An American multinational technology corporation, IBM Software has mandated return to office, telling employees within 50 miles of a company office to be at their desks at least three days a week starting today – to “spend more meaningful time together.”
In an internal blog published on September 5, the company said that employees will be required to report to the office at least 3 days in the office each week in order to increase the quality of interpersonal interactions among the staff.
“Right now, 1 in 4 of you are working in the office three days a week. By October, we want to see that number closer to 3 in 4. We appreciate your attention and support,” the company said in the blog.
Additionally, the decision will be left to managers and individual project teams. The company will implement return-to-office in relevant local regulations.
Earlier, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna warned employees, said return to office or lose career opportunities. Remote work can hurt the career prospects of employees, especially in managerial roles.
If you aspire to lead roles would face difficulties in getting promoted, especially to managerial positions, he added.
He said, “Remote work is more suitable for certain roles that require individual work. In the short term, you probably can be equally productive, but your career does suffer.”
“Moving from there to another role is probably less likely because nobody’s observing them in another context. It will be tougher. Not impossible, but probably a lot tougher”, he added.
He also said that I’m not forcing any staffers to come into the office just yet, but those who don’t would be hard-pressed to get promoted, especially into managerial roles.
“Working remotely is a choice that people make, but it can be changed depending on their convenience or situation. I don’t understand how to do all that remotely”, he further said.
However, Atlassian and Cognizant did not mandate their employees to Return to Office.
Tech major companies including TCS, Accenture, Google, and Infosys, etc. are calling their employees back to the office and trying to have at least employees work 2-3 days from the office.
Recently, Tech giant Google has revised its hybrid work policy, making it mandatory for employees to be in the office for at least three days a week. Additionally, the company will also be including the “three days per week” in the performance reviews.
Of late, Infosys has inaugurated a state-of-the-art facility in Yelahanka, Bengaluru. This new office aims to encourage employees to work in a hybrid mode.
Earlier, Infosys also established offices in tier II cities like Visakhapatnam and Coimbatore. The new offices aim to encourage employees to work in a hybrid mode and provide them with greater flexibility while bringing them closer to their residences.
In a communication to employees, Infosys said, “We are excited to announce the launch of our new North Gate facility in north Bengaluru to further promote flexibility and encourage you to work in hybrid mode and closer to your home.”
With Return to Office initiative is picking pace TCS 55% of the workforce already in office thrice a week.
In a Nasscom Technology and Leadership Summit 2023, Wipro chairman Rishad Premji said that he wants employees to return to workplaces and get over the work-from-home mindset. Premji also believes that hybrid work is the future for most workplaces.
Recently, IT and consulting giant, Accenture has also instructed the Team Leaders and Managers to ensure their respective team members are working from their base locations by August 31, 2023.