New Delhi, Nov 1: Both employees and employers are equally interested in making a comeback to the workplace in a hybrid setup with 50 per cent of the workforce likely to return to offices for up to 3 days a week starting next year, according to a report by Nasscom and Indeed.
Also, junior and senior management, workforce under the age of 25 and above 40 years, are eager to return to the workplace as compared to the middle management.
Female employees are also excited about returning to offices and adapting to newer working models, as per the ‘NASSCOM Return to Workplace Survey’.
The report was developed on the basis of return to workplace surveys conducted by the IT industry body, focused on both tech employees and tech employers on their plans on return to offices.
The report aimed to understand the expectations, key considerations, and preparedness on both fronts (employers and employees) for return to the workplace and further analyse different future operating models emerging in a hybrid setup.
The survey stated that though over 81 per cent of organisations expressed that employee health and safety remains the key consideration for them while reopening the offices, 72 per cent of organisations said they are looking at operating at a maximum of 50 per cent employee capacity starting next year itself.
In the post-pandemic era, companies are looking forward to implementing newer work operating models.
Today, the hybrid work model is the preferred choice by over 70 per cent of organisations, as per the report.
Nasscom President Debjani Ghosh said over the last one and a half years, the way tech organisations have run business operations, has undergone a massive transformation.
“The industry is now prepared to gradually re-open and is looking at perfecting a hybrid operating model which brings in the best of both onsite and remote operating models. We encourage tech companies to process the reopening in a phased and safe manner while keeping the employee’s health and safety as the topmost priority,” she added.
Sashi Kumar, Head of Sales (India) at Indeed.com, said since the pandemic hit businesses across the globe, pushing employees indoors, many believed that the future of work is ‘remote’.
“However, organisations and employees gradually realised that remote work is an outcome of the pandemic and not an evolved approach to workplace planning. In fact, Indeed’s last hiring tracker indicated that employees are looking for more ‘flexible’ workplaces that will enable work-home balance,” Kumar added.
Kumar noted that ‘NASSCOM Return to Workplace Survey’ reflects a similar sentiment as more than half of employers and employees favour returning to office in a hybrid model, “making it clear that the future of work is hybrid”.
According to the report, 28 per cent of employees are interested in returning to the workplace in a month, while 24 per cent of the workforce would prefer to return to the workplace after six months.
About 57 per cent of organisations said they will reach readiness to re-open office spaces within three months, and 40 per cent of the employees expect to work from office premises up-to 3 days a week, the report added.
Interestingly, higher employee satisfaction during remote work was reported by 66 per cent of the survey respondents.
The report highlighted that while benefits of the remote model were noted in terms of higher workforce productivity and greater flexibility for employees, risks related to data and cybersecurity mounted along with an impact on organisational culture.
Keeping this in consideration, data security, stakeholder preferences, and employee vaccination status are likely to be the key determinants of which employees will return to the workplace first, it added.