WFH vs WFO: IT giants reassess situation amid Bengaluru floods

The work from home versus work from office debate has intensified amid the flood situation in India’s Silicon Valley, Bengaluru. The floods crippled transportation across the IT hub, with IT behemoths like Wipro and TCS, and several other startups implementing work from home to ensure the safety of their employees.

How bad is the situation?
As per data from the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), Bengaluru received 131.6 mm of rainfall in 24 hours last Monday, making it the wettest day since 2014. Techies were forced to travel to the office via tractors since they could not take several leaves because of company policies. An IT company worker told ANI, “We cannot take so many leaves from the office, our work is getting affected. We are awaiting tractors to drop us for Rs 50.”

What do employees have to say about this?
A techie working in one of the top Indian IT firms told Business Today that it gets inconvenient to wait for the company’s approval. The IT employee said, “The conditions are awful. We should not have to wait for the company’s approval to start working from home. There needs to be a change in this policy.”

Another employee said that working from an office in such conditions wastes a lot of time and productivity during the commute. The employee told Business Today, “It takes two hours going to work, two hours coming back, and we have to wait in long lines to get proper transportation. It is a waste of time and energy. We are tired and are not efficient.”

How are companies dealing with this?
IT giants Wipro and TCS have implemented work after assessing the situation. “Due to heavy rainfall in Bengaluru, Wipro has advised its employees to work from home today. Business Continuity Plans have been invoked and there has been no disruption to business,” a Wipro spokesperson said.

Moreover, a TCS spokesperson said in a statement, “All our associates at Bengaluru are safe. We are closely monitoring the situation and our delivery teams have been advised to exercise due caution.”

Investment banks like Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley have also instructed employees to work from home in light of the situation, Reuters reported.

Employees are waiting for other companies to implement work from home as the IMD has predicted that the condition might worsen in the coming days. BusinessToday