With cities opening up gradually, India Inc is chalking out attractive medium-term work policies for staff, even as the Covid-19 pandemic shows no signs of easing.
Companies such as Ola, Droom, Kissflow, Instamojo, Udaan and Flipkart, are putting in place measures that include part-time logins from home as well as offices, work infrastructure at homes and safe transportation.
Software as a Service firm Kissflow has unveiled a ‘Remote+’ working model for its about 200 employees, at least for the next nine months.
“Each team will be required to be in office for a week but can otherwise work from anywhere they want,” said Suresh Sambandam, founder of Kissflow.
The flexible work hours at Kissflow are aimed at encouraging employees to move back to their hometowns to reduce expenses and strengthen social bonding.
“We will focus on the outcomes rather than activities so that we ensure the goals are met,” Sambandam said.
It is also initiating monthly meetups, off-site trips, and accommodation for those who travel into the city so as to work from its offices.
Online marketplace Droom has divided its 350 employees into seven batches and have started getting them to work from office in phases.
Employees have also been given the flexibility to work remotely, depending on whether they are in Red, Orange or Green zones, used to classify cities on the extent of the spread of the outbreak.
“We began with about 10% of the employees and increased it to one-third. Rest of the employees are still working from home,” said Sandeep Aggarwal, founder and CEO of Droom. “We will evaluate the business requirement and take necessary decisions accordingly.”
Ola has segregated employees into red, orange and green till month-end.
Employees in containment zones, expectant mothers, and those with comorbidities are tagged under red, while employees living with kids or parents have been classified under orange and advised to work from home.
B2B marketplace Udaan is encouraging employees to use their own two-wheelers or cars to commute to office and has also “tied up with ZoomCar and Bounce to provide them transport with sanitised vehicles,” said a company spokesperson.
“Offices in safe zones are open but we encourage employees to apply their own judgement on when and how they would like to return,” the spokesperson added.
Instamojo has reopened its offices but has permitted employees to decide if they want to work from home or office.
Most companies are taking adequate precautions including sanitisation and social distancing through seating arrangements and increased monitoring of staff.
“We’ve made suitable arrangements on campus to ensure social distancing with regard to seating, cafeteria facilities, and common area access. The on-campus approach to maintaining a safe environment includes measures to sanitise used whiteboard markers in meeting rooms, and a new process in washrooms to keep them sanitised,” said a Flipkart spokesperson.
HR executives said the work-from-home policy comes with its own set of issues.
Employees face longer work hours, increased performance pressure leading to anxiety and restlessness, even as many companies have seen a 20-30% increase in productivity, especially during the lockdown phase.
“After two months of working remotely, employees are missing the social connect, infrastructure, and defined working hours (needed) to maintain a work-life balance,” said Aditya Narayan Mishra, CEO, CIEL HR Services.
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