Leading Indian IT companies nudge employees to return to office

India’s largest technology services firm Tata Consultancy Services (Ltd) has asked some of its teams to attend office five days a week, a move which may prompt rivals with a hybrid work model to follow suit.

“We got a mail few weeks ago, asking our team to come to office five days a week. Until now, it was three days a week,” a TCS employee said. However, other executives said the five-day week is not company-wide, and depends on the team manager. “There are certain projects which require teams to come to office every day, while for the rest, it remains three days as of now,” the executive said.

TCS said it cannot comment, citing a silent period.

The company’s chief human resources officer Milind Lakkad had said in June that work-from-office leads to more collaboration among newcomers and junior management. He had pointed out that while tenured employees who are well-networked within the organization can work virtually “using the social capital built up over the years”, the same can’t be with more junior employees. “Workplace essentials like collaboration, mentorship and team-building suffered a lot in these two years,” he had noted.

However, IT firms are facing resistance in getting workers back to offices. While Wipro Ltd has a three-day week policy, HCL Technologies Ltd has a similar policy for its senior managers. Those in the lower rungs have a more flexible work schedule. Infosys Ltd insists employees turn up at least once a week for most teams, but executives says staffers are more regular.

“We believe the future of work is hybrid, and have adopted a flexible approach in our policies, keeping the requirements of our clients and employees as our foremost priority. Collaboration and innovation through shared perspectives is the foundation of a high-performing culture. Since May, all employees are being encouraged to work from the office, any three days of their choice, in a week,” said Wipro. HCL and Infosys did not respond to Mint’s queries.

IT firms also ask their employees to return to office to ensure data safety and reduce moonlighting. For employees, there may not be much of an option but to head to office as job market in the tech sector is sluggish after a year of hiring frenzy. Livemint