Office Central: Companies bat for ‘few days a week’ at workplace

Indian companies are pushing for staff to resume working from office for a few days of the week at least to revive institutional culture and a sense of kinship through personal interaction, two years after Covid forced most to work from home. Several have already got staff back to the office after Omicron ebbed. Returning to the workplace, managements contend, is critical to foster innovation, personal growth and employee retention. Industry leaders say working in isolation during Covid has weakened employer-employee ties, hastening the exit of workers seeking better growth opportunities.

RPG Group chairman Harsh Goenka said there’s no substitute for cafeteria chatter and water cooler banter as a way of building relationships.

“The growing attrition at workplaces is also the result of a loss of personal interaction. Just a computer and a desk does not offer the bonding a workplace offers, memories of good times and relationships,” he said. “Lack of interpersonal interaction also affects innovation. It is time to get back to office.”

Still, stemming attrition can also be tough as managerial employees seek work flexibility after two years of work from home (WFH), he said. While the Covid scare has receded, uncertainty over future outbreaks has seen organisations moving toward a hybrid workstyle. New hires, both at the junior and top levels, have struggled to get a grip on organisational culture, which is only possible through a physical presence in the office, executives said.

The Godrej Group has asked employees to attend office at least three days a week. “It is good for teams to be together and forge relationships,” said Sumit Mitra, head, group HR and corporate services, Godrej. “Purpose and culture determines how an organisation grows. We are piloting a three-plus-two work arrangement… There is a big debate on the subject in our group about where can work be done more efficiently. A lot of employees do not understand the challenges of other colleagues. No roles have similar privileges and it is important to have an honest conversation around it.”

Infosys founder NR Narayana Murthy said team members can help each other better in the office and personal interaction improves problem solving. “Isolated working is not as efficient as being together and personal interaction at workplaces leads to higher innovation, motivation and productivity, which is important if India has to compete in the world market,” he said. “I fully understand that in extreme Covid, organisations had to accept WFH but now that Covid has receded, employees have to get back to workplaces.”

A September 2021 survey conducted by Amazon India suggested that over 50% of jobseekers are looking for opportunities in sectors or industries where they have little or no experience. More employees are quitting their current jobs in search of better job opportunities, not just in terms of salary but also with respect to new challenges. Corporates such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the Godrej Group and Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) among others are tackling attrition challenges.