Work From Home Ends For IT Firms?

Now, as the pandemic takes a backseat and seems to be a bit under control, for now, IT giants are on a spree to open the offices and call their employees back to their desks. Joining the league, Meta (formerly known as Facebook) will reopen its offices on March 28, 2022, and the employees will be required to get a Covid-19 booster dose.

IT sector is said to be the industry that adopted the Work From Home (WFH) model very quickly. With the Covid-19 pandemic fluctuating at its pace in the country, employers and employees are left with no other choice but to stay in the hybrid model of work or if there’s a lockdown, shift to WFH setup. However, the trend of the hybrid working model is expected to stay in place.

Considering the local health metrics, Microsoft is also planning to reopen its offices. Chris Capossela, Executive Vice President, and Chief Marketing Officer, Microsoft, in a blog post said that the worksites of the company in Washington state will to the sixth and final stage of the hybrid model that will be effective from February 28. 

“From this date, employees will have 30 days to make adjustments to their routines and adopt the working preferences they’ve agreed upon with their managers,” Capossela said in the blog.

The company’s offices outside the Bay Area of California including the Silicon Valley Campus will be fully opened from February 28. 

In addition, the employees will still have an option to get a flexible workplace to continue WFH for half of the week without requiring a discussion with their managers. Also, the employees who are willing to work remotely will need to get approval from their respective managers.

Indian IT major TCS has decided to call its employees to the office as soon as 70 percent of them will be fully vaccinated. As per the company, over 95 percent of its employees have received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

The company will go on to follow the 25/25 model which means that 25 percent of its global employees will be present in the office spending 25 percent of their time at the office. Also, 25 percent of employees within project teams could be co-located. 

Fully vaccinated senior employees that include managers and above are expected to return to office by March 3. Initially, they will need to be in the office on Mondays and Thursdays, two days a week. The company has extended WFH for the rest of the employees.

Cognizant has left the decision of joining back the office in the hands of its employees who will be supposed to return on a voluntary basis by April. 

The company’s ‘back to office’ plan will take place in a phased manner from April. 

On the other hand, Infosys has decided to continue with the hybrid model for the year 2022 and will begin to reopen offices in the upcoming 3-4 months in a phased manner. In the hybrid model, 40 to 50 percent of the company employees will be working in the office during the phased ‘return to office’ plan.