BENGALURU: Beginning April 18, employees of IT major Cognizant Technology Solutions can work from offices on a voluntary basis. The company has been talking about adopting a hybrid working model, and it said that this model will be adopted fully by late this year or by early 2023.
The company will begin a phased return to office (RTO) approach starting April 18 and through the remainder of Q2 (The company follows the calendar year). In an email to employees, the IT major’s senior official has said that as space permits, and on a voluntary basis, employees are welcome to work from an open office to collaborate face-to-face with colleagues.
“While some geographies already follow this approach, we are excited to be able to open office access more broadly globally,” the official said. Ever since the beginning of the pandemic, employees of IT companies have been working from home. Apart from Cognizant, Infosys and TCS too said that they would bring its employees back to offices in coming months. According to clients’ requirements, already a few employees of IT companies have started working twice a week from the office.
From July to December 2022, Cognizant will classify associates to their new work location: Client, Cognizant office or remote. “This will assist in the gradual transition from voluntary RTO to a more structured hybrid model. Compared to pre-pandemic, more associates will split time between home and the office,” Cognizant said.
The US-headquartered company, which employs over 2 lakh people in India, also said that it will open half of its facilities at a limited capacity this year. An employee with the IT company said that based on clients’ requirements they would be returning to offices for the first time in two years.