Hyd cos undecided about reopening offices in full

Hyderabad: THE work from home or for that matter work from anywhere mode of working has become the new normal for employees per se and more so for IT employees, thanks to the prolonged spells of the Covid pandemic. Most of the employees are not sure till when they have the flexibility to work in this mode instead of going to office in person.

Many IT companies are mass vaccinating their employees to make sure they are protected against Covid and at the same time they are preparing the employees to come back to office the situation becomes normal or at-least the pandemic impact is less severe. As of now, most employees working with MNCs have received their first dose of vaccination; some have completed their second dose as well.

With the onset of new Covid variants and then the stalking fear of the third wave, the companies are uncertain about the situation and waiting for the pandemic impact to soften. As of now, only critical staffs are allowed to office, even they are made sure to have shift rotations with all the Covid protocols in place.

"The work from home mode of working will continue further, whether the Covid is going to be intense or not. I expect the companies will not allow office work for the next 6 to 12 months, that is, when everyone is vaccinated or the mass immunity is supposedly achieved. Until then we need to take precautions and continue to work from home," said MR Manohar Reddy, Hyderabad chapter president, The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), Founder and CEO, Feuji.

Though the large companies have made their employees to work from home, the small companies and startups are finding it a challenge, due to limited resources and technologies, to follow the work from anywhere mode of operating and hence are making it compulsory for their employees to work from office. There are a few companies which have asked their employees to return to office after the Covid first wave and the government easing lockdown curbs at end of the last year. At that time many companies planned to reopen offices with full strength but with the second wave striking and further lockdowns announced, has made them to postpone their plans for a long time.

He added, "Presently, only one fourth of the employees are allowed and only a few companies have the wherewithal to let their employees work from remote location."

Most of the software employees are fine with the WFH culture as they do not need to travel to office when everything can be accomplished from home. Though a few want to return to office as they are missing their friends, colleagues and the networking and several other activities associated with the physical office location.

"We see early indications for some offices to reopen with reduced staff strength from October or November, but to work with full strength, I suspect that it would probably be towards first quarter of next year or more likely mid of the next year," said Viiveck Varma, Founder, UpSurge Enterprise Solutions.

The work from home mode of working will continue further, whether the Covid is going to be intense or not. I expect the companies will not allow office work for the next 6 to 12 months, that is, when everyone is vaccinated or the mass immunity is supposedly achieved

- MR Manohar Reddy, Hyderabad chapter president, The Indus Entrepreneurs (TiE), Founder and CEO, Feuji