SEISMIC SHIFT

THE PANDEMIC HAS CHANGED THE CONCEPT OF WORK, WORKPLACE AND THE WORKFORCE. AS EMPLOYERS SPRUCE UP THEIR USPs, HYBRID AND FLEXIBLE WORK, MENTAL HEALTH FOCUS, AND HIRING FROM SMALLER CITIES AND TOWNS ARE HERE TO STAY.

- VIDYA S.

WHAT IS COMMON between World War II and the coronavirus pandemic, apart from being large-scale humanitarian crises? They are both watershed moments in the history of work. If the former brought American women out of their homes into the workforce, the latter forced a large section of the global white-collar workforce back indoors to work from home. In doing so for nearly two years now, the fast-mutating nanoscopic but lethal virus has brought widespread acceptance for remote work.

“In the beginning of the pandemic, many employees were complaining that working from home impacted their work-life balance. But things have changed and people have clearly realised the flexibility it provides. If you ask people to come back to work, 30-40 per cent of them may even quit, if there are options available,” says T.N. Hari, HR Head, bigbasket. The online grocery platform plans to keep all its offices open, leaving individuals and teams to decide who comes in and when. Hari estimates that less than a quarter of his workforce will be in office at any given point.

HYBRID WORK AND OFFICE SPACE

As the pandemic has dissociated productivity from being physically present in office, organisations are considering changes to office design.

Both ITC and bigbasket say they don’t expect their office space requirements to grow as fast as their workforce addition. bigbasket’s workforce has increased 60-70 per cent in the past two years, but the online grocer has not taken up any additional space.

For its new offices, ITC is looking at more common areas to conduct meetings in twos and threes when they come to work.