Bengaluru: More than a year after work from home (WFH) take off, some experts believe that the pre-covid office model may be on the way out and the hybrid system will be the future of workplace.
They say this system will be agile, experimental and empathy, supporting remote settings, and only a few employees will be physically requested in the office on certain days.
The trend is discussed during the webinar, ‘the future of work – can business as usual?’, Organized by the Bangalore International Center (BIC) recently.
Indraneel Banerjee, Mitra, McKinsey & Company (India), said that plans for future workplaces were still alleged and would play in several places.
“When we run the survey, we found that the average, productivity has worked well in remote settings.
We also realize that a large number of roles throughout the industry can be done remotely.
Of course, candidates in roles that require collaboration, data , and IP security will be asked to return to the office, “he said.
He added that 56 percent of companies saw the future as a hybrid and while 75 percent of employees agreed with him.
“In fact, 29 percent of employees say they will move if most work moves to the office,” he said.
Ajay Vij, MD from geographical services, Indian Accenture, said that the workplace is no longer a physical space but a mental place.
To adopt hybrid settings, questions that need to be overcome by the industry are who will come to the office and when.
“They have to find out who will come to the office, how often and what their goals are.
In the future, there might be something between home and office, such as a shared workspace where people will need remote space to call,” he said.
“I sometimes joked with my developer friends that every big apartment now must have office space 50 seating inside their clubhouse.” Krish Shankar, Head of Group, HRD, Infosys, said that the Hybrid workplace will open part-time opportunities, and HR policy must evolve with this.
But the transition to a hybrid model might not be simple.
It must overcome burnout challenges, the limits of work life run away and mental and gender problems.
Anjali Varma, a HR consultant, said that 2020 was the year Burnouts and organizations began taking the welfare of employees seriously.
Shankar said that caregivers who worked facing extra pressure, with digital intensity of rising jobs and decreased relaxation hours.
“Previously, people came home 6 or 19:30, turned off their work mode and relaxed.
But now, the limit has gone,” he said.
“Organizations must give people rest, time to overcome things at home, revive the purpose behind their work and encourage them to improve their social network.” Even though WFH looks friendly at first, the number of women falling from work scenes last year is seven times more than men, Anjali said.
Banerjee said that employees want a more agile workplace with the level of flexibility and self reporting.
He added that 44 percent of the 5,000 people surveyed were worried that returning to work can affect their mental health.