Companies in India have been forced to work from home due to the rise of Covid-19 cases as their employees’ health and safety are of highest importance. Since November-December, some companies have allowed employees to work from home again.
There is a 50% attendance rate in government offices. Employees in the private sector are also working from home. IT companies like Cognizant, Amazon, and Flipkart have adopted work from home once again and expect all employees to return to the office in April. Most employees do not want to go back to office cabins. Home-based employees have the flexibility to customize their work environment based on their preferences.
Why do Indians prefer to work at home?
One of the employees of an IT firm, Debina Roy, found a new routine for her work. She does household chores while she waits for a reply from a client. Rather than spending three hours going to and coming back from the office, she said she is living her best life now. Secondly, she is glad to be far from a high-pressure environment. From home, she feels relaxed. In talking with HRs about this issue, they indicated that employees are away from offices, they feel closer, and they are enjoying their work. Families with healthy incomes, jobs that are flexible, independence, and time to themselves are among the reasons.
Travel is a top problem for employees. Many employees had to relocate for work, but now they can work from home in the comfort of their hometowns. Families will have more time together. Likewise, employees believe that working from home is all about laptops and a reliable wi-fi connection. You can work effectively from anywhere, such as a hill station or a beach. Employees just want a reliable internet connection and a laptop to work from home.
Employees benefit from hybrid models
The majority of companies are choosing hybrids in the third wave of Covid-19. Employees have expressed their willingness to return to the office in a hybrid setup. Among the reasons for this are better infrastructure, alignment with company culture, social connections and bonding with peers, and fewer distractions. Work-life balance and flexibility are the hallmarks of the hybrid work model. According to several surveys, the hybrid model is the best and may be adopted in the future. Employees have expressed a desire to return to the office in a hybrid setup.
Women working from home
Women may prefer working from home more than men since they have other responsibilities, such as household chores and taking care of their families. Home-based workers enjoy doing their work and household chores together. With implementing work-from-home strategies, women are being burdened with a greater share of domestic chores and responsibilities. It is still the women who handle a majority of domestic duties, even if both partners work from home.
Women can work from home if their families also support them, but if not, they prefer to work from the office, since this gives them only work stress, not domestic stress. Since women may have other duties to perform, such as household chores and caring for their families, they may prefer to work from home more than men.
Homework vs. office work: Which is best?
Since India is moving towards digital technology as the future, this debate has begun among employees. Also at issue is the question of whether working from home is better than working at the office. Most employees say that working from home is better due to the absence of travel, better work-life balance, and saving money, while others say that working in the office is better because they can manage everything themselves and will have face-to-face communication with other employees.
Several studies were conducted on this topic. Working at home is more productive than working in an office. Work from home employees spend less time being unproductive, work one more day a week, and are 47% more productive. By working from home, employees can enjoy a better work-life balance and financial exposure. Keeping the office culture after a pandemic can be challenging. There is now an intention to give employees scheduled and unstructured time to engage, share, and discuss work and life.
Post Your Comments