IT employees gradually returning to offices after 19 months as companies plan hybrid model

With India reporting the lowest number of new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours -- 8,865 -- and schools and colleges reopening with strict COVID protocols, IT companies too are showing keen interest to call back their employees.

The largest IT services company, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), has asked employees to come back to work at deputed locations by November 15. Earlier, TCS Chief HR Officer Milind Lakkad said, "With 70% of TCSers fully vaccinated, and over 95% having received at least one dose, we plan to gradually get our workforce back in office by the end of this year."

Another IT major Cognizant Technology Solutions too has asked its employees to gradually return to offices in the next calendar year. An employee with Cognizant said the company had sent out a survey a month ago to get opinions of employees on coming back to office.

In an internal mail to employees, Cognizant CEO Brian Humphries had said that he is "cautiously optimistic that we will be able to implement a phased return to our offices early next year. The future of the workplace looks to be hybrid (a mix of in-person and remote), and our policies and office environments will need to reflect that new reality."

Many employees of IT companies are showing interest in getting back to their workplace as they have been working from home for more than 19 months now.

A recent report by Nasscom and Indeed (a job aggregator) said that half of the IT workforce will return to offices thrice a week by January 2022. It also said junior and senior employees have shown keener interest to return. IT companies are opening their office doors to employees who are working on critical projects such as cyber security or data.

During the second quarterly results, Infosys Chief Operating Officer Pravin Rao said, "With over 86% of Infoscions in India having received at least one dose of ‘vaccination’, we are now preparing to embrace the hybrid work model. We have equipped employees with the resources they need to be productive, cyber secure, stay connected and maintain a work-life balance. Our talent strategy also factors in expanded hiring pools that include new communities and work locations,” he added.

When asked about the opening of IT offices, Karnataka IT&BT Minister C N Ashwath Narayan said that they are insisting on flexibility -- to work from home or office.