Future of workplace set to be hybrid as employers gauge productivity

BENGALURU :  The pandemic year has made it mandatory for employees to meet colleagues over zoom calls and a few companies have also given workers the permission to continue working remotely until at least March 2021. As companies try to decide the best way forward for their employees, experts say the new work culture would be ‘hybrid’ where employees can choose to work either from offices or homes. According to a recent survey by Dell Technologies, 91 per cent of the employees in India feel that they are prepared for long-term remote work.

However, employees also shared concerns about not having access to right technologies and the blurring of boundaries between work and personal lives in a remote work arrangement. Indrajit Belgundi, Senior Director and General Manager, Client Solutions Group, Dell Technologies, said among the Asia Pacific Japan region, India that has had an experience with remote work and is displaying readiness for long term remote and digital teams.

“For CIOs and their teams who displayed agility and speed in achieving or embarking upon digital transformation for their business earlier this year, it has become clear that the onus is on the organisation to support employees at every stage. This will be essential to establishing a productive and connected digital workforce,” he added. In India, the government has been advocating for Work From Home (WFH) for the IT/ ITes sector by modifying the Other Service Providers (OSP) norms.

India’s largest IT services firm TCS said that it is planning to deploy a 25-25 model, aiming to have only 25 per cent of its four lakh workforce to work from office by 2025. Companies like Infosys, Wipro and HCL Tech have also said there will be no swift changes in the current WFH model and that the transition to work from offices will be a gradual affair.

Similarly, Infosys may look at an incremental increase of workforce in office in 2021, said its Chief Operating Officer Pravin Rao. Other sectors will also need to develop a technology-enabled workplace environment for a sustainable hybrid model. Businesses will hone in on digital solutions that support collaboration and enhance productivity, said Xerox India MD Leo Joseph.