The fear of getting fired emerges for employees who still prefer work from home.
A Resume Builder report says 90 percent companies plan to implement a return-to-office policy by next year. Major companies such as Infosys, Tata Consultancy Services Limited (TCS), and Goldman Sachs have already introduced their new policy with regard to return-to-office. The current policy for most companies mandates a certain number of days for working from the office.
However, employees feel work-from-home helps in reducing traveling and provides for a more relaxed work environment. Saranyan Sriram, an analyst at an insurance company said, “Over the course of the pandemic, we have seemed to realize that work is a task that you need to complete or a service you render, not essentially a place you go to. So, once it is understood that you can work from home, there is no pressing need to go to the office.”
The report also says 28 percent of companies will threaten to fire employees who do not comply with the return to office policy. Amazon has already announced that it would lay employees off who refuse to follow the new guidelines.
Employers say they need to have employees back in office to ensure a better work culture. Swarna Kumar, Vice President (India) of Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ) said that employees, especially freshers, show, “a lot of resistance”. He continued, “They keep asking for work from home facilities but the deliverables do not always match with what they promise. Some people say that they are spending two hours a day in traffic, and they could have worked more otherwise but that is not the case because if you are doing some work in the office, seniors are there to help you. But if you are at home, and you don’t have any help, it may take you two to three hours for ten minutes of work.”
Experts believe that it is important for employees to move beyond work from home for a holistic learning and experience. Krishna Vij, Staffing Head at TeamLease said, “For these kinds of organizations, along with the work, they also have a huge responsibility of driving their culture. Because of their culture only they are able to enhance employees and collaborate better.”
As more companies start implementing return to office policy, a survey by Microsoft reveals 93 percent corporate leaders in India say getting employees back to the office in-person is a concern.
