BENGALURU: I was terrified, when I first heard of the lockdown,” says Abel S Boaz, founder of city-based finance startup Abellian. This is a sentiment shared by several startup founders. “We didn’t work for three days when the lockdown was announced. But the work from home option seemed the right way to move ahead. Now, we are functioning at 80 per cent capacity,” Boaz says, adding that he is currently working from his native place in Mysuru.
Startup owners have leveraged technology as the driving force. “Sometimes, a crisis presents an opportunity to make decisions that would be hard to make in more business-as-usual times. While the notion of work from home signifies flexibility, it does call for more understanding of workers’ schedules,” says Manas Mehrotra, chairman, 315Work Avenue.
Boaz says he makes it a point to dress formally while interacting with others. Even real estate firms, where a lot of work takes place on sites, have adopted the practice. “One thing that we’ve found useful in managing productivity and fostering accountability, is setting weekly goals,” says Mohan Monteiro, chief HR officer, House of Hiranandani.