Omicron Scare: Work From Office Ends At Bengaluru, 70% Employees Working From Home

The pandemic has changed the way work. Gone are the days, when we used to travel to offices to work. In the last two years, working from home has become a new norm. And just when many companies had started to call the employees back in homes, the country has been stuck with the third wave. It was only in December that the big IT firms – like TCS and Tech Mahindra – had asked employees to come back to the office.

Now it seems like WFH is here to stay for more than expected time.

Many companies shift back to WFH

India’s “Silicon Valley”, Bengaluru, is now witnessing a deserted look in its campuses of tech firms. As the daily Covid cases continue to surge the IT industry has once again opted for the hybrid work model. Nearly 70 percent of the workforce is working from home.

Signdesk.com is a software provider that assists businesses in digitizing and automating the documentation process. The company is now operating with 30 percent staff physically at the premises.

“In Bengaluru, we have three offices. We have operations in all metros as well. If you look at the overall employee, we would be running at 30-40 percent capacity,” Abhishek Saseedran, CEO, Signdesk.com.

Botman is another Bengaluru-based cyber security startup. It has just four employees working in the office. The co-founder feels the hybrid model has hit operations.

WFH is affecting employees and leadership

Dileep Adiga, Head, Finance, Signdesk.com said, “You don’t get to interact with colleagues. All the calls and meetings are online. There is no human interaction. Only when you meet people, you get new ideas. WFH has made it difficult for all of us.”

Raja TN, Co-Founder of Botman, “Especially if you are a start-up, if you are a small team where collaborations are required, the decision has to be made faster. We are a small team taking huge responsibilities. Sometimes I feel it is not very productive to work from home.”

For all employees, the experience of Work From Home is not the same. For many employees with young children at home, WFH has proven to be a boon, while some say it is bogging them down without human interaction.