With the COVID-19 cases in India coming down and the overall situation under control, companies in the country are planning to call their employees back to offices with a plan to adopt a hybrid model of working in the long term. IT companies such as TCS, Infosys and HCL Tech are now encouraging their employees to join back physical offices.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys and HCL Tech have already informed about their plans to adopt the hybrid model of working in the long term, with TCS also setting up hot desks and occasional operating zones (OOZs) to allow its associates to plug in their system in any office around the country and get connected to the global workforce instantly.
Infosys has a three-phased plan to call employees back to the office, and in the long term, the company also plans flexibility for employees to join the company physically. “We have already rolled out the first phase in April and under this, people who are in their home locations where DCs (development centres) are located or are in the upcountry town close to the DCs are being encouraged to come to the office twice a week,” its Chief Financial Officer Nilanjan Roy said.
In the second phase, he said the company will encourage people who are outside the DC towns to start making preparations over the next few months to see if they can come back to their base development centres. “In the long term, we are looking a the hybrid model on work, depending upon the clients, regulatory environment and a number of other considerations,” Roy added.
Another IT company HCL Tech has said, “One of our top priorities is the safety and well-being of our employees and their families. We also remain deeply committed to maintaining our business normalcy, thereby ensuring uninterrupted services to our clients. Currently, we are monitoring the situation and continue to operate in a hybrid model.”
Apart from hot desks and OOZs, TCS has also announced its intention to adopt a 25×25 policy. Under the 25×25 policy, it will require not more than 25 per cent of the company’s associates to work from an office at any given point in time, and they need not spend more than 25 per cent of their time in the office.
TCS said its agile workspace is an intelligent, automated, and cloud-based digital infrastructure that is adaptable to accommodate evolving safety policies and regulations, resilient to the onslaught of cyberattacks and supports work-from-anywhere operating models.
“The last two years have been a radical disruption in the way we think, live and function. There definitely is excitement around coming back to the workplace, people want to meet their colleagues. This hybrid model enables greater flexibility for employees and thus seems to be a welcome change in the industry,” it said.
Apart from IT companies, fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) major Nestle is also planning to continue with the hybrid model of work. The company has asked its employees to come to the office only if the situation is unavoidable.
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