One in three parents do not understand what their child does for a living

Companies around the world today have answered calls by LinkedIn, the world’s largest online professional network with 21 million  members in India, to open their doors to the parents of their employees for the inaugural LinkedIn Bring In Your Parents Day. Taking place in businesses across 14 different countries, the event provides parents the opportunity to visit their children at work to get a better understanding of what they do, and help bridge the generational gap when it comes to the world of work.

With all of the new types of jobs created over the past few years, many parents may not understand what their children actually do at work each day, making it difficult for them to provide career advice.

A recent global survey of 16,102 parents in 14 countries conducted by LinkedIn revealed numerous differences in the way parents and their children see the world of work. The survey revealed that two third of parents surveyed want to learn more about what job their child does. 90 per cent of the Indian parents believe that they could benefit their child if they had a better understanding of what he/she did at the job. ‘LinkedIn Bring in Your Parents Day’ is a way to bring parents and their children together at the workplace, so they can learn from each other.

The research into parents and working children’s career views also revealed:

• 37 per cent of Indian parents surveyed would like their children to pursue a career path similar to theirs; the highest globally
• Contrary to popular belief, a mere 28 per cent of Indian parents, want their children to become doctors, while 40 per cent of them would like to see their children employed in a finance-related job, making it one of the most coveted jobs/ sectors.
• Interestingly only 1 per cent of the parents surveyed want their children to become politicians

LinkedIn Bring In Your Parents Day is being held in 14 countries across the world (United Kingdom, United States, France, The Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Australia, India, Canada, Singapore and Hong Kong) and encourages business worldwide to take part in the day.  Regus, Deutsche Bank, and Logitech are just some of the companies taking part globally.