Half of India's workforce willing to return to offices by January

As India reopens, over 50 per cent of the workforce in the country is likely to return to offices for up to three days a week starting January, a Nasscom report said on Monday.

The workforce up to age 25 are most likely to return to the workplace by this month, followed by employees aged 40 and above in the following months, according to the report brought out by the IT industry's apex body in association with job portal Indeed.

Nearly 70 per cent of organisations in India are exploring hybrid operating models, as IT services and global capability centres (GCCs) are likely to be early adopters of a long-term hybrid work model.

"The industry is now prepared to gradually reopen and is looking at perfecting a hybrid operating model which brings in the best of both onsite and remote operating models," said Debjani Ghosh, President, Nasscom.

"We encourage tech companies to process the reopening in a phased and safe manner while keeping the employee's health and safety as the topmost priority," she said in a statement.

Female workforce in the tech industry in India is equally interested in returning to the workplace and adapting to newer working models.

While 28 per cent of employees are interested in returning to the workplace in a month, 24 per cent of the workforce would prefer to return to the workplace after 6 months.

Nearly 57 per cent of organisations will reach readiness to re-open office spaces within 3 months and 72 per cent of organisations are looking at up to 50 per cent of their workforce returning to office in 2022, the findings showed.

According to the report, both employees and employers are equally interested in making a comeback to the workplace in a hybrid setup.

The report also states that female employees are also excited about returning to offices and adapting to newer working models.

"Since the pandemic hit businesses across the globe, pushing employees indoors, many believed that the future of work was 'remote'. However, organisations and employees gradually realised that remote work is an outcome of the pandemic and not an evolved approach to workplace planning," said Sashi Kumar, Head of Sales, India, Indeed.com.

The report said that though over 81 per cent of organisations expressed that employee health and safety remains the key consideration for them while reopening the offices, 72 per cent of organisations are looking at operating at a maximum of 50 per cent employee capacity starting next year itself.