With the setting in of the pandemic, India witnessed the mass shift of the office workforce to a remote working system. The nationwide Covid scenario changed the way people went to work, and people were forced to settle for remote work-from-home settings. Companies suffered losses from abandoning office buildings, and lack of monetary support took a toll on companies entitled to multiple-year rental agreements.
As the Indian offices are starting to reopen, studies showed that workers were reluctant to join offices and start in-campus work. It seems that comfort and spending family time have taken the centre stage while social interaction within the walls of the office has abruptly stopped.
Employees seem to have embraced remote working with the comforts and flexibility that it brings along.
Studies show that 60 percent of the Indian employees are even ready to resign than come back to the in-campus workforce. Workers demand the freedom to choose between remote working and in-campus working.
Is work-from-home the new normal?
About 57 percent of job search histories showed permanent remote jobs. Remote working is widely preferred by people since it saves finance and time, allowing more time for families, hobbies and personal causes. The ability to work from anywhere anytime is being increasingly chosen by workers since remote working is also seen to reduce work-stress, absenteeism, and turnover as well as promotes ar better work-life balance.
Is remote working a feasible solution in India?
Work from home is likely to continue irrespective of how the pandemic in the country shapes itself. Many companies are continuing with work-from-home even when the Covid rates are coming down the graph. However, there are some obvious drawbacks even though remote working seems to be rising the stairs in a foreseeable future. Employees are deprived of office culture. The essence of aligning oneself to the company’s missions is vastly compromised in the remote working setting. Moreover, the right conditions required for proper remote working are still not available in India. Although several sectors are shifting to hybrid workforces, the complete shift to remote working is still a long way to reach.
