3 in 4 staff in India's IT field refuse to go back to office

Software professional Harish Kulkarni, when asked by his employer in a June survey whether he wanted to return to working in the office or work from home (WFH), chose the latter.

So did nearly all his colleagues at the Bangalore-based firm, which is seeking to bring its employees back to the office at least twice a week.

"Some people have accepted two days (at the office), but everyone likes the WFH option," he said.

As India has eased Covid-19 restrictions and life returns to the pre-pandemic routine, information technology firms have found that employees are reluctant to return to the office full-time.

Three in four employees in the IT sector refuse to be in the office for even one day a week, said a recent survey by CIEL HR, an India-based staffing agency that surveyed 40 IT firms and 900,000 employees in May for The Economic Times. The survey also found that 10 per cent of new hires in the corporate sector are in permanent remote roles.

Recruiters said workers have become used to WFH, and are unwilling to go back to long commutes.

"I don't want to waste half my life commuting in the traffic jams of Bangalore," said senior data analyst Krithika Sandhu, 32, who recently quit to take up another full-time remote role. She wanted to work full-time and still be able to care for her elderly parents.

Discussions on job sites and professional websites LinkedIn, Naukri.com and Glassdoor showed that many professionals who had moved back to their home towns or to remote locations or set up functioning home offices had a stronger preference for WFH.

Local media reported in May that 800 employees of edutech start-up WhiteHat Jr resigned over a period of two months after being asked to work in the office.

"Stern orders to return to office are proving counterproductive. Unlike two years ago, not having WFH is a deal-breaker today. It is not a perk but a new standard in hiring," said a large IT firm's human resources manager, who declined to be named.

In a sector hamstrung by talent shortage, firms are also fearful of pushing too hard and losing workers - which gives employees the upper hand in negotiating their terms.

The US$200 billion (S$276 billion) Indian software industry that grew by a decade-high of 15.5 per cent in 2021-2022 is on a hiring spree, even as firms take measures to avoid attrition, which hit record levels early this year. IT giant Infosys, for instance, saw attrition rates rise to 28.4 per cent for the quarter ending June, up from 27.6 per cent for the previous quarter.

Across sectors, most of the resignations are by workers in the much sought-after services of big data, blockchain, cloud computing, cyber security and artificial intelligence, Bangalore-based HR firm Teamlease Services' co-founder Rituparna Chakraborty said.

A November 2021 survey by trade association Nasscom and job portal Indeed found that around 70 per cent of IT firms in India were opting for a hybrid work model.

Some firms have folded WFH into their sustainability goals. Cognizant's senior vice-president for HR Shantanu Jha said the firm had set "measurable net-zero goals" while transitioning to a hybrid work model.

"Reducing emissions in our operations, including business travel, is a part of this commitment," he said.