Edict fires debate

Human resource experts in India said though the work-from-home model has not picked up here, globally, 25 per cent of people, or one in every four, work from home.

"Especially for companies in sectors like information technology (IT), it (work from home) provides flexibility to the workforce and reduces real estate and establishment costs," said E Balaji, MD & CEO of human resources firm Randstad India. "Intangibles like team building through face-to-face interactions are often cited as reasons against a 'work-from-home policy'. However, since those working from home also work on deliverables, there is no issue with it. The number of such persons is very low in India."

Indian IT services companies have begun adopting the work-from-home model as they believe that this helps employees manage their work-life balance.

"We allow our people to work for 10 days from home (in a month or in a project), the maximum we provide. It is a planned activity that needs necessary approvals from the managers," said Dnyan Shah, senior vice-president, human resources, Mphasis.

"This should ideally be used for a short-term exigency. This will help both employees and the company, "she said.

Experts believe, unlike multinationals, the adoption of a 'working from home' culture is not widely accepted in Indian companies. Surabhi Mathur Gandhi, senior vice-president, TeamLease Services, said though the work-from-home model hadn't failed, reliance on work from home in physical projects has reduced. In these cases, owing to geographical distance and confidentiality of information, companies have converted these profiles to work from office. "So, the question here is how each company is deploying their talent. For physical projects and functions, work from home is not given. Work from home is only given for non-critical roles," she said.

Work from home can harm employee evaluations, said research published in the MIT Sloan Management Review.

"Employees who work remotely may end up getting lower performance evaluations, smaller raises and fewer promotions than their colleagues in the office - even if they work just as hard and just as long. The difference is what the authors call passive face time," said the research.