Future of work: The COVID-19 pandemic has changed how we see the world, and everyone has embraced new norms – from wearing masks to staying home and working from there. While we do not know when the pandemic situation will subside, we do know that it will not affect the way we work. Remote working is clearly here to stop, even as other things go back to pre-pandemic levels. A survey in which 25 countries took part noted that at least in the foreseeable future, there will no longer be a five-day week at the office for employees.
An OECD report found that both employees and managers believed that working from home had a positive impact on them in terms of performance and well-being. “The proportion of employees who telecommute at least one day a week is expected to be much higher than before the pandemic,” Bloomberg quoted the report as saying.
In a separate study conducted by OECD researchers, it was found that in fact, job postings on an employment website saw a substantial increase in advertised work from home during the worldwide COVID lockdown. However, there was a slight reversal when restrictions were eased.
“These results suggest that telework is here to stay, especially in countries with high levels of digital readiness,” Bloomberg quoted the researchers as saying.
In India too, the office work landscape seems to be changing. Though many offices, especially in the IT sector, are opening up, most of them are adopting the hybrid model. Here, employees are required to work from home only for three days in a week and the rest of the days in the office.
IT giant TCS plans to eventually switch to a 25×25 hybrid model. Under this model, the company believes that by 2025 only 25 percent of its associates will be required to work outside of facilities at any one time. Also, employees will not be required to spend more than 25 percent of their time at work.
NR Narayana Murthy-owned IT major Infosys also followed a similar lead by announcing the company’s quarterly earnings, and said they would follow a hybrid model going forward.
Wipro, on the other hand, called its employees back to the office twice a week in September. “After 18 long months, our leader @wipro is back in office from tomorrow (twice a week). All fully immunized, all ready to go – safe and socially distancing,” company president Rishad Premji said in a tweet.
Earlier this year, Nasscom in a report had also said that IT companies are keen to bring back their employees three days a week instead of the usual five days. According to the ‘Nasscom Return to Workplace Survey’ published on November 1, nearly 70 per cent workplaces in India are exploring a hybrid model of work, under which employees can work from home on some days and from office on other days. The IT Services and Global Competence Center (GCC) is expected to be the first to adopt this model.
“To optimize, the researchers who analyzed the survey results said governments should ensure reliable Internet coverage, set rules to make telework possible, and provide training for people who live in a remote working world.” Those left behind, which include women and employees of smaller companies. He also said workers should be protected from working too much from home, which can harm well-being and productivity,” Bloomberg reports to the OECD. quoted as saying.
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