I wasn’t taken in by a recent announcement. The trending news of some top-notch IT companies recalling their employees to offices! Microsoft declared it in one of its company blog posts. Cognizant is planning to throw ajar its office premises, voluntarily for its staff, from April. Infosys, where most of the workforce has been working remotely since the COVID-19 pandemic surfaced, will see a larger proportion of its staff returning to offices. The buzz is that it’s back to work from office (WFO) for the IT companies.
In the new normal, offices will be pulsating again, bustling with our colleagues. But this is a phenomenon I have always lived with. I couldn’t imagine any other work mode save WFO. It was only for a brief spell after the pandemic struck in 2020 that I took solace in my home office. But I was quick to revert to my office space – that’s where I have lived my entrepreneurial journey and turbocharged my cohorts.
Now, let’s veer to how WFO will pan out for IT companies. Will it be the same as the pre-pandemic days? Companies are split on how they will resume full-fledged office work. But there is near unanimity that the hybrid, flexi work mode will be on. WFO will not be wholly the same as the old normal. Companies can’t coerce their people to WFO. The Great Resignation isn’t an illusion. The spate of resignations and four million adding up to this phenomenon each month in the US are testimony to its impact on employers. The phenomenon of The Great Resignation has caught up with Indian workplaces too. If not a tidal wave, our technology companies are witness to an exodus of people quitting. The drop-out rate for some of the top IT companies has hit the peak over the past few months. That’s possibly a prime reason why they are offering the flexi working mode to their workforce even as they recall them to offices.
The counterpoint is the scenario where WFO is anything but avoidable. Say, for example, client-facing employees, projects mandating high security, client demo, high interdependence or Programme Increment Planning. In each of these roles or portfolios, office presence is critical. The office ecosystem has built a culture of collaboration and bonding which can’t be replicated in remote working even with the best of technologies at play. For tech leaders of my ilk who have created this culture, imagining any other mode isn’t sustainable. When you are not checking into the office for long, you are divorced from its rituals and ceremonies and you have little or no face-to-face interactions. And, how do you integrate new hires with your existing employees and create the rhythm for synergic growth? In an office-centric work model, employees imbibe culture much like a duck takes to water. However, in a remote-driven culture, this culture transmission is a big challenge.
In the same vein, I have nothing to undermine the merits of work from home (WFH). There are documented results to validate the success of the remote working model. The IT sector performed creditably even though a majoritarian pool of human resources was forced to stay at home because of recurring waves of COVID. Apologists of the WFH model point out some legit reasons – the dread of the viral infections, long hours in round trip commutes, and of course, work-life harmony. I believe a more realistic model is hybrid work where remote workers synergise with their office counterparts and complement efforts.
As we step on the WFO mode again, we need to realise that flexi work will define the future of our workplaces. The more autonomy an IT firm offers to its employee, the longer they will be able to retain her. The distributed workforce will reset the HR mix of IT companies. Another change that IT companies will have to adapt to is their perception of office space. More than work, offices will be the hub for collaborative spaces for remote workers to meet. Our IT ecosystem will juggle WFO with WFH in the next normal. A lot like what we have been wont to for the last two years.
The writer is founder & CEO, CSM Technologies. Views are personal.