Return-to-work plans afoot in India Inc! Survey finds out what firms are planning

The Indian white-collar workforce’s fully remote working arrangement may not continue for long as many firms are planning a return-to-work programme, if Aon’s findings from a survey of 250 Indian companies are anything to go b

As many as 66% of organisations expect more than half their white-collar workforce to return to office full-time or part-time, according to the company’s Pulse Survey 2021 shared with Business Today.

Within this cohort, 36% respondents said they expect 76-100% of their employees to return to office full-time or part time, while the remaining 30% expect 51-75% to return. This is in sharp contrast to many companies’ claims that only half their workforce will come to office on a given day in the post-pandemic future of work, with offices serving only as collaborative spaces.

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It surveyed a combination of medium and large-sized firms across industries. But technology and financial services firms dominated the mix.

Other findings from the small survey also indicate that employers are preparing to call employees back. For instance, 71% said they have decided when to get employees to return to on-site locations, with 21% among them saying they even have a return date in mind. As many as 41% of those planning to call employees back said they planned to do so between October and December 2021.

A majority (34%) said they will expect employees to be back in office 2-3 days a week, 17% said 4-5 days and 14% said they will leave it to the employees.  More than three-quarters of the companies surveyed (77%) said they will plan for on-site return of employees based on the number of employees vaccinated.

Also read: Should offices reopen? Firms struggle to find a correct answer

An overwhelming majority of 84% said they will have a consistent definition of future of work within six months, with 32% saying they already have it.The decisions are being taken through the lenses of vaccination and a safe environment at work, according to Aon India & South Asia (Human Capital Solutions) CEO Nitin Sethi.

“Many companies have started planning a return-to-work program. However, they are being cautious as they put these plans together. At the same time, companies are also looking at this through the lens of their future talent strategy which includes deciding the right balance between hybrid, flexible and full-time at work,” he added.

Also read: How Amazon, Facebook, Apple, Google are shifting to hybrid work regimes
 
But striking that balance is challenging, as the survey showed with another interesting data point. As many as 61% of those surveyed said they will not suspend the remote working arrangement of employees functioning from a new location within the same country —only slightly less than the 66% who said they want more than half their workforce to return to office.

Sethi said another lens that is gaining prominence is location. “How do you decide pay when talent sits across different locations basis their preferences,” he said.

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