From TCS and Infosys to Microsoft and Kissflow ⁠— this is what top execs have to say about productivity in remote working

• The shift to digital technologies and remote working setup due to the COVID crisis has put productivity at center stage for both the employees and the employer.
  
• IT majors including Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro, Tech Mahindra and HCL Technologies believe that employees have now adjusted to the shift in the workforce model and the productivity has also gone up.
  
• C Vijayakumar, CEO of HCL Technologies says that the company has not faced any major outages due to work from home delivery model and the productivity has, in fact, increased significantly.
  

The shift to digital technologies and remote working setup due to the COVID crisis has put productivity at center stage for both the employees and the employer.

According to NASSCOM, India’s IT workforce accounts for 4.36 million employees and over 95% of them have moved to work from home model. And the good part is — this transition overnight has either increased productivity or left it unchanged.

Working remotely has in fact increased productivity

IT majors including Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, Wipro, Tech Mahindra and HCL Technologies believe that most of their employees will continue to work from home even after the pandemic is over — that is because people have now adjusted to the shift in the workforce model and the productivity has also gone up.

C Vijayakumar, CEO of HCL Technologies says that the company has not faced any major outages due to work from home delivery model and the productivity has, in fact, increased significantly. “We have realized that our employee productivity has gone up by 16-17%,” HCL said. Tech Mahindra too says that the productivity, creativity and delivery has been “at an all-time-high.”

Infosys said that a third of its workforce will permanently work from home. “Considering there has been no loss of productivity with remote working, we want to ensure that return to office is not rushed, and takes into account all elements of employee safety and wellbeing as well as business deliverables,” Richard Lobo, EVP and Head HR at Infosys told ET.

To facilitate smooth transition, the companies are also using online collaboration tools and other engagement techniques. “To ensure that our employees are not over working and reassure their productivity , we have implemented many employee-focused initiatives to ensure that employees have better control on their schedules and keep up with high-priority tasks,” said (SK) Shreeranganath Kulkarni, CDO at Birlasoft. The company says over 99% of its employees are working from home.

While there are a few who are experimenting with the alternate work from home model, closely assessing the impact on productivity. “This may become a permanent move depending on a productivity assessment in 6 months. We will make a conscious effort to hire employees who will thrive in a remote work environment,” Suresh Sambandam, CEO of Kissflow, a SaaS company told the Times of India.

Working remotely can bring work life balance?

Studies have shown that Asian countries have the longest working hours, globally. And the COVID crisis may have pushed it further. In India, employees work for more than 48 hours in a week — that is way more than the directed limit by the International Labour Organisation (ILO). However, the remote working model might help the employees attain the much needed work-life balance.

Microsoft, that provides online collaboration tools like Teams, says that productivity is different for everyone. “Our data shows that a more flexible workday created by remote work is allowing people to work when it’s best for them. From March 1–31, the average time between a person’s first use of Teams and last use of Teams each day increased by over one hour. This doesn’t necessarily mean people are working more hours per day, rather that they are breaking up the day in a way that works for their personal productivity or makes space for obligations outside of work,” said Samik Roy, Country Head, Modern Workplace at Microsoft India.