Hyderabad: IT employee Deepak Reddy was prepared to go back to his workplace after a gap of almost 20 months. From finding temporary accommodation to even buying new pair of clothes, he has been making different arrangements. However, he had to put all his plans on hold soon after Omicron, the new Covid variant, played a spoilsport.
“While few companies, where my friends work, started to open offices post-Diwali, it was still not a full-fledged operation. My company informed that we might start opening the office in January and we should start preparing ourselves. But, this new variant has again put us in a dilemma of what will happen next. While our office has not communicated anything officially, there have been whispers about postponing the return to office depending on the situation,” says Deepak, who works for an American MNC in Hyderabad and had shifted to his village in Nizamabad when work from home was announced in 2020.
This situation of suspense and dilemma is not confined to Deepak’s company and is true for many IT companies in Hyderabad. Currently, the status quo of employees working from office remains at 5 per cent for large companies, 30 per cent for mid-sized companies, and 70 per cent for small companies. Now many companies are adopting the wait-and-watch approach as experts suggest that the ‘real impact’ of the new variant has not been felt yet.
“IT companies have not suspended the hybrid model of work and as the cases related to Omicron are still lesser in numbers, companies are adopting wait-and-watch approach. The new variant has not become a deciding factor for companies on the return to office scenario. It will only be by mid-January or early February that the real impact of the situation can be gauged,” says Bharani K Aroll, president, Hysea.
Aroll also informed that unless the situation becomes worse, the current plans regarding return to office will continue as usual. Technology entrepreneur Ravi Korukonda agrees with Aroll’s view and points out that everyone believes that right now the Omicron variant is not very severe. “Post-Diwali was when many companies had planned return to office but that was put on hold. And now it will be only in January or so that the major decision will be taken as health experts are indicating a surge in cases in the next two months,” Korukonda informed.
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