[balenoed_]

Originally Posted by sabsubs

I am bit scared to go to office due to many comorbidities that I have. But they are pushing me to come to office. I am in very big dilemma.

There will always be a channel where you can discuss with your manager or unit HR about this. If they still push you inspite of having a discussion then may be, you should be in a dilemma.

[ZMG]

My workplace has adopted the hybrid structure.
Work from office 3 days a week, and from home 2 days a week.
They are insistent that you need to be in the base country while working for those 2 days.

I honestly like this approach - I go to office about 2 - 3 times a week.
Remainder days I work from home.

Do not have to go through Bangalores traffic everyday.

[Bhupesh_2628]

Hybrid structure is being implemented to get employees accustomed to this approach so as to prepare them for permanent work from office. I think this structure will go away and 'work from office' will be implemented by the start of next year.
Till then, almost all the employees will get their booster dose completed.

This is the only way organizations can stop employee attrition & therefore, put an end to the "Great Resignation" period.

[VVN]

Originally Posted by sunilsreenivasg

Few companies got a city allowance policy which differs within the country. Probably, they are taking out that, if it a permanent WFH.

Thats exactly the thing. The city allowance policy does not benefit the employee so why will the employee pay for the company losing out on that benefit. For that matter, only a few companies compensate for the time lost in travelling. I don't think 100% WFH is the solution but neither is full time WFO. That era is thankfully past us. Hybrid model with a 4-5 days in a month is what people are looking at now I believe.

[Nissan1180]

The worst part of working from an office is the commute. The stress of driving through the lawless traffic affects our productivity a lot. I’ve realised that the work location matters little in today’s world if you’re focused and collaborative (this statement is only valid for service companies).

Many companies have this culture of creating reporting hierarchies for micromanagement, and some managers are insecure about the relevance of their position. Working from an office gives them some visibility to prevent their redundancy.

I’ve seen a lot of technology companies delivering great products through cross border collaboration, with a lean team. Sadly, it will take a decade at least and a few platoons of management consultants for the traditional companies to prioritise productivity and talent over self serving bureaucracies within their organisation structure.

[Samurai]

Indian labour code is changing...

https://www.newsbytesapp.com/news/bu...ng-hours/story

[am1m]

Originally Posted by Bhupesh_2628

This is the only way organizations can stop employee attrition & therefore, put an end to the "Great Resignation" period.

I guess making the effort to figure out why people leave, actually trying to create an environment/management/work-culture (that goes a little beyond "saree/ethnic day" or free snacks) where most people would not want to leave just for a small salary jump, and of course accepting that some employees will leave anyway good luck to them...are not options?

Anyway, agree with the point that the "hybrid" being tossed around now is just slow acclimatization/ground work by those firms that have no intention of allowing remote work later. The firms that realized over the past 2 years that most of their IT work was getting done as effectively remote have already declared that option. And thankfully there are a lot more advertising their jobs on LinkedIn now. Big change over the past two years, job posting titles clearly say "On-site", "Remote", or "Hybrid" and there are certainly a lot more remote roles.

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by Bhupesh_2628

Hybrid structure is being implemented to get employees accustomed to this approach so as to prepare them for permanent work from office....

In quite a few firms, this is not an option. Number of personnel, far exceeds number of desks. So Hybrid + Full remote are the only options.

This is due to :

1. Accelerated Hiring during Covid
2. Closure of Office space to save costs

[IndieGooner]

I work for one of the WITCH companies. Over last couple of weeks, i received a 3% hike and back to office instructions. Initially, it would be three days a week but i heard from reliable sources that it is end WFH and five days in office by August.

[avira_tk]

Originally Posted by IndieGooner

I work for one of the WITCH companies. Over last couple of weeks, i received a 3% hike and back to office instructions. Initially, it would be three days a week but i heard from reliable sources that it is end WFH and five days in office by August.

The plan is to have a minimum number of days in office, however, the 5 days a week will just be pushing it, 50% wfh was possible earlier. The talented ones will quit, the remaining will work towards quitting. Office is not some extended social life, most have no ties their fellow workers who also happen to be their competition for opportunities.

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

In quite a few firms, this is not an option. ...

Originally Posted by IndieGooner

WITCH companies. ...

WITCH companies are an exception to what I mentioned.

1. Plenty of Real Estate. Non-usage of these assets can be an invetor concern
2. Ask / Optics from clients

[am1m]

Coming to the end of a week working out of a small lodge in a small, tier-3 (by the old population definition) town in North Karnataka. While I have been here several times over weekends in the past and tested internet hotspot speeds, was still a bit apprehensive about a whole week here. Was worried about consistency in being available online, video calls, and security for the laptop.

But happy to report that was able to put in a whole week's worth of work, including deliverables, publishing, and video calls. Used an Airtel hotspot with a Reliance hotspot as a backup. Got reasonably good speeds of 20Mbps. And the great part (and the reason for doing this) was to be able to pursue some personal projects (btw, these are hobby-related, not in any way related, paid, or in conflict with my job) in the evenings post-work and on the two weekends.

Some more leanings, and re-iterating some from previous experiences working remote:

*The mindset should be 'I'm here to work, everything else is after office hours'. If anything has to be compromised, it should be the personal project, not the work. No one is going to question me if I'm not online for the duration, but when the company is being flexible and trusting you to be available, one should not abuse that trust. That's why I dislike the word 'workcation'. This is remote work. The bonus is that after office hours, instead of commuting in Bangalore traffic, I can take a stroll/hike around in some spectacular historical areas.
*Always have a backup hotspot from a different provider.
*Keep the laptop always at 50% charge minimum, unlike at home when I'd let it dwindle and only then charge. Same with the hotspots, keep one fully charged and ready for that unplanned video call.
*Before planning a short stay to work, visit on a weekend and test the internet speeds and other infra at least once. Plan areas where you can work in peace.
*Be flexible, since this is not home, you will have to change your schedule.
*Needs a company with a culture that supports this of course. Companies that "offer WFH" as a reward or a bonus are probably not going to be this flexible, a company that was supporting remote work even before the pandemic is always going to be easier with this sort of thing. Same with companies that define "hybrid" as a constant mix of remote employees and in-office employees, as opposed to those that define it as "some days in office some days at home" (the former is better). It's a basic mindset/cultural difference.

[Samurai]

Originally Posted by am1m

Coming to the end of a week working out of a small lodge in a small, tier-3 (by the old population definition) town in North Karnataka.

Glad to know it works well in other tier-3 towns. I have been doing WFH in Udupi for 4 years (10 days a month) on my FTTH connection from BBNL, which gives me 75Mbps speed. The uptime is really good.

However, the above model won't work with hybrid scheme where one is expected to come to work 2-3 times a week. It only works for the employer and not for the employee. The HR has to really re-think hybrid model, if they want it to work, they must consider satellite branches in 3-tier towns where teams can work together. Then hybrid will work. I meet my team once a month in person, but meet them on web conference at least once a day. I don't see any effect on efficiency. In fact, it has improved.

[am1m]

Originally Posted by Samurai

Glad to know it works well in other tier-3 towns.

The connectivity situation is certainly miles better than it was just 4-5 years ago at several smaller towns. But I'd still advise anyone planning something like this to visit first on their non-work time and check it out for themselves. It can be inconsistent. I've just gotten in to the habit of testing speeds everywhere I travel and sometimes an even bigger town might have low coverage spots or just not enough towers for the number of users and a smaller place might actually show better speeds because of a smaller user base and better line of sight to a tower.

And of course if it's going to be for a few months, rather than a week here-there, nothing like a wired connection. Or like you posted, a well-thought out satellite center for companies that are large enough for that to make sense.

[antz.bin]

Isn't hybrid work structure is the one that existed prior to Covid?

Pre-Covid, I would work 2-3 hours from home, 5-6 hours from office. On some days, it would be 8 hours from home, other days, 8 hours from office. Everything depending upon schedule and meetings (including those outside my 'official working hours')

I find that it is flexible as long as we are not bound to the hours / days that I had to be in office vs at home. If the new hybrid is not this and employees are expected to report to office on certain fixed days, then I am afraid, it is not truly 'Hybrid'. Instead it should be called semi-WFO. I would consider semi-WFO to be the worst kind of office. The better (and cheaper) thing to do would be to have satellite offices in tier-2/3 cities where employees could work out of if they need to.

I really hope companies are not going semi-WFO and instead just pick a side between WFH and WFO. The best of both worlds would be a WFO option with unlimited WFH. That is truly hybrid work. The kind of hybrid work that my employer is offering. In fact, there is not even a passing discussion within the team on whether we may ever need to go back to office even though there is an office that we could potentially go back to.