Wipro has asked managers and above to return by March 3 for two days in a week.
Cognizant is planning to open its offices for a voluntary return to premises by April.
Infosys will open its offices to a larger share of employees in the next 3-4 months even as it expects to continue with the hybrid work model through 2022.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has put out a comprehensive remote working policy which entails mandatory work from the base location even if associates are working from home.
As the Omicron wave of Covid-19 wanes, companies have come to accept that the hybrid model will continue for the long term, though they are opening up their premises in phases for those employees who prefer to work from office.
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Wipro, which had shut down India campuses mid-January because of the surge in Covid-19 cases, will adopt a flexible, hybrid approach in its return to office policy, a company spokesperson told ET.
“Beginning March 3, fully vaccinated employees who are managers and above will have the option to return to work from our India campuses, twice a week, on Mondays and Thursdays. We will continue to extend the work from home arrangement for other employees,” the spokesperson said.
At Infosys, over 96% of its employees are still working remotely and the company does not envisage a sudden shift from this mode as the company continues to take precautions, said Richard Lobo, executive vice president, head HR, Infosys.
“Over the next few weeks, we will ease the restrictions we had placed in limiting office access to only essential employees and go back to our model of voluntary return to work…,” he said.
“In a steady state, subject to Covid scenarios, we expect a hybrid model in which approximately 40-50 % of employees are likely to work from office post subsequent phases of return to office. Over the next 3-4 months, if the situation stays stable, infection rates are low, and vaccination is higher, we will have a larger percentage of our workforce returning,” Lobo said.
Employees can choose the days they want to work in-person and Infosys expects to operate in a hybrid mode for most of the coming year.
TCS expects its staff to work from home in their “depute” locations even as it expects remote working to continue, according to internal emails sent to associates.
“With most of our associates across the globe vaccinated and the overall Covid-19 situation showing improvement, many of our associates have already started working out of TCS premises on a regular basis,” TCS said in an email to employees on Wednesday.
ET has seen a copy of the email.
“This number is only expected to increase in the coming months as we gradually transition into operating in a hybrid work arrangement,” TCS added.
While remote working will depend on the discretion of TCS clients, the company has informed associates that “secured remote locations where associates work from, must be located in the associate’s depute branch/location and at a commutable distance from TCS/customer office”.
This is part of TCS’ 25-by-25 long term vision where only a fourth of its employee base is expected to report to offices.
“We look forward to seeing our campuses bustling with young energy in the coming months, across all our global offices spread across 46 countries. We remain committed to adopting our futuristic and path-breaking 25X25 model…An important part of the journey to the 25/25 model is to first bring people back to physical offices and gradually transition into the hybrid work model,” TCS said in response to ET’s queries.
Meanwhile, Cognizant expects to have employees back on premise in phases for three days a week starting April, said Shantanu Jha, senior vice president, HR, Cognizant India.
“Cognizant aims to return to the office in a phased manner starting April 2022 as we monitor the uncertain path of the Omicron variant…Until then, travel will be restricted, and office-based work will remain voluntary. For employees not assigned to a client site or to working fully remotely, our new standard workweek under the hybrid model will consist of three days in the office and two from wherever they work best,” Jha told ET.
