Pune: Hinjawadi IT Park will wear a deserted look for at least next five months as the 800 plus companies based there are gearing up to comply with the central government’s directive of extending the relaxations in work from home norms up to December 31 this year.
Currently, around 80 per cent of the IT staff is working from home and only those executing critical jobs are going to offices. Number of IT services sector, which books for the main share in commercial leasing across Pune, have acknowledged the work-from-home policy as a part of their business stability plans. Many smaller firms and start-ups have also reduced infrastructure as operations have shrivelled.
The concept is not new in IT field, the companies at Hinjawadi IT park jointly employed at least 2,50,000 IT and ITES staff members before the lockdown was declared.
Hinjawadi Industries Association’s (HIA) ’s Chief Operating Officer (COO), Col (retd) Charanjeet Bhogal said, “Work from home is already initiated. Even after the lockdown, wherever possible and in the future, work from home is the good option. Currently, almost 80 per cent staff is working from home in almost all companies in Hinjawadi.”
“Fear of COVID-19 contagion is still high. Even when the lockdown is lifted, 100 staff to work in the office is not possible. I hardly imagine less than 15 per cent of the staff will visit the office though the lockdown is lifted,” he added.
Saket Soman, an IT professional, said, “It’s much more than just the advantage of getting to work in your pajamas. WFH also means you’ll acquire to rely on self-motivation, focus and concentration. Though WFH sounds very simple, the time management is a vital skill one must hone. One must maintain the to-do list.”
“Though the WFH model has many pros it has some consequences too. Face-to-face interaction is lost, even video conferencing offset this but it’s not the perfect solution. Also, there’s no alternative for this during some actions, especially those more cooperative in nature,” he added.
Meanwhile, co-working spaces are also evaluating the situation on the account that while the model of increased remote working has proven helpful in the social distancing.
Amid the continuous surge in the novel coronavirus cases in the country, the central government on Tuesday decided to extend the connectivity norms for work from home for BPO and IT companies till December 31.
The Department of Telecommunications on Tuesday in a tweet said, “DoT has further extended the relaxations in the terms and conditions for other service providers up to 31st December 2020 to facilitate work from home in view of the ongoing concern due to COVID-19,”.
