Back to WFH for India Inc

With the dizzying rise in the number of Covid-19 cases in the country, India Inc has transitioned from a wait-and-watch policy to full-on emergency mode, bringing back remote and flexi work, stringent safety protocols, and allowing only essential travel.

Shally Seth Mohile, Deepshekhar Choudhary, Ishita Ayan Dutt, Shine Jacob, Sohini Das, Aneesh Phadnis, Sharleen Dsouza, Aditi Divekar, Vinay Umarji & Abhijit Lele

BS REPORTERS Mumbai/Bengaluru/Chennai/Kolkata/Ahmedabad, 6 January

Companies especially in metros like Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata — that had adopted a hybrid work model during the last few months when the caseload remained low, are either switching back entirely to work-from-home (WFH), or calling skeletal staff to office on select days.

Take the case of cigarettes-to-hotels major, ITC, which had been on a hybrid work model over the last few months. It has now told employees in the national capital region (NCR), Mumbai and Kolkata to be present in the workplace only if absolutely essential. In other centres, ITC has restricted employee presence to 30 per cent, with a roster system.

Angshu Mallick, CEO, Adani Wilmar, said the company is now following the government protocol of allowing 50 percent staff in office. Stating that they were much better prepared this time, Mallick said, “We have learnt from the previous two waves that the supply chain can get impacted. Hence, we have ensured that we keep buffer stocks to avoid any shortage of our products."

Earlier this week, Godrej Housing Finance announced WFH for all teams which can operate remotely. It had earlier adopted a hybrid work norm, with 50 percent staff coming to work on alternate days. Now, even for the frontline sales teams, it has identified roles that can switch to 100 per cent remote working with immediate effect.