The onset of COVID-19 introduced the corporate world to the new approach of working. It accelerated the trend of virtual work setups, remote working, automation and new-age technologies to keep going even in the new normal. Many people lost their jobs while others switched to work from home setups to contain the spread of the virus.
The pandemic had a long-term impact on the way offices operate. Now that the coronavirus cases are steadily declining and vaccination drives continuing at a fast pace, organizations are planning to open their offices for their employees. Many top corporates are already working in the hybrid business model where a percentage of employees are working from home while work from the office. However, this time, the corporates are thinking to re-open their offices for all employees in the next couple of months.
Concerned about employees’ safety and wellbeing, Yogita Tulsiani, Co-founder of iXceed Solutions – a tech recruitment provider said, “In my opinion, now that the cases are declining and vaccination is resuming, heading back to the office will be easy now. Not denying the fact that the safety of employees will be the priority. We are beginning to take a holistic view of employees’ health and wellness, which also includes emotional and financial well-being since covid-19 has greatly damaged the mental wellness of the working class.”
With an increased vaccination rate and a decrease in the number of Covid cases, the economy is also coming back on track. However, it still seems difficult for companies to return to offices in full capacity and continues to adopt a hybrid work model. According to recent findings – using productivity anywhere hybrid workforce models are embraced by 63% of high-revenue growth companies.
Gaurav Gupta, Co-Founder of Navia, a tech startup providing digital solutions for healthcare providers said, “The company and the team have adapted well to remote working for over a year now, and we are happy to encourage remote workers who find it more efficient and are comfortable with remote working, at the same time we plan to start our offices so that people who wish to return to the office for better work environment and collaboration can do so.”
“We are flexible with employees choosing any mode of working. We are confident that the culture of the flexible workplace with the hybrid approach will lead to higher efficiency & increased employee productivity along with work-life balance,” he added.
Getting through the pandemic for some companies was not as easy as for those harnessing the potential of technology. Advanced technological tools played a crucial role in keeping the office functional even at times of lockdown and quarantine. From remote work to contactless deliveries, telehealth to online entertainment, everything kept going to keep the market moving on the recovery path.
Talking about the infinite potential of technology, Raghav Bagai, Co-founder of Sociowash – a digital media agency said, “From cloud usage to team collaboration software, we are now functioning on a complete digital model. After 1.5 years of working from home, we are planning on switching to a work-from-anywhere model. We are collaborating with one of the leading co-working spaces to do away with location restrictions that would help us create more opportunities for people all over the country to join us without necessarily having to relocate to be a part of our agency’s culture.”
He also praised the new working models and added, “We plan to move to a hybrid model, which would balance the work-from-home and work-from-office model, but this is aligned for the time when the pandemic is at its closure. Our aim in the future is to shift to a four-day workweek in conjugation with the hybrid approach.”
The hybrid work approach is visibly a hot topic in the industry. Many companies believe it presents a safe and most efficient path to return to the office rather than filling the space with full capacity.
Preferring the hybrid work approach, Shveta Raina, AVP, Marketing head & People Strategy of AVIZVA – the technology service provider that builds custom solutions for the Healthcare, Insurance Sector said, “As we will be shifting towards a structured hybrid work model in a phased manner over the next quarter, it will be strictly ensured that not more than 40% of our total workforce is in office at any point in time. The employees will be working from the office for at least some days of the week and will be working from home for the rest of the days.”
“The working model will also be ‘hybrid’ from the perspective of having a mix of roles that require collaboration will operate from office as opposed to the job roles that can be managed remotely. As many of us look forward to invading office spaces once again; we are all set to extend a very warm welcome,” she added.
