As Covid-19 cases continue to decline, several IT firms have started recalling their employees back to the offices. However, employees don’t seem too excited to return to the pre-Covid normal after two years of working from the comfort of their homes. In view of this, most IT employees are looking out for more flexible job opportunities.
According to a survey by staffing services firm CIEL HR Services, about 88 per cent of employees in top IT companies are ready to quit their current jobs instead of returning to the offices. This 88 per cent also includes about 46 per cent working mothers and caregivers are seeking work from home (WFH) opportunities.
Another 46 per cent are willing to leave for better paying jobs. The rest about 8 per cent want to leave because they see their employer’s demand of return to work as restrictive, preventing them from pursuing other hobbies and passions with more time spent on commuting, etc., according to a report in Economic Times.
“Return to offices curtails their independence and affects their lifestyle,” said CIEL CEO Aditya Misra.
The survey on talent mobility in the IT sector was conducted in early October and covered 1,000 respondents from 19 leading IT companies.
On the one hand, companies are recalling employees back to the office premises, employees are responding with resignation threats. However, this might not work out well for the employees amid a slight slowdown in hiring, according to recruitment services experts.
Officials at staffing firms Adecco and Xpheno said they expect employees to mostly toe the line as companies call them back to offices. “Threats of this nature might have had teeth a few months back in the candidate-controlled job market,” said Anil Ethanur, cofounder at Xpheno.
But now, with fewer jobs chasing talent and more employers returning to hybrid or work from office (WFO), candidates have fewer choices for fulltime WFH, he said, adding that if anything, threats to quit in response to WFO can at best be a paper tiger in the current scenario.
IT firms’ troubles
Even as they are battling high attrition rates, IT companies are also dealing with multiple challenges in a remote working setup. “On one hand, they are facing a slowdown in new orders and even in the pace of existing projects. On the other hand, they are worried about moonlighting (among employees) and concerned about employee productivity,” CIEL’s Misra said.
Companies asking employees to return to office
Several leading IT firms like TCS, Wipro, HCL Tech have started sending emails to employees asking them to return to the office. HCL Tech is encouraging employees to come three days a week to offices and so is TCS. Wipro has also asked employees to work from office at least three days a week.
Bengaluru-based Infosys, on the other hand, is allowing employees to work from home with no mandated fixed number of days in office.
