Hyderabad IT companies yet to take a call on RTO

Many IT companies in the city prefer hybrid model of work. The managements are adopting a wait-and-watch approach to decide on return to office

- Bharani K Aroll, president, Hysea

Working From Home Vs Office

- Number of Omicron cases increasing

- 95% employees of large cos, 75-80% of mid-sized cos and 30-40% of small firms still in WFH mode

- Most of IT firms not yet prepared to bring back their employees to the offices

- However, IT industry intends to return to office work from March onwards

Hyderabad: A majority of IT/ITeS, BPO and software service firms in Hyderabad are willing to continue work from home (WFH) model this year amid the rising number of Covid-19 cases and Omicron infecting even the vaccinated people. Most of these companies have not yet prepared to bring back their employees to the offices. They are closely watching the impact of the new variant to take the next step.

According to an analysis by the Hyderabad Software Enterprises Association (Hysea) members, about 95 per cent employees of large companies, 75-80 per cent of mid-sized companies, and 30-40 per cent of small companies are still in the WFH mode. City-based apex IT industry body anticipates that the percentage of workforce opting WFH will remain in the same way or it will grow further this year. Hysea is supporting the IT companies' efforts to return to office even it recognises the longevity of Hybrid model of working. It is very apparent that the hybrid work model is here to stay for long. Yet the IT industry is poised to increase its return to office proportion beginning March this year, depending on the impact of the Omicron variant of the Coronavirus.

Bharani K Aroll, president, Hysea, said: "Many IT companies in the city prefer hybrid model of work. The managements are adopting a wait-and-watch approach to decide on return to office (RTO). They are taking cautious stand in terms of bringing their employees back to office.

The chances for RTO are very less during this year as the impact of the Omicron variant is being witnessed across India."

Based on the data provided by the Union Health Ministry, close to 2.47 lakh Covid infections were reported across the country on Wednesday taking the total tally to 3.63 lakh, including 5,488 cases of the Omicron variant. On the same day, Telangana reported 2,707 new Covid cases, taking the tally to above 7.03 lakh, while the death toll rose to 4,049 with two more fatalities.

Telangana Information Technology Association (TITA) is conducting a survey on the number of employees availing WFH option across the State. It will come out with a report by the end of this week. TITA Global President Sandeep Kumar Makthala said: "From the past two years, the WFH processes have been streamlined across the IT industry. The WFH will continue to spread in rural areas also."

"This unplanned experiment of hybrid work has become a successful model. While several IT companies are about to start the RTO from January 2022, the surge in Omicron cases has stalled their plans to RTO. This year, the hybrid work will continue and the demand for co-working spaces will increase tremendously in tier-II and tier-III cities of the State," he predicted.