Most people in corporate India work 24*7 these days, thanks to ‘flexible timing’

Corporate jobs in India are following a different time zone. Gone are the days when swiping identity card at 10 o’clock in the morning was mandatory. Moving away from 8.5 hour office timing, India Inc has redefined ‘working hours’ altogether. The only thing that matters to corporate jobs these days is to get your work done. That’s it.

When start up companies has flexible timing culture with dinner on the house and people staying in office till late night, corporate offices are also lenient on office timings. This has made life easy for everyone. No longer do they struggle for quick breakfasts and get stuck in traffic jams. Flexible work hours and working from home have benefitted both the employers and the employees.

“One could be away from office or enjoying a quiet weekend, and still take in a little time with the laptop or phone to move along that critical piece of work and not keep it waiting till one gets back to the office. This flexibility works well in reverse too. While one is at work, it's easy now to connect with a child's care centre to be assured that everything is fine there," Sunita Rebecca Cherian, senior VP (HR), Wipro told the Economic Times.

But then the employee would need to reply to some urgent mails right after dinner because office culture is 24*7 these days. Thanks to Whatsapp, you just cannot say that email isn’t opening.


Organisations aren't concerned with the number of hours employees spend by physically being present in the office. All they measure now is the outcome. Some organisations like Mondelez India Foods have a concierge service for employees. Yet, they do not frown upon a person who comes in late because they were caught up with personal issues, so long as the work gets done, according to an ET news report.

"Today , it's considered pretty normal to be managing personal exigencies during work hours. It's pretty much the way the world is going. Talent is not hiding it any more. Earlier, people would quickly change the screen if they were on FB. Today , when you happen to pass by , if they are listening to music, they are listening to music. As long as you finish what you have to do, it's fine. What I like about the change is the honesty -it's not clandestine any more," R Mahalakshmi, director (HR), Mondelez India, who believes the whole notion of measuring hours is "dead" told the ET.