IT employees seek WFH options as work from office resumes

A huge chunk of employees are ready to resign for remote opportunities elsewhere. But will this threat work?

Even as Covid-19 is a distant worry in most employees’ minds now, they are exploring the job market for more flexible opportunities as IT service companies restart work from office, according to a recent survey, reported The Economic Times.

Nearly 88 per cent of IT employees in top firms are ready to resign from their current roles, 46 per cent of which are looking for work-from-home opportunities as their current job requires them to go to work. These comprise mostly of mothers and caregivers. The other 46 per cent are seeking higher pay, a survey by staffing services firm CIEL HR Services showed.

The remaining 8 per cent are against employers’ restrictive policy of working from office as commuting and extra office hours cut into their personal time for pursuing hobbies etc.

However, a reported slowdown in India’s current job market may tip the scales in favour of the companies in this case and threats of resignations may not work for employees.

“Threats of this nature might have had teeth a few months back in the candidate-controlled job market. But now with fewer jobs chasing talent and more employers returning to hybrid or work-from-office, candidates have fewer choices for full-time work-from-home,” Anil Ethanur, co-founder of staffing solutions company Xpheno, told ET.

Remote working has not been easy on companies as they fight a slowdown in business and morale issues. The recent issue has been moonlighting. This is why firms are insisting on calling employees back to office.

Top IT players like HCL Tech and TCS have called employees to office at least three days a week, while Infosys has relaxed even that, mandating no number of office days in a month.