Companies still weighing work from home appeal
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Corporate India on Monday backed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for spending restraints, with leading drugmaker Mankind Pharma saying the firm has already reduced air travel and hotel stays.
Rajeev Juneja, vice-chairman and managing director (MD) of Mankind, said a pan-Indian meeting of the company executives slated for this week is being held virtually to cut down on flying and hotel stays. This trend will likely continue for future meetings as well, he added.
The measure reflected the general mood in corporate India. Industry leaders agreed the crisis in West Asia called for extraordinary measures.
To help curb fuel consumption, Modi had on Sunday called for the adoption of Covid-era practices such as work from home, virtual meetings and reduced travel. The PM reiterated this message at a gathering in Vadodara on Monday. “The West Asia crisis is one of the worst in the decade; just as we overcame the Covid-19 pandemic, we will come out of this also,” the PM asserted. “Whenever India faced war or any other major crisis, citizens fulfilled their responsibilities upon the government’s appeal; we need to do the same today,” he said.
Telecom tycoon Sunil Bharti Mittal said the country was moving at a “fantastic” speed, growing at 6-7 per cent year-on-year. “Generally things are looking very, very good. But there are situations that develop which are beyond anybody’s control.” The West Asia crisis was creating tremendous pressure on global economies and India was no exception, the Bharti Enterprises chairman said.
“I think we in the industry need to play our role. We need to play our part. We have employment of millions of people. We can take his message forward in a very deep and meaningful way,” Mittal said at the annual business summit of the Confederation of Indian Industry.
“We need to get away from this obsession of import of gold. We need to lower our energy costs. We need to move faster towards renewable energy in our industry.”
Sunil Kant Munjal, chairman of Hero Enterprise, pointed to the uncertainty and lack of clarity over when a solution would emerge to the West Asia crisis.
“Considering that we are one of the largest importers of energy in the world, it is only sensible that we start conserving energy and see how we can become more efficient,” he said.
Shobhana Kamineni of Apollo Hospitals said Modi was not asking the country to slow its economic growth of 6.5-7 per cent, but only seeking “a bit of rationalisation”.
The crisis, she said, “will hit us, because the cost of living is going to increase. But it’s a short-term thing. So we support the Prime Minister.”
Anish Shah, group CEO & MD, Mahindra Group, said at a time when the world is navigating heightened energy volatility, these measures underscore the importance of responsible consumption and long-term sustainability. “For India, this is also an opportunity to accelerate the transition towards cleaner, more efficient energy systems.”
However, with regard to specific measures, India Inc was still weighing its options.
Work from home (WFH), Munjal said, was not happening right now. “But I think some people will take this up as a good practice.”
Kamineni said, “We have to work together.” While India was less affected than many other countries, it has a large population and “we have a responsibility to it,” she added.
For India, he said, this is also an opportunity to accelerate the transition towards cleaner, more efficient energy systems. As a group with a strong presence across mobility, energy, and sustainability, Mahindra remains committed to advancing electrification, investing in renewable energy solutions, and driving innovations that reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
IT employees’ body Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES) urged the Ministry of Labour and Employment to issue an advisory directing information technology firms, as well as IT-enabled service and digitally deliverable service companies to implement mandatory WFH, wherever operationally feasible, “for an appropriate period in the larger national interest”.
In a statement, NITES president Harpreet Singh Saluja said the experience of the pandemic had clearly established that mandatory work from home in suitable IT and digitally deliverable roles was practical, technologically feasible and operationally sustainable.
The Covid-19 pandemic ushered in the WFH culture, and some companies — particularly in the IT sector — continue to operate in a hybrid mode.
Industry body Nasscom said the technology industry in India continues to operate along well-established hybrid work models, with organisations calibrating WFH and in-office arrangements, based on role requirements and customer needs.
In light of the ongoing tensions in West Asia, companies have adopted prudent energy-management measures across campuses, including optimising non-essential consumption, rationalising select facility services, and enabling remote or hybrid work where operationally appropriate to reduce overall energy usage and commuting, Nasscom said.
“We are closely monitoring developments and remain engaged with industry stakeholders and government authorities to ensure a coordinated and responsible response,” it added.
Among major IT companies, TCS has made it mandatory for employees to work from office five days a week, while Infosys requires employees to be in office for at least 10 days a month and Wipro follows a three-days-a-week office policy.
A senior executive at a top consultancy firm told Business Standard that since the epidemic, the firm has been finding it hard to convince employees — senior as well as junior — to come to office regularly. “It was only a few months ago that attendance became regular. Seniors as well as juniors have only now started coming to the office regularly.”
“Consultants have to work long hours. It is not as if the work stops after they reach home. Therefore, their demand for WFH had merit,” he added.
The consultancy firm will take a call if and when there’s a formal advisory or notification from the government on this.
A senior executive at a top automobile firm echoed the view, saying the firm’s management has taken note of the PM’s message, but will wait for a formal advisory from the government.
“Preparing a duty roster — if a major portion of people are working from home — for a manufacturing firm like ours becomes a major task. So, let’s see how the government pushes this matter in the coming days,” he added.
To be sure, some companies have retained flexibility in work arrangements as a carryover from the pandemic. Tata Motors, for instance, has continued with a hybrid working model at Bombay House, allowing employees to work from home for a fixed number of days each month.
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