work from home to stay: India is recording an increasing number of Covid-19 cases every day amid fears of a third wave, triggered by the Omicron version of the coronavirus. This has brought the country to a halt again, with several states including Delhi, Maharashtra and West Bengal banning the movement of people. The Center has also taken cognizance of the rising number of infections and asked citizens to be vigilant, maintain social distancing norms, wear masks and get vaccinated at the earliest. The government had issued instructions regarding office attendance a day earlier in an effort to contain the spread of the virus.
The Personnel Ministry in its order on Monday, January 3 said that 50 percent of the employees below the level of Under Secretary have to work from home. It exempted pregnant women and people with disabilities from coming to office, and encouraged reduction of office hours for employees.
The Ministry in its statement said, “In view of the early signs of increase in the cases of COVID-19, the matter regulating the attendance of Central Government employees has been reviewed and decided with immediate effect by 31st January, 2022 as follows: Is.” count.
There are recommendations under:
a) Physical attendance of Government servants below the level of Under Secretary will be limited to 50 per cent of the actual strength and remaining 50 per cent will be required to work from home. A roster to be prepared accordingly by all the departments concerned
b) All officers of the level of Under Secretary and above have to attend the office on regular basis
c) Persons with disabilities and pregnant women employees will be exempted from attending office but are required to work from home
d) In order to avoid overcrowding in the office, the officers/staff shall observe startling timings, as alleged – (a) 9 am to 5.30 pm (b) 10.00 pm. till 6.30 pm
e) All officers/employees residing in the Containment Zone will be exempted from coming to the offices until the Containment Zone is denotified.
f) Those officers/staff who are not coming to office and working from home shall be available on telephone and other electronic means of communication at all times.
g) Meetings shall, as far as possible, be conducted over video-conferencing and personal meetings with visitors should be avoided, unless absolutely necessary in the public interest.
h) All officers/staff will have to ensure strict compliance of COVID-appropriate behavior. Frequent hand washing/sanitisation, wearing of mask/face cover, practicing social distancing at all times
i) Proper cleaning and frequent sanitization of frequently touched surfaces may be ensured at the workplace. The head of the department should also ensure that there is no overcrowding in corridors, canteens etc.
Not only government offices, IT companies are also planning to continue the work from home routine. This includes IT giants like TCS, Wipro and Infosys.
IT firms such as TCS, Infosys and HCL Technologies had earlier expressed their intention to recall employees to their offices as the second wave of subsidy was in the process. But that seems less likely now. The Health Ministry has also advised the offices not to call back the employees and to implement the work from home system as much as possible.
Especially companies in the IT sector have already expressed the purpose of continuing the work from home routine.
According to a report in the Economic Times, senior officials have said that they are now cautious about their back-to-office plans amid the threat of the virus. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s largest IT major in terms of workforce, has said that less than 10 per cent of the company’s employees are currently working from their offices. The Economic Times quoted the company as saying that any plan for a full return to office would be a well-planned move.
According to the report, Bengaluru-based IT major Infosys has said that it has taken a “cautious approach” keeping in mind the “changing health situation”. The NR Narayana Murthy-owned company had earlier said it would bring its employees back to the office.
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