WFH turns into Stay at Home for India Inc

New Delhi | Mumbai: Up until last quarter, most companies regarded WFH as a temporary workaround. But the inexorable surge in India’s Covid-19 cases is forcing companies to face up to the reality that work from home (WFH) is here to stay for the indeterminate future. KPMG research shows more than 33% of organisations now see remote working as a norm for the next three years and an additional 10% now believe it to be a long-term practice.That’s despite restrictions being eased, such as those on public transport for instance — metro services began in Delhi and elsewhere.India’s biggest consumer goods company HUL has decided to continue WFH for all office employees considering the high number of Covid cases in Mumbai, where its head office is located. “We will decide once the situation improves, and there is no safety and health risk for employees and their families,” said a company spokesperson. “When reopening our office, flexibility and personal choice of employees will also be key considerations.”HUL has already sent essential office equipment such as ergonomic chairs, laptop monitors and other IT peripherals to the homes of its employees.At pharmaceutical company Cipla, employees will continue to work from home until the end of October 2020, said Raju Mistry, president and global chief people officer. 78030416Cos Putting in Place GuidelinesMyntra has extended remote working until December 31 for most of its employees. Currently, less than 10% of the overall workforce is coming to office, said a Myntra spokesperson. Despite strict safety protocols in place in offices, companies are not too keen to have employees at work."The situation is very dynamic," said Deloitte India chief talent officer SV Nathan. "As of now, while we may sanitise our offices to the fullest, people will still need to use various modes of transport to get there, and that’s somewhere we can’t look out for safety. So for the near term, WFH will continue till we are fairly sure that the safety of our employees has been addressed."Samsung and Titan Industries continue to have a majority of staff working from home. Both have 25-30% of employees coming to office on a rotational basis. "We are going to stick to this ratio for some time till the number of cases comes down," said Titan Industries CHRO Raj Narayan.WFH is central to Samsung India’s future plans."The current situation has allowed leveraging technology and working from home is becoming an integral part of our workplace strategy," said HR head Sameer Wadhawan. "We have put in place strong IT infrastructure and are also helping employees adapt to this shift. However, we will be in a hybrid mode because of the nature of our business."To make WFH transition smooth, companies are putting in place guidelines to maintain productivity and ensure work-life balance. Some like Pidilite have introduced digital etiquette, a fixed lunch break and defined start and end time, among others. Others such as Deloitte have emotional wellbeing sessions. "We also encourage people to call each other and have a free-flowing conversation around — how are you and what can I do to help?" said Nathan."Multiple organisations are providing reimbursement benefits for home internet expenses and one-time furniture expenses to enable effective WFH policy and in return are leveraging workplace cost to achieve higher savings," said Vishalli Dongrie, partner and head, people, KPMG India.

from Economic Times https://bit.ly/33cqVPH
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