[gthang]

Originally Posted by Samurai

I don't know how well these electric ones work. The manual one works by applying the right pressure. It is a skill.

Been using one for couple of years now. Very fast and easy to clean the blades.
Some skill required with the motorized one as well. Again, right pressure is key, similar motion as stationary, but more efficient scraping because of the rotating blades.

Cheers

[AltoLXI]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Of course, you have to know how to grate. I have noticed that even cooks in Bangalore don't know how to use it. I learned because of my coastal background.

I don't know how well these electric ones work. The manual one works by applying the right pressure. It is a skill.

We have been using something like this since ages but the one you have is really good. Simple, effective and one need not sit down. In fact today morning, I grated one coconut. This task is always assigned to me by default. Amazon link you have provided does not list the one you have.

[locusjag]

Hi All, now that the Central Govt has enacted a landmark change - it has basically ended the License Raj for the IT industry. The industry doesn't need to do these any longer - have safety deposits, periodically submit network diagrams, commit to physical work locations for employees etc.

Here's a news report for more details - but i'm more interested in what our members think about this: https://www.livemint.com/companies/n...594622132.html

Does this mean that companies will actually allow most of their employees to work from home? What do you think? Just because they can, from a regulatory perspective, does it mean that they will? Why not?

[am1m]

Originally Posted by locusjag

Does this mean that companies will actually allow most of their employees to work from home? What do you think? Just because they can, from a regulatory perspective, does it mean that they will? Why not?

I'm no expert in interpreting the change in regulations, and most of the news reports I read seem pretty light on actual facts but seem to be just recycling the same press release (issued by the Govt and NASSCOM most probably), so we'll have to wait for a real expert to comment.

From what I can gather, these new changes seem to make it much easier to setup a IT/ITES/BPO venture and does away with a lot of unnecessary legacy compliance process. Which is great by itself of course, kudos to the government for making it easier.

But whether that translates to most or more IT companies actually making WFH more of a 'feature not a bug' thing; I'm not sure it changes anything in that aspect. (Experts please correct, if that's a wrong assumption.) The media has, of course, used the "WFH permanent!" headline because it knows that will attract eyeballs.

IMHO, the biggest hurdle to making WFH possible here is and will always remain the corporate culture of several Indian IT organizations and 'management' mindset. Not anything that the government can be held responsible for or can do much to change. (Heck even on this thread, the number of "employees can't be trusted to work productively outside the office" responses from (presumably) younger IT professionals has been an eye-opener. No wonder we become the managers we have!)

[locusjag]

Originally Posted by am1m

IMHO, the biggest hurdle to making WFH possible here is and will always remain the corporate culture of several Indian IT organizations and 'management' mindset. ...(Heck even on this thread, the number of "employees can't be trusted to work productively outside the office" responses from (presumably) younger IT professionals has been an eye-opener.)

An organizational culture where a company views its employees as being inherently untrustworthy will be a roadblock for WFH adoption, sure.

Anyway, my wish is for our cities to be freed from the death clutch of industries being concentrated there. We badly need our people to stay where they are and to contribute to their rural native places by spending what they earn right there. I want to make Chennai liveable again by wishing for the city to drain itself out. I can wish.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by locusjag

Anyway, my wish is for our cities to be freed from the death clutch of industries being concentrated there.

Ah, that is a whole other topic. I don't think just IT industries moving to a WFH model will de-congest our cities. Sure some traffic black spots and jams will be removed, but if you just take Bangalore, traffic is pretty much back, except in the 'IT corridors', even though most IT companies are still not open physically yet.

People prefer cities for several reasons, not just work. Schools for kids, facilities, entertainment. And what I've realized is while all of us complain about traffic and congested conditions, it's an acceptable trade-off for a lot of people. Perhaps for most people. Life is better in cities than back home for a lot of people. It's people like us who perhaps have grown up in the cities and have seen what they have become that feel this way. Even for us, I'm sure there have been several advantages with that kind of growth too.

So de-congesting a city is a whole lot more than just one industry moving to a WFH model. A badly planned city with an inefficient and corrupt civic body (which, let's face it, is the case with most of our cities) will remain a tiring place to live and work irrespective of which industries move out.

[DigitalOne]

My company has now officially declared WFH till 30-June-2021, though it was anyway widely anticipated and came as no surprise.

Got to feel for the people in support services like transport, catering etc. Even a local iron-wallah :(.

[IshWish]

Let me share my two cents on this topic.

I work for an Indian company in Delhi which has many sister concerns under one umbrella. They have one construction company as well which construct commercial space and lease it out to Corporate and MNCs.

As compared to 2019, most of the Big Corporates & MNCs have stopped inquiring about the commercial space, as they have literally stopped investing in such spaces. They have implemented WFH policy for most of the departments and may not let go of this policy till end of next year.

Now you may be thinking that BUSINESS MAY NOT BE GOOD for this company as they may not be getting any clients in 2020. But its far from reality.

Most of the companies which are inquiring about the commercial space and are actually getting those spaces on long term lease are LOCAL/INDIAN COMPANIES. Reason? They don't trust their employees very much as the duration from March-June 2020 didn't inspire any confidence among the leaders/owners of those companies. Most of the companies are small to medium scale having somewhere between 10-100 employees. Leaders/Owners want their employees to be in front of them.

I think we Indians are still stuck with the concept of having Quantity over Quality and it may be difficult for us to let it go.

[am1m]

My wife and I who are both working remotely, in a different state from our home/office state both had a pleasant experience with remote IT support from our companies.

Both of us have been with our present companies for over 10 years now and historically, both IT departments have been very rigid in their processes. Anything to do with hardware replacement or repair meant strictly in house because of data security concerns. No exceptions.

Last week my wife's laptop started heating up. Obvious heat sink and cooling fan issue. At the same time my laptop popped up for scheduled replacement because it was out of warranty. Based on past experiences dealing with IT, we both started making plans for the drive back to Bangalore, with the inevitable hassles at state borders and requirement for covid negative test reports, given the recent rise in cases.

So was a pleasant surprise when her IT dept said she could contact a local authorized brand service provider and get the technican to come home and replace the laptop fan and heat sink thermal paste. Even more of a surprise, my IT guys too said it would be ok to push the mandatory replacement date by a couple of months when I'd be heading back home anyway.

Both problems solved, no need to drive up and down just for that and no data security issues. Good that some companies are becoming flexible in their thinking to support the remote work situation.

Two points: 1. It took a pandemic to work some commonsense into these formerly 'inflexible' processes, this could easily have been the case pre-covid too. 2. Hope this sort of forward thinking persists even when things go back to normal.

[condor]

Originally Posted by am1m

Two points: 1. It took a pandemic to work some commonsense into these formerly 'inflexible' processes, this could easily have been the case pre-covid too. 2. Hope this sort of forward thinking persists even when things go back to normal.

I wont say this is inflexible. Data Security is a serious concern, and hence no courier of such items. While it was good that they allowed local technician to replace the parts - with the rider "at home", the deferment of replacement was logical.

Replacement of the laptop itself due to scheduled refresh can definitely wait.

If you are commenting on the policies of the two organizations, wait:
In our org, if a person moves from one location to another, then the laptop at old location must be surrendered at the old location before getting another one at the new location. So when a person has already moved and we want to regularize the move, the person or representative must physically, personally return at old location. The company does not allow a courier - and they wont do it themselves either. At no point is couriering allowed.

Data security is a serious serious matter. Better be extra safe than jeopardize organization's data security.

[ike]

Originally Posted by condor

Data security is a serious serious matter. Better be extra safe than jeopardize organization's data security.

In my company they courier the brand new laptop and ask to keep the old one with you for the time being and return it when people are back in office.

Laptops for new joiners are also couriered to their place, wherever they currently are. I guess a brand new laptop can be couriered since it will not have (?) a lot of sensitive data.

[DudeWithaFiat]

Originally Posted by condor

Replacement of the laptop itself due to scheduled refresh can definitely wait.

Data security is a serious serious matter. Better be extra safe than jeopardize organization's data security.

If a company follows good security practices and has strong security policies, then it is safe to assume that employee laptops have encrypted harddrives. The data would be safe even if the laptop ends up in wrong hands. My company just couriered me a brand new laptop from Pune to Kochi when the current laptop ran out of warranty. s

[am1m]

Originally Posted by condor

Data security is a serious serious matter. Better be extra safe than jeopardize organization's data security.

Very true. Not saying that's not the case.

The point I'm trying to make is there are ways to be flexible without compromising on things like data security. And of course each situation is different. What I'm saying is that it took a pandemic to even explore these kinds of possibilities and hope that continues and we don't go back to rigid policies like 'better be extra safe than...' Yes in some situations there will be no option, but a lot of situations can be solved easily, again, without compromising on data security. There can't be a template for every situation, but when we think about it, a lot of situations can be worked out.

Originally Posted by condor

Replacement of the laptop itself due to scheduled refresh can definitely wait.

Yes, and that's a part of the point I'm trying to make. Prior to covid, they used to be very inflexible on this point. Replacement meant replace immediately. No exceptions. And right now. So what happened now? Why did it take a pandemic to become a bit flexible on something that admittedly did have a little leeway.

Rather than focusing on specific instances, what i'm trying to say is that overall it's good that this situation has forced policy changes to better support remote work. And that all of those could apply without a pandemic too. (Again, am sure there are several jobs/roles where it still won't make sense, yes. But for the others.)

[snr]

Post initial hiccups, I find WFH rather enjoyable. I don't have to worry about traffic snarls, being late for early morning meetings etc. First lockdown last year was very tense and challenging. But we got the hang of it and ironed out lot of small issues. Internet connectivity, office furniture etc.

This lockdown is far better. The set up came in handy and gives me a lot of peace of mind. I don't mind continuing this in the long term. But my job entails lot of field trials which is still ok.

[click]

I run a research company of 12 employees. We began training for WFH March last year when we saw the carnage in Europe. Mid March we officially went to full-time WFH.

Our office lease expired this march, and we let go of the office space and moved to a virtual office. all the employees are still working from home and company has provided them with laptops and set up cloud tools for collaboration. There was a considerable unplanned tech cost especially when revenue stream had trickled down, but it was necessary for survival.

Our goals have sifted from being no. of hours orientation to becoming deadline oriented. I don't care if the employee logs in at 11 am in the morning instead of normal 9:30am; all I care is the quality of work and meeting our client deadlines and internal goals. This is going to be the way forward for us.

this approach has driven the productivity by 18%. Hopefully we can return to profitability by end of 2021 or early '22.

The point is depending on the nature of the business, a little trust and good metric based work assessment model can help even small companies to WFH effectively. Actually small companies can be very nimble and adapt much quicker.