivity and employee turnover.

As a component of the Index, 60 Decibels is partnering with Upaya Social Ventures in the Dignified Jobs Collaborative. Upaya is committed to building an evidenced-based approach to measure the quality of jobs and we are thrilled to support as their Data and Insights Partner.

“60 Decibels is thrilled to partner with Upaya on both the Dignified Jobs Collaborative and the Quality Jobs Index. Upaya’s unwavering commitment to job holders living in extreme poverty is inspiring. We are excited to elevate the voices of job holders across the country and generate data that helps employers and funders learn, adjust, and improve their impact.” says Tripti Singh, Director 60 Decibels.

“60 Decibels’ established expertise in data collection will help us build the evidence base on job quality in informal sectors from emerging markets like India.”

Shruti Goel, Director – Impact, Upaya Social Ventures

Together we hope to elevate the voices of the poorest jobholders in India and direct scarce capital to the most impactful employers, as part of the global reach of the Quality Jobs Index.

Shruti Goel, Director – Impact at Upaya Social Ventures welcomed the partnership, sharing “We are delighted to have 60 Decibels as our data partner for the Dignified Jobs Collaborative. 60 Decibels’ established expertise in data collection will help us build the evidence base on job quality in informal sectors from emerging markets like India. This evidence base is crucial to align capital providers on a common understanding of job quality and in turn unlock more capital towards enterprises that are creating safe, stable, inclusive, and rewarding jobs for those living in poverty.”

“We are excited to elevate the voices of job holders across the country and generate data that helps employers and funders learn, adjust, and improve their impact.”

Tripti Singh, Director 60 Decibels

Background on the Quality Jobs Index

The Quality Jobs Index is open to all types of employees including but not limited to factory workers, jobholders in the gig/platform economy, employees of small and growing businesses, and indirect jobholders in supply chains. The Index offers a holistic, multi-dimensional tool to understand employees’ lived experience across five themes along with an independent benchmark to measure the comparative performance of employers worldwide:

  • Pay & Productivity: Measuring changes in employees’ income because of their current employment is vital to job quality. But it’s also important to understand if employees feel their income is fair.
  • Personal Wellbeing: There is more to a quality job than how much you earn doing it. Quality jobs must also account for the well-being of employees. Understand how the jobs, training, and support you provide impact your employees’ well-being.
  • Skills & Development: Professional development and advancement opportunities impact employee motivation, engagement, and productivity.
  • Motivation & Sense of Accomplishment: Motivation at work is not only important for employees but also for employers. A motivated workforce benefits the business by increasing productivity and profits.
  • Job Security, Rights & Representation: Having a workplace that offers a safe working environment, free from discrimination, and enables employees to exercise their rights at work is critical to a quality job.

Go beyond counting the number of jobs, to understanding what is really happening in the life of the person that may have produced the shirt on your back.