Omicron scare makes companies wary of resuming work-from-office

With the spread of the Omicron Coronavirus variant in India, Indian companies are once again considering to ban overseas trips of their employees and allowing only essential travel within the nation.

The new variant has created panic once again as countries have started announcing travel curbs to stop the spread of Omicron.

The IT services firms, which had planned to ask their employees to work from office, are also waiting and watching the Covid-19 situation before fully opening the offices, reported Business Standard.

Also Read | Omicron is fast moving, but perhaps less severe, early reports suggest

“Our priority is employee security and well-being. Though the company has asked employees to return to their cities from November 15, there is still no definite date for them to come back to the office,” a TCS spokesperson told BS.

TCS further said that the company was continuously monitoring the current situation and right now employees are coming in a staggered manner. The company also made sure that all employees are fully vaccinated, he added.

On the other hand, another big IT company Tech Mahindra has given an option to the employees to choose the location as per their convenience.

Also Read — Omicron vs Delta: Battle of Covid mutants is critical

“We have put in place defined measures in line with the directives issued by respective state governments, to ensure a safe work environment for our associates. Our associates have the flexibility to work from anywhere and we expect the trend of hybrid working to continue. The approach we’ve taken is largely voluntary for people — the only thing we’re insisting is full vaccination. Over 98 per cent of our associates are vaccinated (at least one dose) and of that, only 20 per cent are working from offices. Most of our senior leaders are also working from the office,” BS quoted Harshvendra Soin, global chief people officer and head-marketing, at Tech Mahindra.

With over 23 Omicron cases in India right now, the Centre has asked all the states to ramp up testing and vaccination rollout in the states for passengers coming from abroad.

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