Remote Working and India

The concept of traditional work in India has gotten quite a modern makeover in the 21st Century. It no longer involves serpentine queues, crowded public transport, and desk phones that keep ringing off the hook. Earlier taken with a pinch of salt, remote working has famously become the chosen way by several Indian employees, especially in the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

Governments and employers alike are witnessing this trend in positive light and have begun to lay down infrastructural facilities to help promote it in India. According to a study conducted by IWG, about 53% Indian employees work remotely more than thrice a week whereas 95% believe that they are contributing more to the business by allowing employees to be productive on the move.

The second week of March 2020 has seen an increasing number of Indian State Governments sending out memos in favour of social distancing and remote working. This initiative is mirrored in companies such as Infosys, and Wipro Ltd. who have urged their employees to work from home wherever possible.

However, that now appears to have been just the start. A report titled, ‘Freelancer Incomes Around the World’ was published in the year 2018. The main finding herein was the astounding fact that 15 million urban Indians are already living the dream of working without having to step outside of their homes.

Regular, 9-to-5, full-time employees working from home or on the road are only part of the story. In an economy where on-demand or contingent workers - freelancers, contractors, consultants, the self-employed, and an influx of millennials whose work is considered part of the gig economy - form the fastest-growing share of the workforce, unconventional workspace arrangements have become routine.

Although a laggard in this specific vertical, India is actively striving towards making remote working a new normal. A number of leading companies in different industries have fully embraced the concept of a remote workforce and telecommunicating with start-ups leading the bandwagon.

Analysts forecast that there will soon come a time when remote working will merge with the concept of working. However, that assumption was made before the notion of a global pandemic became a real likelihood. Indian corporate outfits are already at the tipping point of this novel scenario.

The imminent spread of the novel corona virus has threatened the wellbeing of millions leading to shutting down of schools, transit, and work facilities wherever people could congregate and infect one another. Major cities in affected countries including India have begun to look like ghost towns with empty streets, stores and offices.

What started with municipal lockdowns and weeks of quarantine, has taken a national fervour. Whether self-imposed or by mandate, remote working has become the standard response for officials in Asia, Europe and the Middle East. Healthy people have been directed to remain in their homes to avoid catching or transmitting the virus, and hospitals are struggling to help the infected. Yet, the need for economic productivity continues.

At the same time, however, the building blocks of a global, home-based workforce are already in place: a combination of the growing number of jobs connected to computer networks, the near universal ownership of cell phones and ubiquitous availability of personal computers, all linked together by technologies providing connectivity service.

According to the president of Global Workplace Analytics, Kate Lister, “What these temporary uses tend to do is show companies that, A) it can be done, and B) having people already accustomed to working remotely makes the transition much easier.”

Experience has shown that working remotely stands to benefit employers and employees in a number of ways:

40 to 45 % Indian professionals believe they would save their employers money by eliminating underused office space.

Employers can tap into talent anywhere around the world since their workforce isn’t location dependent. Diversity - which many companies regard as an asset to their workforce - can also grow more easily.

Better morale among employees with less turnover, lower absenteeism and greater engagement is a likely outcome, even with part-time work from home allowances. Flexible scheduling is a high priority for most employees, and remote work enables it.

Higher productivity has been repeatedly cited by professionals who work remotely.

As an economic development tool, it can help attract new residents to struggling rural communities where living costs are low.

Remote work can make an organization’s personnel more inclusive by enabling people with certain disabilities or chronic illness to participate.

For Indians, ‘working’ is no longer a linear concept but has taken over a more fluid outlook. With all the command-control issues being smoothed over and workaround being put into place, professionals have come to realise that work is more of a state of mind. Abounding flexibility, productivity and psychological benefits as its by-products have led to the inclusion of remote work into mainstream, Indian lifestyle. The pandemic of COVID-19 may be instrumental in creating a leaner, yet remotely stronger workforce.

Author can be reached on krunal.patel@teamviewer.com