Why Employers Cannot Avoid Hybrid Working Models in India

Coming to the office for work is a time-honoured tradition that dates back to the Middle Ages. Historians link it to the rise of government bureaucracy, trading companies, and rather strangely, religious orders. But after nearly 500 years of unquestioned hegemony, the idea of the modern office is under threat.

As the COVID-19 restrictions closed offices everywhere, companies were forced to switch to Work From Home (WFH) or hybrid working models. But even as life returns to the pre-pandemic levels of normalcy, employers are not finding it easy to convince their employees to get back to the office. 

Can you afford to reject the hybrid work model and insist that your employees report to the office every day? Or have we unwittingly crossed the 'Lakshman Rekha' – a point of no return – as far as the 'physical office' is concerned? We explore these questions in our analysis of the future of hybrid work. 

What is a Hybrid Work Model?

The idea of a hybrid work model is quite simple – it combines a mixture of in-office work with remote work or work from home (WFH). There is no strict formula for a successful hybrid workplace as it will depend on your organisation's capabilities, goals, and HR policies.

Depending on those factors, a hybrid workplace can have a custom mix of the following work arrangements:

• Full-time office workers
• Remote-only workers
• Workers with an option to mix office and remote work

4 Main Hybrid Work Models

Since 2020, employers across the globe have experimented with various remote/hybrid work models. Four major variants have been identified so far, based on which aspect you give more emphasis on as an employer:

1. Office-centric: Employees have to report for work at the office most of the time, but have the option to work remotely for a few weeks.
2. Remote-first: Not to be confused with 'remote-friendly', this model has employees working remotely as the default arrangement.
3. Remote-friendly: While around 10% to 25% of employees are remote only employees, others can schedule work from home on some days, but have to report to the office on most other days.
4. Hybrid-centric: This is the most open-ended variant, where employees are either given the option to pick their preferred work arrangement and stick with (hybrid remote), or switch between different modes (fully flexible).

Why Indian Employees Prefer Hybrid Work

While a fully remote work model has many advantages for employees, they have also discovered a fair few flaws – isolation and lack of meaningful social engagement was a major con for many, while others discovered blurring boundaries between work and home troublesome.

Nevertheless, Indian workers in particular had a preference for remote work, with 50% considering themselves as more productive when working from home, according to a 2021 Gartner report. A favourable work-life balance is a strong incentive for many workers to prefer remote/hybrid models.

A critical reason for this in India is the aversion towards daily commutes. According to a 2020 report by employee transportation service provider MoveInSync, Indian workers spend an average of 100.8 minutes per day on their daily commute (over 7% of their day).

That is nearly double the time spent by US workers (55 minutes in 2019). Across the EU, the average figures were under 60 minutes in the majority of countries, according to official statistics. 

Switching to remote/hybrid work also offers other potential benefits to Indian employees. The average cost and time savings from remote work for Indian professionals were reported to be ₹5,520 and 1.47 hours, according to a 2020 survey by co-working space provider Awfis.

Why Employers are Forced to take a Pragmatic Approach

According to the 2022 Asia Pacific Occupier Survey by real estate firm CBRE, approximately 73% of companies in India are exploring hybrid work solutions. IT Industry majors like Wipro, HCL, and TCS are among the leaders of this new approach.

As an employer, there are plenty of reasons why a remote/hybrid approach may not appeal to you. Aside from the obvious challenges related to IT security, discipline, oversight, and collaboration, there are also growing concerns related to productivity issues due to 'moonlighting'.

However, none of these arguments against hybrid working models can negate the main reason for it – your employees say so, in overwhelming numbers, and are willing to seek it elsewhere if you cannot provide it.

From a recruiting perspective, the threat of attrition is quite high. According to a Qualtrics 2022 report, more than 60% of employees in India would consider leaving their current position if they had to do full-time office work. This was almost double the global average of 35%. 

With the tech talent shortage particularly acute across India, 65% of companies are being forced to hire gig workers, according to a 2022 NASSCOM report. Hiring young new talent from Gen Z, and Millennials may also become much harder for your recruitment teams in the absence of hybrid work options, as 67% prefer flexible/remote work according to a Deloitte study.

Time for Hybrid Work Strategies is Right Now

There is an understandable difference between employee demands and employer attitudes towards remote work. But to move ahead, you need to reach a common ground. And every organisation needs happy and committed employees for success. At the present time, all signs point towards hybrid work as a decisive factor for both employee retention and recruiting top talent. Planning for a hybrid workplace is not easy, but with these 5 strategies, you can improve your odds of a successful transition.