As more and more people worldwide work from home, many core company policies for remote workers, telecommuting, cybersecurity, crisis management and so on will need an overhaul
Many of you would have seen a cartoon doing the rounds of social media which shows a man sitting on a couch with a laptop and an accompanying caption which reads, “Oh that meeting was just an email!” Some of you reading this now might have gotten used to music streaming in from your neighbour’s house, as you sip on your favourite beverage while on a video call with 30 of your colleagues in casuals. The new workplace is here and chances are it will change the way humans will ever work, that is if they stay long enough, to reboot planet Earth. The global pandemic has ensured a new world of cars parked in garages, cleaner city air, occasional wildlife appearances in deserted streets and fishes and dolphins being spotted in rivers and oceans closer to cities. Many point out that large technology companies and global corporations, which already have flexible work options, superior cybersecurity fixes and streamlined work from home policies, will be the first ones to deliver large chunks of jobs home. The question is what happens to smaller firms and micro-firms that do not have access to these high-end solutions and seek maximum efficiency from (in many cases) shoestring budgets and minuscule employee strength. These firms will find it difficult to manage productivity. There are many more likely outcomes which will need fresh thinking, particularly in the areas of urban space planning, power management, human resource management and many integrated policy issues.
When companies realise that they can perform optimally with remote workers, they are most likely to vacate plush commercial spaces. Real estate valuations for most of these spaces will undergo a huge downgrade as anchor corporations exit. This will impact financial firms, banks and developers with exposure to office properties. Long-term leases are also most likely to come under stress. Shift to a home workstation also means daily power consumption patterns will shift geographies within cities. Traditionally, during weekdays, power demand peaks in office complex zones shifting to residential complexes at night and entertainment zones like malls, shopping complexes hotels and so on during the weekends. However, with a likely crumbling of traditional cubicles, power consumption patterns will even out across the cityscape all the days of the week. This will also stem demand for better broadband and network connectivity, 24/7 demand for electricity and chic meeting joints in residential neighbourhoods.
A crucial aspect of modern office work is earned sick leave for employees. While most global corporations and Government staff will have access to substantial number of earned leaves per year, it is the medium small size and micro-firms which will have to rethink their policies. Most small firm employees would lament lack of earned leaves in their respective set-ups for fear of losing jobs.
The situation becomes far graver for a country like India which has far more Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and family firms employing less than ten people. Add to this the support staff like housekeeping, cleaners, drivers, maids, office delivery persons who make up a vital part of any office. Most of them today would be fearful of reporting a fever or a seasonal illness and in turn spread diseases across communities, homes and offices. With global trends shifting to the work from home culture, a fresh clamour for some kind of group insurance for the unorganised sector and mandatory earned leaves, specially for a country like India, will continue to grow.
The Uttar Pradesh Government has done a commendable job by announcing a certain fixed amount transfer for daily wage earners and labourers, who are likely to lose livelihoods for some days due to temporary shutdowns of cities and towns. This initiative should trigger similar moves by other State Governments but it will still leave out a huge chunk of the urban workforce in the unorganised sector. Think of your domestic help, cooks, delivery agents and so on, who are mostly considered a temporary workforce. Traditionally they do not have earned sick leave or medical insurance and post-retirement benefits.
Threats like COVID-19 should be a wake-up call for employers/employees to demand group insurance for micro and small firms and seek recognition of temporary workforce for benefits on the same lines as their permanent counterparts. Contrary to popular belief, this may actually bring down costs for many employers as preventive measures could prove a hundred times better than a cure in the long run. This is also more likely to bring a sense of professionalism found lacking in many workers in the unorganised sector as additional answerability, including regular health checks will foster discipline. Finally, many core company policies like creating new work protocols for remote workers, telecommuting, remote access and cybersecurity policies, remote recovery, crisis management, virtual private network management and many such will need an overhaul.
Pandemics don’t need passport for entry into geographies. It may create a temporary shutdown of borders and may give strength to voices opposed to a globalised world. However, one should remember that pandemics require multinational cooperation to formulate an integrated strategy for citizen safety and health. This should bring nations closer, now more than ever.
(The writer is Country Manager, India, ITI Council)