FLEXIBLE WORK POLICIES
Corporates embrace more flexibility amidst the hybrid work model
About 30% of occupiers are expected to expand their use of flexible office space over the next 12 months, while 17% are likely to consolidate their offices into fewer locations, CBRE said in its latest ‘2024 India Office Occupier Survey’.
How an IT professional took revenge against his manager's 'No Work From Home' policy
An IT professional, frustrated with his company's strict 'no work from home' policy, deleted Microsoft Teams and email from his phone to ensure he was unreachable after office hours. This defiant move garnered widespread support online after a screenshot of his Reddit post went viral. Many applauded his stance, highlighting the benefits of remote work and the importance of maintaining work-life balance.
View: Gender diversity needs work
This year, 797 women candidates contested the general elections, constituting 9.6% of the total 8,337 candidates. Only 74 of them won a seat in the 18th Lok Sabha - four fewer than the number of women in the 17th Lok Sabha. This comes less than a year after the passage of the Women's Reservation Bill, which reserves one-third of seats in Lok Sabha and assemblies for women.
SAIL rolls out work flexibility to net talent; to add 1,000 at entry level people in FY25
Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) is introducing work flexibility and agility for over 55,000 employees, with plans to hire over 1000 entry-level workers in FY25. The aim is to attract Gen Zs, retain talent, and increase productivity. SAIL introduced the 'Work from Other Than Workplace' policy in May 2024, which has already been used for learning and developmental activities.
Infosys’ flexi stance helps staffers avail more remote work options
Infosys, India's second largest IT company, has embraced a flexible approach to returning to office post-pandemic. Employees leveraged remote working options in FY24, as per the ESG report. In FY24, 84% of Infosys employees worked remotely, compared to 75% in FY23 and 97% in 2022 during the pandemic.
Flexibility, salary key jobseeker parameters for new roles in India: Report
Indian workers are demanding higher salaries to cope with rising living costs and to feel valued. Flexibility is another key concern, as per Michael Page India's Talent Trends 2024 report. Employers need to focus on broader aspects like workplace culture, diversity, equity, and inclusion to attract and retain talent. The report highlighted workplace discrimination in India and emphasised the need to address various generational priorities and challenges in different sectors.
Not just employers with benefits! India Inc looks to be more to woo talent
Corporate India is offering new-age benefits, realizing that attracting and retaining talent requires more than just high salaries. Cos offer new-age perks like cash for self-development, health insurance for siblings and pet care to woo talent
Initiatives on track to increase women’s participation across levels, say 54% Indian employers – much above global average of 46%
Internal leadership development programmes, followed by flexible working policies, most effective in helping retain and secure diverse talent, finds ManpowerGroup Diversity Outlook Survey
Companies become stricter on return-to-office mandates, but considerate on employee needs
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.
India Inc embraces gender-neutral parental leave policies for inclusive work environment
India Inc revamps parental leave policies to support changing family structures and foster inclusion. Companies like Colgate-Palmolive and Hindustan Unilever introduce gender-neutral initiatives. Volvo Group and Standard Chartered enhance parental leave programs. Expert Mansee Singhal emphasizes economic benefits for organizations.
IT companies are deploying new tricks to lure staff to office
IT firms are implementing measures to encourage office attendance post-pandemic, curtailing the flexibility granted during COVID-19. Employees face compliance pressure, risking consequences for non-adherence. Cognizant introduces a roster app, while TCS ties variable pay to office presence. Dell adopts a tracking system; Wipro emphasizes on-campus engagement, contrasting Infosys's hybrid approach.
Get your portfolio ready for election results: Hedge the re-rated oil and gas sector stocks
Right from power, railways, PSU banks, sectoral lenders to oil and gas there are many sectors which have made a comeback in the last 10 years. Comeback both in the real business sense, where the operating matrix and fundamentals of the sector have improved which has led to better performance. Also a comeback on valuation front, where the stocks which were quoting at a price earning multiple of single have been now consistently quoting in high double multiples. A number of them have seen this transformation due to a stable policy environment, policy push and policy cleanup which the government has undertaken in the last ten years. The consensus estimate of the street is that policy continuity is the most critical thing for the re-rating to continue. In this new series, we take a different sector and how much they are dependent on government policy and how investors can protect their portfolio from any sudden decline.
Wanted: Policies that support womens’ advancement in the workplace
In India, women face significant barriers in the workplace, from the burden of unpaid care work to the gender pay gap. Despite anti-harassment policies like the POSH Act, compliance remains a challenge, contributing to the "leaky pipeline" where women exit the workforce.
Stepping up to beat the heat: India Inc lines up cool work plans for staff this summer
Several companies in India are implementing flexible work practices for white-collar workers, particularly those in sales and field-related roles, to protect them from the extreme summer heat and maintain efficiency. With the Indian Meteorological Department warning of a potentially record-breaking hot year in 2024, companies like Panasonic, MG Motors, KPMG, Deloitte, Mudrex, and PeepalCo are adopting measures such as flexible work hours, online meetings, hydration stations, and awareness campaigns on heat exhaustion.
Insurance cos to curate policies with flexibility in wordings
Insurance companies in India are adjusting their policy terms, conditions, clauses, and wordings to provide customers with more flexibility in tailoring coverage. This change is expected to be visible in July or October renewals, as it will take time for insurers to implement these changes and develop new policies. The Indian insurance market is now catching up with global standards, allowing more flexibility in pricing and policy design.
Hindustan Zinc aims to have 30% women across levels
The Vedanta group company has nine board members, of which five are women. Pointing out that there are barriers, including psychological, to inclusion of more women in the workforce, especially in male-dominated sectors of mining and manufacturing, Priya Agarwal Hebbar said, “It is also got to do with whether companies have the right policies to attract women.”
More bosses want employees back in the office. Like, now
Dell's remote work promotion halt reflects WFH-WFO shift. Companies push in-office work due to constraints. Market rebound may prompt job changes. Remote work value highlighted.
Flexible schedules and hybrid work helps increasing women's participation in the workforce: Survey
The survey discovered that there has been a surge in women's participation in the workforce after the COVID-19 pandemic. While 57% of the respondents confirmed a rise in women participation, 38% of respondents say the percentage of women has remained the same.
India, Philippines witnessed the largest decline in gender gap in the post-pandemic period: Moody’s
Moody's Analytics reports that India and the Philippines have seen the largest reduction in the gender gap in labor force participation post-pandemic. The narrowing gap since 2019 has added $1.5 trillion to global income, with almost half coming from India and Japan. Despite progress, India's gender gap remains over four times that of the US or the EU, attributed to traditional gender roles and insufficient supportive policies for women in the workforce.
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