With the Covid-19 pandemic bringing about a paradigm shift in the working styles, a new survey suggests that about 66 percent of the employees in India prefer to work from the office, but only up to three days per week after getting vaccinated.
Of these, 53 percent prefer working from the office 2-3 days per week. In comparison, 13 percent prefer to work from the office once a week, revealed the market survey conducted by IndiQube, a Bengaluru-based flexible workspace provider.
About 73 percent of the employees find work from home (WFH) as equally or more productive compared to office-based work.
As per the respondents, the major advantage of WFH is saving time and effort in commuting (45 percent), and a better work-life balance as employees (21 percent) now choose to work on their own terms rather than the designated 9-5 shift.
“This strongly indicates an anticipated need for businesses to accommodate work from home as a part of their future office strategy,” said IndiQube.
On the other hand, 47 percent of employees reported extended work hours – more frequent meetings per day, more emails, and long workdays – as a major disadvantage of WFH. Others (28 percent) noted that juggling home and office tasks have been difficult while working from home.
About 71 percent of the employees also unanimously chose a combination of both – a fully remote and a fully office-based working style – while on the other extreme, 10 percent of employees would rarely or never want to return to the office.
The study suggests the need for developing an adaptive business to meet this difference in expectations of employees and embrace a hybrid working model to accommodate the new normal.
“Policies and workspaces now need to be redesigned to synthesize with both styles of working. This will allow the businesses to run smoothly and dynamically. To the businesses, the time invested in incorporating this change would definitely bring in higher returns in the long run with an even more productive workforce,” IndiQube said.
