‘Businesses will re-think working arrangements’
BENGALURU: The lockdown should be ended gradually and in a steady manner. Human life comes before everything else and if it means that we have to bear the burden a little more, so be it. Of course, business and economic activity are impacted, but what choice does the world have when people are falling to the virus like nine pins? An extraordinary crisis demands an extraordinary remedy.
Having said this, we could try to push economic activity in a phased manner, which the government has started doing. Conditions are rightly being relaxed to initiate business activity in zones where the intensity of virus carriers is marginal. This is a welcome step. Where larger enterprises are concerned, a principle of rotation could be followed to avoid densification and simultaneously kickstart business activity. Together, the small and the big will act as engines of economic revival.
All basic health guidelines have to be followed not just in letter, but in the spirit at every workspace. Social distancing should also be adhered to strictly. We are disinfecting and sanitising office spaces, placing hand sanitisers, conducting live sessions with doctors, implementing pest control, and building awareness through e-mail.
Many businesses, I believe, will now seize the opportunity to rethink their working arrangements to provide more flexibility to their employees, especially considering the benefits of productivity and engagement. It’s an opportunity to show how the co-working models can also offer new solutions and make our economy more resilient in such circumstances. COVID-19 is not an end to the co-working culture as people would discover that the benefits of social gatherings in terms of emotional and intellectual fulfilment would be crucial for the overall health of a society.
Manas Mehrotra Chairman, 315Work Avenue