More than half of IT companies struggle to get employees back to the office: Report

New Delhi: Three in four employees working in information technology (IT) companies in India are not coming to office even once a week despite their organisations resuming work from office (WFO) according to a survey conducted by CIEL HR.

Many IT companies are also going easy on their return-to-office policy as they fear coercion may trigger more resignations.

CIEL surveyed 40 IT companies in India, including those among the top 10, employing a total of about 900,000 employees.

Transition to WFO has been difficult with most employees seeking work from home (WFH) or elsewhere, said Aditya Mishra, CEO, CIEL HR Services.

Among the companies surveyed by CIEL, 30% are operating in WFH mode while the remaining have either resumed WFO or intend to get employees back into the office soon. But these employees are not yet open to the idea of switching from WFH mode.

“Demand for tech talent is high, adding to the attrition woes,” Mishra said. “As a result, companies are prepared for a long transition time and are not pushing the RTO agenda rigorously.”

About 40% of IT companies are operating in hybrid mode, asking employees to work from the office at least a few (one-three) days a week. These companies have seen less than 25% of their employees turning up at work and are experiencing a slower-than-expected transition.




As many as 30% of companies, which are relatively smaller, want employees in office on all working days. “As they are typically smaller in size, they need greater collaboration and hence insist on returning to office,” said Mishra.

Wipro and Tech Mahindra are offering employees flexibility.

“Workforces over a span of just three years are moving towards boundariless careers and employees can work from anywhere... Hybrid working will remain the mainstay for Wipro,” said a company spokesperson in an emailed response.

Those employed in the IT sector have choices and they are using attrition as a leverage, said the HR head of a leading IT services company, where less than 10% staff are currently coming to the office.

“At Tech Mahindra, we believe in ‘wellness before business’ and our associates continue to have the flexibility to work from anywhere and we expect this trend of hybrid working to ramp up,” said global chief people officer Harshvendra Soin.

Employees across organisations are mostly allowed to choose which days they want to work from office. According to the survey, developers are offered maximum flexibility while those support functions, infrastructure management, architects and senior managers are coming to office almost daily.

Companies working in hybrid mode are giving new recruits one to three months to relocate, allowing them to work from home until then, said Mishra.