Delhi’s private firms putting in place mechanisms to keep virus at bay

Soon after the Delhi government released the order on Sunday, many firms said they are now putting their heads together to ensure that normalcy is restored while avoiding any risk of infection, in light of the coronavirus (Covid-19) disease.

The Delhi government on Sunday allowed private companies to operate from Monday, albeit with 33% of their staff strength. From testing the health status of employees, rearranging seating plans to ensure social distancing and working out an arrangement to help employees get to work as public transport options remain suspended, private firms say they are coming up with plans to go back to work after curbs are lifted.

In an e-mail response, Tech Tonic, a mobile accessory company in the national Capital, said they have asked employees above the age of 45 to continue working from home. (Satish Bate/HT Photo)

Soon after the Delhi government released the order on Sunday, many firms said they are now putting their heads together to ensure that normalcy is restored while avoiding any risk of infection, in light of the coronavirus (Covid-19) disease.

Prashant Shridhar, a management consultant at a private firm in South Delhi’s Okhla, has been asked to join work from Tuesday after nearly a month of working from home. He said he has spoken to his team head on transportation problems, considering he used to depend on the Delhi Metro for the commute.

“I have sent out an e-mail voicing my concerns. I don’t own a car, mainly because there is a metro station less than 200 metres from my house and the rail network connects my workplace as well. I was told by my seniors that they might arrange for an office cab,” said Shridhar.

Dharmendra Singh, the co-founder of Mad4Ad, a private advertising firm with offices in Delhi and Noida, said they were looking forward to resuming work with at least some employees, and that a green signal from the government will help start-ups such as his to stay afloat.

“We have regularly been conducting health surveys of our employees to keep a tab on their health status. That is of primary importance to us because a healthy team will keep us going. We are yet to chalk out teams that will start coming to office from next week but the stress is still on conducting digital meetings with clients and online presentations. However, coordination will improve if we have at least some people here at work,” said Singh.

In an e-mail response, Tech Tonic, a mobile accessory company in the national Capital, said they have asked employees above the age of 45 to continue working from home.

“We welcome the government’s announcement but since people above a certain age are more vulnerable to the coronavirus, we will only call in our younger teammates to office. We are working out a full-fledged plan to start work in the coming days,” the company said in the e-mail.