: 50 per cent IT staff can work from home for one year #IndiaNEWS #Business Hyderabad: Even as IT companies are seeing a gradual increase in employees returning to the office, work from home (WFH),

50 per cent IT staff can work from home for one year #IndiaNEWS #Business
Hyderabad: Even as IT companies are seeing a gradual increase in employees returning to the office, work from home (WFH), the norm during the Covid pandemic, will continue for one more year. The new guidelines issued by the Department of Commerce are likely to introduce more flexibility in the workplace.
A new rule (Rule 43A) included in the Special Economic Zones Rules, 2006, allows employees temporarily incapacitated, those travelling and those working offsite to opt for WFH. According to the rules, WFH can be extended to a maximum of 50 per cent of the staff. The Development Commissioner (DC) of SEZs can increase this number or the duration further if required.
SEZ units, whose employees are already working from home, can seek an approval in 90 days. The companies have to provide the required equipment and secure connectivity for working from home.
What the new rules mean to the industry
According to Manisha Saboo, president of Hyderabad Software Enterprises, the new rules set the stage for the gradual return of employees to offices. “The workplace concept has changed in the last two years. Tier-2 and 3 locations are on companies’ radar more now than ever. Manpower recruitments have increased by 24 per cent over the last year. While the addition of more office real estate space has slowed a bit, it is just one of the many metrics to gauge the growth of a company or the sector,�? she said, adding that WFH will spawn demand for co-working spaces, appliances, furniture and other infrastructure in smaller cities too.
The evolving work rules would also gradually usher in some changes in HR practices. “The contents of offer letters may change. Even though travel requirements reduce with WFH, companies will not alter pay packages downward,�? she said.
Spending on utilities such as power, water, food and other facilities would reduce. However, savings in these will offset the increased spending on fortifying data security and privacy apparatus.
According to her, the end-clients of system integrators and global capability centres decide if they want the employees drafted for them to work from home or office. “We have to align resources as per the client’s requirements,�? she said.
In the words of Oruganti Venkateswarlu, president of the Kompally IT Entrepreneurs Association, WFH has aided in increased productivity as it reduced travel strain and allowed greater flexibility to employees. On the other hand, the work quality of some employees suffered as they did not have a reliable internet connection, erratic power supply issues and lack of coordination with fellow workers and teams. A tighter supervision of performance of employees working from home may be on the anvil, he said.

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