After TCS makes working from office the norm, Infosys too has made a significant shift from work-from-home to work-from-office. The company has announced the end of its work-from-home (WFH) policy for employees based in the United States and Canada, according to reports. This is not a move taken by Infosys in isolation but a part of a trend being followed by multinational tech giants like TCS, Google, Twitter, and Meta. It is a move to encourage employees to return to their offices.
The decision to end work from home for the employees based in the United States and Canada was taken by Salil Parekh, CEO, Infosys. Parekh said that “the company is committed to providing a hybrid work environment that allows our employees to choose the work arrangements that best suit their needs." However, he also mentioned that "in order to maintain a strong culture and collaboration, it is important for us to have our employees come together in person."
The revised policy will ask all Infosys employees in the United States and Canada to work from the office for five days a week. The policy mentions that work-from-home will be only permitted under exceptional conditions and requires prior permission. This decision is expected to impact approximately 30000 employees working with Infosys in the mentioned locations. While these revised policies are sparking a debate on the future of remote work as well as the flexibility of the working environment. The company states that it is important to create a strong company culture, collaboration, and in-person interaction between teams.
Remote work came as a forefront option for the IT industry during the breakdown of the pandemic. It reshaped the entire cooperate world by allowing employees to work from their own preferred comfortable space, it also increased flexibility in their working patterns and more likely promoted work-life balance. However, as the world now is moving towards normalcy cooperation and industries are again stressing the importance of face-to-face interactions and collaboration between teams to strengthen the work culture in their organization.
What are the feedbacks received by Infosys on its policy change?
The decision of Infosys to make changes in its remote work policy after so long is definitely a bold one. The decision has been met with mixed feedback from employees and industry experts. While some of its employees appreciate the decision and are happy to return to the office, there are also some who are equally disappointed by it as they can no longer be in their comfortable space. It will still remain a matter of observation as to how this decision is going to turn out for Infosys.
Conclusion
Whatever the future result will be, it is clear that the company is betting on a return to the office policy. The company believes in its decisions and benefits coming in the future. While critics argue that the move may negatively impact employees' satisfaction and morale, as employees have grown accustomed to remote work, it is also a possibility that the company can lose its potentially talented employees to its competitors offering them a flexible work environment.
The article has been written by Punam Singh