The future is flexible: IT companies juggle in-person with remote work

Even as Indian information technology (IT) companies prepare to bring more employees back to the office floor, they are embracing a flexible approach to ensure maximum physical attendance and minimal friction, considering that many employees still prefer to work from home, a habit ingrained during the pandemic.

Except for Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which mandates a large portion of its employees to work from office all five days a week, most others plan to continue with the hybrid work model in 2024, gradually increasing the number of people on the floor.

TCS’ Chief Human Resources Officer Milind Lakkad stated during the last earnings report that he strongly believes people need to return to office.

“We strongly believe that they need to come to work so that the new workforce gets integrated with the larger workforce of TCS. That is the only way they will learn, understand, and internalise TCS values and the TCS way,” Lakkad said.

Companies like Infosys, Wipro, LTIMindtree, and Happiest Minds are adopting a flexible hybrid work approach, even as they strive to bring more people to office.

Most company heads unanimously assert that they are offering indirect benefits to employees coming to offices by providing new learning opportunities and fostering stronger team bonding.

Starting November 15, Wipro employees have been asked to work from office at least three days a week, joining peer Infosys, which currently follows a norm of working from the office for 10 days in a month.

Wipro said that this approach has given employees the flexibility of remote work while allowing teams to exchange ideas and experiences in real-time. Currently, 55 per cent of Wipro employees are working in the prescribed hybrid model.

“Recognising the immense benefits of in-person collaboration and innovation, we are now taking the next step in our workplace policy evolution and requiring all employees to come to office three times per week… We strongly believe that in-person interactions are critical to the professional development of our talent as well as to our success in driving ongoing innovation for clients,” a spokesperson for Wipro said.

Infosys, too, has maintained a flexible approach.

“On returning to office, we are very clear that we want to remain flexible with our employees. Having said that, every quarter, every week, we are seeing more and more employees back into the campus, and we believe this will continue," Infosys Chief Executive Officer Salil Parekh said in an after-earnings call.

Bengaluru-based mid-sized IT firm Happiest Minds Technologies says that 90 per cent of its employees are currently working from their designated offices in a hybrid mode, and it plans to bring it to 100 per cent in the next few months.

“Once you are in office, there is no looking back — the learning opportunities, team camaraderie, brainstorming, collaboration, and just fun hanging around with friends — all happening within your office premises is truly an engaging experience,” said Sachin Khurana, senior vice-president and chief people officer at Happiest Minds.

Happiest Minds said it has been ensuring the satisfaction and well-being of the people working at the office by providing them with on-premise wellness benefits, sports and festival celebrations, one-to-one and team connections, in-person extensive training, reskilling and upskilling programmes, along with other perks.

Some companies like LTIMindtree have facilities like a crèche and ‘Baby’s Day Out’ rooms within the company’s premises that act as incentives for employees to work from office.

“The post-pandemic era has put us at a juncture of a rapidly evolving landscape where a radical new approach to the work environment is becoming prevalent. In my opinion, a balanced approach is imperative to establish and retain a strong work culture,” said Ajai Chowdhry, co-founder of HCL.

“A structured hybrid work environment can be the key to increased employee satisfaction, employee efficiency, productivity, work-life balance ensuring an all-rounded emotional well-being of employees further bolstering a thriving work culture,” he added.

Some IT employees Business Standard spoke with said that their companies are offering them certain perks to work in a hybrid environment.

“We are getting certain benefits like reimbursement on internet charges and other requirements such as chairs, desks, electronic accessories, etc,” said a Hyderabad-based employee of a large IT firm.

However, the travelling costs and time seem to be among the key reasons for employees resisting coming to office every day.

“Interactions and professional growth are the advantages of working from office; however, commuting to office regularly is an added cost and effort,” said another IT employee.