“We’ll Give You All” How Employers Are Attempting To Bring Employees Back To Work?

The COVID-19 pandemic signified a paradigm shift in most practices previously established as the norm. With travel restrictions and strict curfews, employees found it impossible to commute to their workplaces. And this introduced the concept of work-from-home to organizations of all levels alike.

But as COVID regulations are being lifted all across the country, corporate offices are slowly resuming their regular activities and asking employees to return to their workplaces. Employers are trying to lure the employees by giving them benefits like accommodation and commute costs, meal bonuses, and allowing casual attire.

How effective are the employers’ benefits?

The Covid-19 pandemic has provided every employee enjoy the provision of being able to work from their homes. This sudden transition lead to many workers leaving their leased homes and moving to their hometowns. Without a worry of long traffic jams or waking up 10 minutes after your alarm, it offered comfort and was also mentioned in several studies to be a more productive method.

For instance, in the last 2 years, Dhruv (name changed) who works in the Pune Branch of a multinational company, was doing all his work from the comfort of his home in Chennai. Now that the offices are opening, he’s back in town and a one-way commute to his workplace takes more than an hour.

“Where I live right now is a little far from the office and travelling consumes a lot of my time and energy. Because all the offices are opening there is a lot of traffic too” he said.

Also read: Infosys Witnesses Resignation Of 80,000 Employees: What Is Leading To The 'Big Quit'?

But it's not that companies are unaware of the consequences faced by their employees. So what are the counter-measures being provided?

1. Buffer Periods

To begin with, several companies have implemented buffer periods till June or July 2022 for their employees to make a smoother transition from online to offline modes. During this period, employees can make the necessary arrangements to work in a hybrid model.

Tech giants like IBM have also implemented similar schemes as mentioned in their IBM Return To Workplace Playbook. According to the description on the official website, the playbook offers guidelines on “.....returning in three waves, beginning with employees in jobs best suited to on-site work settings in locations that meet rigorous criteria; workplace preparations and procedures for employers; preparations and processes to be followed by employees, clients and visitors; and a readiness checklist.”

According to Thirukkumaran Nagarajan, head of human resources at IBM India/South Asia, “There is no longer a scenario that anyone must come to the office just to do their everyday work,”.

2. Satellite Offices

A second method adopted by companies in the setting up of satellite offices in small cities provides multiple benefits such as employees working close to their families, a reduction of urban congestion and helps the company in cutting costs!

Wipro has adopted a hybrid strategy where fully vaccinated employees have to work in-office only three days a week. Companies such as FullContact Inc. have developed even more flexible provisions for their employees such as being able to take unlimited vacations.

Why are companies so desperate to lure their employees back to the office?

The last few years have witnessed unprecedented attrition rates among companies. Even well-established companies like Infosys haven’t been able to escape this fate with the company currently facing one of its biggest employee attrition ever.

Also read: Cannot Work With 'Named Competitors' For Six Months After Resignation: Infosys Lays Out New Rule For Employees

And the current job market only fortifies this scenario with a shortage of skilled labour, but an abundance of jobs. It could be partially attributed to rapidly developing technology that requires specific skills and people learning different skillsets during their abundant free time during the pandemic. It can also be strengthened by recent hiring trends among companies where a degree certificate is no longer necessary to secure a job - it's the skill that matters.

Considering these situations, companies are required to be as accomodating as possible to their employees rather than mandating them to be physically present.

But some people are very much in favour of coming back to their offices. They say that an office environment is more rejuvenating as you can form a close bond with your colleagues and collaborate better on team projects. It also gives individuals a better exposure to a work environment and is a good place to learn about work culture.

It is yet to be witnessed what the true outcome of these incentives may be and how long will they be offered by the companies. But as the number of COVID cases is once again on the rise within the country, work-from-home has the possibility of once again being the preferred mode of working.

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