It took me 90 days to muster courage to make the first visit to the office. For three months, I locked myself at home, working in sequestered comfort. Or discomfort, as some would say. The only excursions included the weekly trips, on and off, to the nearest paan shop 20 metres away. To be frank, it wasn’t guts, but fear, which forced the decision. One set of fear—about the safety and health of my ageing mother—had kept me confined. Now, another set of dread—the one we still feel with trepidation—made me go to office. It’s that dark anxiety of losing one’s job. Masked with an N95—the New Yorker said those were used by the medical staff in the US—I reached the magazine’s headquarters.
Like everyone, who has been to office or hoped to go after the lockdown, I expec ted the obvious changes, but was ready for the startling ones. My mind was in a twirl—hopeful and pessimistic, brood ing and excited.
It’s a good time to check the mood of the workplace. And so, Outlook teamed up with Toluna— an intelligent techniques for web personalisation (ITWP) company that delivers insights on demand— for a survey among whitecollar workers across India, the most definitive one on the postCovid situation. The country’s first employee study of its kind succinctly captures the postCovid sociobusiness changes in office spaces and reveals that there is no overencompassing feeling of gloomanddoom. Despite the crushing impact on the economy and businesses, employees can still see the positives. Their lives have changed, but it may be for the better to some extent.
This story is from the July 27, 2020 edition of Outlook.
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This story is from the July 27, 2020 edition of Outlook.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
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