Despite vaccination, offices may not go back to normal

20 Sep , 2021 By : monika singh

Despite declining covid cases and a steady vaccination drive, doubt remains if offices can go back to business as usual. Staffing companies say that a part of the migrant population may not be willing to come back to physically attend office anymore.

Around 15% of those who migrated to their hometowns are considering permanently residing there as they benefit from the lower cost of living, Adecco India CMD Vidya Sagar Gannamani told TOI.

Besides that, a lot of them come from smaller towns, which means they benefit from the recently improved infrastructure and connectivity.
Adecco added that nearly 70% of the migrant workforce is in the junior to mid-management level. At the senior management level, the number is 10-15%. Lower cost of operations, local talent and other such reasons have pushed even mid-size and large businesses to extend their operations to smaller towns.
A study on the workforce distribution of Adecco India’s employees and associates indicates that more than 60% of those who migrated to their hometowns want to extend their stay temporarily.

The crisis is unleashing economic, behavioural, and structural changes that are forcing both employers and employees to rethink all aspects of workforce management — from supply chains to distributed work. It is also creating a unique chance to embed inclusive workforce practices from top to bottom. During the pandemic, most companies succeeded in engaging the full talents and abilities of their workforce via remote working practices, while they migrated back to their hometowns,” Gannamani said. ..

NSE -2.38 % MD & group CEO Suraj Moraje said to TOI, “Since most IT companies continue to work in remote mode even now, it’s difficult to state if the migrant working population has returned to cities. Once companies ask their employees to report to work locations, we may see workers moving back to metros. Also, new hires may be instructed to work from the office instead of working from home.”
Quess Corp also said that there has been an upward surge in hiring trends in metro cities which are reflective of their demand. “With vaccination drives being carried out at a rapid pace, companies are planning to recall up to 25% of manpower currently working from home, in adherence to government norms,” Moraje added.
However, CIEL HR Services CEO Aditya Mishra said, “opportunities for them in their home towns are limited and some of them get used to the work environment and the lifestyle in the cities. Hence, the cities will always attract people from the small towns and villages.” He also added that 70 per cent of the migrant labour at the bottom of the pyramid have returned to the cities. These are mostly those that work in manufacturing, supply chain, construction, e-commerce and retail.