With Omicron fears subsiding and the number of people fully vaccinated crossing the 80 per cent mark, a majority of the IT and IT-enabled services want their employees to return to offices.

They are so serious about making their employees to return to office that a large number of the companies have either already written to employees or planning to write soon, asking them to return to office as early as possible.

“As many as 65 per cent of the companies want all of their employees back in office but in a hybrid model. And, 15 per cent of them want all of their employees back to work on all working days,” the Return To Office survey conducted by HYSEA says.

More than 56 per cent of offices are fully functional and employees allowed to work from office. About 28 per cent of offices are open in a restricted way for critical resources, it says.

“About 45 per cent of the respondents felt productivity issue was the main driver for return to office policy. It was followed by client and business imperatives (22 per cent.). A significant 33 per cent of companies felt employee morale, lack of collaboration and bonding as drivers to return to office,” the survey says.

The Hyderabad Software Enterprises Association (HYSEA), which represents a large number of IT and ITeS companies in Hyderabad, has conducted the survey, involving 68 companies of different sizes. The sample size represents about 30 per cent of the IT-ITeS industry in Hyderabad.

But, they admit that the quantum of employees coming back to offices would largely depend on schools going back to physical classes as a large number of employees are struck at home to take care of their children, who are attending classes online.

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The survey summarises that the hybrid work model (part remote, part office) is here to stay.

Reopening of schools

Several IT companies feel that more number of employees would come back to offices if schools return to physical classes. “If schools operate in full physical mode, there is a possibility of more employees returning to Hyderabad and offices,” it points out.

While a majority (54 per cent) of companies assert that they go by their global or national policies to drive the conduct of work, the remaining companies make it clear that it all depends on the local needs and conditions.

No moonlighting

Interestingly, the survey finds that the issue of ‘moonlighting’ (doing a second job stealthily while working from home for a different company) is a non-issue.

“The much-hyped ‘moonlighting’ or working on multiple jobs simultaneously was not observed as a major issue by an overwhelming majority of participating companies,” the survey points out.