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Not all Pune IT companies have resumed work from office, yet
Many IT companies in Pune that are planning to resume work from office from January 2022 are considering calling employees to office in a phased manner
PUNE: Although the state government is keen on further relaxation in Covid norms from October, a majority of multinational information technology (IT) firms in the city are yet to take a decision on resuming “work from office”. However, a few companies have already started calling their employees to office as per state government guidelines.
The city has a strong base of IT hubs spread across Hinjewadi, Kharadi, Kalyani nagar and Viman nagar. On August 11, the state government issued a directive stating that companies can allow fully vaccinated employees to work from office but with only 25% employees per shift.
Raj Gujar, cofounder, Bulb and Key Software Company, Bhandarkar road, Erandwane, said, “Coming out of the second wave of the pandemic, we have well-established processes allowing our product development team to work from home. However, our content, sales and operations teams have resumed working from the office and will continue to do so as these verticals work more efficiently in the same physical space. All those attending the office have completed their vaccination.”
While many companies have started prepping to resume work from office, several employees want to continue with the “work from home (WFH)” model.
Harpreet Saluja, president, Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES), a non-profit organisation working extensively for the protection of benefits, welfare and rights of tech industry employees, said, “Employees are not willing to go back to office. In the WFH model, none of the work got stuck and none of the clients had any problem with people working from home. With the festive season ahead, we cannot rule out the anticipated third wave so 95% of IT employees in our survey do not want to resume work from office. The product and quality of work has improved in the WFH model. If we look from the employees’ perspective, they are still considering safety first.”
Then again, many companies that are planning to resume work from office from January 2022 are considering calling employees to office in a phased manner.
Neha R, an employee of an IT firm based out of Aundh, said, “All employees won’t have to be in office for a complete week. They will be allotted days on which they will have to come to the office. All companies are coming out with different strategies to keep their employees safe.”
Werner Van Huyssteen, general manager – India, TomTom, which has its main office in Yerawada, said, “We will continue with our hybrid working approach, but also firmly believe in the benefits that an office environment brings. We look forward to welcoming our TomTom’ers back into world-class facilities sometime in Q4 namely, between October 31 and December 31, adhering to government protocols.”
“We strictly enforce all safety-related protocols to ensure that our employees and their loved ones are safe. We also want to create an environment to manage this optimally,” he said.
Many other industrial firms have started calling their employees to office with the flexibility to work from home whenever needed.
Pankajj Ghode, chief executive officer, Agri10X, Kalyaninagar, said, “We are following all the basic Covid-19 regulations while allowing staff into the office. If our team finds anything problematic, the employee is straightaway sent home. We have given flexibility to our employees so they can opt to work from home if they have even the slightest of symptoms.”
State government directions for private offices:
25% of staff allowed in one shift
Completion of two doses of vaccination compulsory
As per survey by NITES, 95% of employees want to continue with work from home.
