Work from office: We're trying to build careers, says TCS chairman

Chandrasekaran also remarked that the reason for the rising number of cases is also because of higher awareness

A rise in cases of sexual harassment could not be a reason for India’s largest information technology (IT) services company to end ‘work from office’, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Chairman N Chandrasekaran said at the firm’s 29th annual general meeting on Friday.

“I do not think we can go back to remote working to solve this problem. The company takes the call on having in-person working on the basis of a number of factors,” he said in response to a shareholder’s question on whether ending work from home had led to rise in sexual harassment.

In 2023-24, the number of sexual harassment complaints stood at 110, up from 49 the previous year. This represents 0.05 per cent of the total female employees of the company.

 

Chandrasekaran also remarked that the reason for a rising number of cases could be higher awareness. “We are operating in a global environment and with an employee base of over 600,000. The company is constantly enforcing and encouraging a culture of openness. We always want people to express themselves. If there is harassment, people should raise it; when they do so, the number goes up,” he explained.

The main thing, said Chandrasekaran, “is how we invest in the education of people. How we deal with zero tolerance, and how we continue to reinforce culture and education, and create a culture of healthy working atmosphere”.

He said the company wanted to increase the composition of women employees to much higher than the current 36 per cent, and was laying a special focus on increasing their share in the senior management as well.

On why people should be in the office, he said: “We are not trying to create jobs for people. We are trying to create a career for people. This company is about building an institution. In order to continue — since this is a very strong institution — we need to ensure that we invest in people, and at the same time people also build their careers with a company like us.”

TCS became the first company in India’s IT services sector to end remote working and asked its employees to return to office five days a week. The firm also stated that those who did not return to office would see an impact in their variable pay.

The total headcount of the firm at the end of 2023-24 was 601,546. Chandrasekaran added that talent management was a big focus for the company and TCS had maintained the highest retention rate in the industry for decades.

TCS capex may go up in FY25

TCS’ capital expenditure stood at Rs 2,650 crore in 2023-24, which was lower than in earlier years, said N Chandrasekeran at the AGM. “We stopped some of the capital projects due to Covid, and as some of those begin, and investment will go up in the coming years,” he added. The firm’s capex had been Rs 3,063 crore in 2022-23.

On TCS’ investment break-up, Chandrasekaran said almost Rs 1,100 crore was invested in upgrading technology access for the company and employees. About Rs 1,550 crore was used for physical infrastructure, and Rs 2,750 crore was invested in R&D.