Amid growing return-to-office calls, several companies are giving employees the leeway for extended and expanded flexibility on a “need basis”.

Requests for flexibility are being considered on grounds such as caregiving responsibilities (children, parents, in-laws), personal health issues, challenges in relocating and for employees with disabilities.

In the post-Covid era, there is no going back to the “fixed” approach model, said Arvind Usretay, regional client manager-Asia at HR consultancy Mercer.

“Companies are attracting a variety of talent pools, including part-timers, returning mothers and people with special needs. Employers will hence be required to remain open to flexible working arrangements to ensure a healthy working environment,” he said.

“Flexibility is a key attraction and retention element for top talent,” Usretay added.

ITC, Uber, Panasonic, KPMG, Publicis Sapient and Mphasis are among companies that provide such flexibility on return-to-office mandates.

Case-to-case call

A manager with ITC’s trade marketing and distribution division told ET that she has been allowed to work out of Mumbai instead of her job location of Kolkata, as she has a young child and her husband is unable to relocate. She gets freedom in terms of the number of days she goes to office and ITC pays for her child and a caregiver to accompany her whenever she travels for work.

“It’s a very enabling environment — a huge support and mental assurance,” said the employee, who did not want to disclose her name.

“ITC has instituted a host of enabling policies including a hybrid work model based on the nature of the role as well as additional flexibility in work arrangements for expectant and young mothers,” said Amitav Mukherji, ITC’s head of corporate HR. “Employees are also granted extended work from home on a case-to-case basis, especially in times of personal exigencies.”

Flexibility despite market shift

As the market shifts from being an ‘employees’ to an ‘employer’s market’, return to office calls have been getting louder, with some companies even penalising employees who don’t toe the line. However, while expanded flexibility is discretionary, there are several such examples across organisations.

For instance, at a major ecommerce company, which has otherwise taken a hard stance on return to office, several employees with caregiving responsibilities have been given relaxations.

Employee needs in mind

Kameshwari Rao, global chief people officer at Publicis Sapient, said the company gives exceptions for caregiving, including for elderly parents or in-laws. Employees with disabilities, or those who need long-term medical care, too are given exceptions on the return-to-office rule.

“In some instances, we’ve provided remote working to employees whose spouses have an office in a location where we don’t have an office. In all these cases, the offer letter says the employees are working remotely long-term. They need only come in five days a quarter for critical meetings,” Rao said.

Given the nature of its business, which is into manufacturing, sales and operations, Panasonic doesn’t have a work-from-home policy. “However, on a case-to-case basis and in case of a genuine requirement, we offer the flexibility of a hybrid model,” said Adarsh Mishra, chief HR officer, Panasonic Life Solutions India.

Uber has given more flexibility — even fully remote work — in some cases.

“When employees ask for fully remote work, we consider the nature of the role and decide accordingly. There are others we have made accommodations for, where they need more flexibility for medical or caregiving purposes. Relaxations include redistributed work hours and temporary work arrangements where employees can choose to work out of their hometowns for a decided time period. Additionally, we have a four-week work-from-anywhere policy and a global caregiving policy,” said a spokesperson from the cab-hailing company.

Mphasis offers remote work options to those who require it due to caregiving responsibilities, medical conditions, or other extenuating personal situations, said CHRO Ayaskant Sarangi.

As per KPMG’s policy on remote working, a person can work from anywhere for up to five days in a quarter. “Extended remote working options can be extended as an exception,” said Sunit Sinha, head of people, performance and culture at KPMG in India, which follows a hybrid work arrangement policy.

Source: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/jobs/hr-policies-trends/indian-companies-firm-on-return-to-office-lend-a-friendly-hand/articleshow/110426760.cms