How is India Inc's return to office panning out?

Many of you may have received that email by now. The one where your boss wants you back in office. Now that Covid-19 cases are declining, some of you might be relieved. While others might be dreading the long office commute.

Either way, it’s inevitable that companies get back to some semblance of pre-Covid normalcy. Let us dive into the details of how India Inc. is handling the back-to-office drill

Companies across sectors are now opening up their offices. However, there is a clear divide. On one hand, there are those who want all their employees to work from office. While on the other, IT companies and start-ups are leading another group that is opting for a hybrid workplace model.

Globally, Google has asked its employees to return to office from April 4 for three days a week. Though in India it is still on a “voluntary basis”.

IT services sector companies are encouraging senior managers and leaders to attend office in person for three to four days a week, to start with.

Take the case of Bengaluru-headquartered Infosys, which said that though over 96% of its workforce is operating remotely, the company is looking to gradually increase the number of people coming back to office over the next 3-4 months.

A senior Infosys executive said that the future of work will be hybrid. It will be a mix of employees coming in daily, some working fully remote and the rest using a mix of both modes. He added the company expects a hybrid model in which approximately 40-50 per cent of employees are likely to work from office on any given day.

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Tata Consultancy Services had earlier announced the 25/25 model. This model will require no more than 25 per cent of its employees to work from an office at any given time. And, they also do not need to spend more than 25 per cent of their time in the office.  

The company said that senior management level executives have started working from offices regularly. Once the employees are back in office, the transition to the hybrid model will start.

At the other end of the spectrum are the new-age start-ups, which want to change the way people work. In November 2021, Swiggy introduced its Future of Work policy. The food-tech firm offers a flexible working model for all employees based on their nature of work.  

Unlike the IT sector, some industries are aiming to get back to office with full or high capacity. In early January, during the surge in Omicron cases, the JSW Group started operating with 50 per cent of its employees at its offices in Mumbai, while the rest worked from home. But, from the first week of February, the company is working at full capacity in its offices.

Tobacco-to-hotels major ITC has ramped up its office presence across locations to two-thirds, effective March. It was limited to 30 per cent earlier.

The pharmaceutical industry is no different. After a brief work-from-home spell in January during the third wave of the pandemic, most of the companies in the sector are back to office now.

Jayesh Desai, executive director at Torrent Group, which has a presence in power and pharmaceuticals, said that since June last year, the company had started asking its employees to return to office while maintaining the usual safety precautions.

The country's largest drug maker, Sun Pharmaceuticals, has also asked its employees to report back to office. A company spokesperson said that only those employees who are Covid-positive or have a family member who is infected are allowed to work from home.

The auto sector is also focussing on getting people back to office at least a few days in a week. At the Tata Motors corporate office, employees continue to show up two to three days a week. Mahindra Group has a flexible work model as well, and it is up to the employees to decide whether they want to work from home or come to office.

So India Incl. like the rest of world is still testing the waters. Experts are not sure if the pandemic is over, or there are more spells in waiting. So it is in the interest of the company if employees are able to work efficiently from both the places – home and office.