It took me 90 days to muster courage to make the first visit to the office. For three months, I locked myself at home, working in sequestered comfort. Or discomfort, as some would say. The only excursions included the weekly trips, on and off, to the nearest paan shop 20 metres away. To be frank, it wasn바카라™t guts, but fear, which forced the decision. One set of fear바카라”about the safety and health of my ageing mother바카라”had kept me confined. Now, another set of dread바카라”the one we still feel with trepidation바카라”made me go to office. It바카라™s that dark anxiety of losing one바카라™s job. Masked with an N95바카라”the New Yorker said those were used by the medical staff in the US바카라”I reached the magazine바카라™s headquarters.
Like everyone, who has been to office or hoped to go after the lockdown, I expecÂted the obvious changes, but was ready for the startling ones. My mind was in a twirl바카라”hopeful and pessimistic, brooding and excited.
It바카라™s a good time to check the mood of the workplace. And so, Outlook teamed up with Toluna바카라”an ITWPÂ company and leading consumer intelligence platform that delivers insights on demand바카라” for a survey among white-collar workers across India, the most definitive one on the post-Covid situation. The country바카라™s first employee study of its kind succinctly captures the post-Covid socio-business changes in office spaces, and reveals that there is no over-encompassing feeling of gloom-and-doom. Despite the crushing impact on the economy and businesses, employees can still see the positives. Their lives have changed, but it may be for the better to some extent.
People are scared about future job losses, salary cuts, and huge declines in corporate earnings. They feel social-distancing norms will make them lose office friends as they become nervous about colleagues. But they are also buoyant and confident. They think they will be more productive, offices will become more professional, and a cure for the virus will be found in the next six months. The majority contends that the situation will improve within a month.
Despite the millions of pink slips and across-the-board salary slashes of up to 50 per cent, every surviving employee, including the top bosses, in every office is still apprehensive. For them, today can be the last day in office. As the survey shows, 56 per cent of the respondents are still scared of losing their jobs. An overwhelming 72 per cent say they are 바카라śstill worried바카라ť about remuneration cuts. A higher percentage (76 per cent) believes there will be no appraisals, and no increments, possibly until March 2022.
The reasons for such a hopeless mindset are clear. Most businesses are decimated, or are on the verge of bankruptcy. Despite Unlock 1 and 2 in India, several sectors may take at least three years to recover to their past levels of financial performances. Employees realise this, and 92 per cent of the respondents are sure that their firm바카라™s revenues will be down in 2020-21. Almost a third (30 per cent) envisages a drop of more than 50 per cent. For 49 per cent of them, it may take more than six months바카라”13 per cent claim more than a year바카라”for their company 바카라śto get back to business as usual바카라ť.
What is unusual is that employees aren바카라™t clear whether the cost-cutting measures were imperative. Even though businesses have suffered, there is a sense that owners and management could have avoided the sackings, and survive without them in the future. Half of the respondents say their companies are 바카라śusing the COVID-19 crisis to fire people and cut salaries바카라ť. According to them, it is an excuse for the bosses to get rid of the deadwood, unsavoury elements, and those who were the causes of regular office-related problems.
However, there is a positive edge to this bleak scenario. Employees surviving this mayhem, and retaining their jobs, may benefit. Four-fifths of the respondents categorically state that they will become more productive, as they will 바카라śfocus more on work바카라ť, rather than indulge in office gossip and banter. As social and personal interactions come down, and there are pressures to meet targets and show results, offices may become more professional, say 78 per cent of the respondents.
After the visit for the urgent meeting at office, I noticed the alterations in my work style. I was saddled with more work, as the number of people in the office declined.
I became more prompt, and tightened my internally-set deadlines. Surprisingly, I sought work so that I don바카라™t vanish from the radar of my boss. It was the same with everyone; there was a push factor among the colleagues to deliver more. The desires may be laced with panic, but it may lead to quantitative and qualitative changes.
One of the factors that may concretise these trends in the near future will be the management바카라™s attitude towards emploÂyees바카라™ presence in offices. Most may allow 40-60 per cent to come to offices and the others to either work from home or work from anywhere (cafes, friends바카라™ houses, and business centres). In this context, the efficiencies of the WFH workers will be crucial. If the consultancy option takes off, and more people feel satisfied and comfortable about it, productivity norms may be redefined.
During my conversations with friends recently, most seemed troubled by the WFH culture. Some felt bored and lonely, and decided to gather at someone바카라™s house to work in small groups. Others said they had to work more, even on weekends. There were constrictions of being at home, especially for the majority who worked in media. Since the children and husband were at home, it was difficult to focus on work. Not many seemed enthused.
Surprisingly, the Outlook-Toluna Survey to understand the impact of COVID-19 on employee sentiments wasn바카라™t so emphatic. It is true that 57 per cent admitted they had to work more hours from home, and 50 per cent say they felt 바카라ślonely and isolated바카라ť. However, 79 per cent loved WFH a lot, or loved it a bit. Nearly half of the respondents claim the most important benefit was 바카라śflexible working, i.e. anytime, anywhere바카라ť. More than a third say they spent more time with their family.
More than half of the respondents claim that they were more productive when they worked from home. As was expected바카라”though it is not usually articulated바카라”60 per cent contend that it was a relief, and signified 바카라śfreedom from the pressures of my boss바카라ť. A combination of the impetus to WFH or WFA (work from anywhere) culture, and stricter social-distancing norms in offices, will lead to 바카라śbetter work-home balance바카라ť and help people to 바카라śfocus more on children바카라ť, add 80 per cent of the respondents in each case.
One can safely assume that such observations, which are related to the temporary and forced WFH scenario, may change as this work culture becomes the norm for a sizeable number of employees. The attitudes and feelings may be different in the future. The same will be true about the employees who do go to offices. Their relationships with their bosses and colleagues will witness severe adjustments. For various reasons, professional interactions may not be the same.
I noticed this on my first visit to the office. My first reaction was to search for an isolated post, away from the others. Initially, I took refuge in the first-floor conference room, and realised that people still hovered in the vicinity. I shifted to the design section that was more secluded. Finally, when my editor turned up 10 minutes before the meeting, he suggested that we shift to the second floor. 바카라śIt will be empty, and we will be able to maintain social-distancing in a better fashion,바카라ť he said.
Over the next few months, there will be a tendency to shun colleagues, unless necessary, and stay away from them. This reflects in the survey. More than half of the respondents contend that they will be 바카라śmore nervous to interact바카라ť with colleagues, and a similar percentage predict that they will 바카라ślose office friends바카라ť due to both WFH and social distancing in office spaces. Worse, 71 per cent admit that there is a 바카라śsense of fear바카라ť in offices, and people are 바카라śsuspicious바카라ť of each other.
Such a combustible emotional mixture can lead to several personal and social constraints. Feminists (including males who think the same way) and the supÂporters of the #MeToo campaign will be thrilled to know that 73 per cent feel the cases of sexual harassment in the offices will come down. Almost two-thirds contend that the same will happen in the case of office-related extramarital affairs. The professional will become more important than the personal in the work environment.
Clearly, the employees바카라™ sentiments about their current spaces are mixed, a few good and bad, and some ugly. However, the overall feelings veer towards the middle point. For example, the current mood of a large proportion of respondents (46 per cent) is either confident or determined, and the same percentage feels confused and anxious. Just less than a third (30 per cent) is 바카라śvery optimistic바카라ť about their work lives in the next six months, and another 36 per cent is 바카라śsomewhat optimistic바카라ť. The two combined say that 바카라ślife will be the same as it was before COVID-19바카라ť.
As expected, the hopefulness is higher among those in the 35-55 year bracket, compared to the 25-34 age-group. The reason is logical. Those who have reached a certain professional level, think they can combat the adverse impact of the crisis better than their younger counterparts. The employees in firms with 250-1,000 people are more sanguine, compared to those in the smaller (less than 250) and larger (more than 1,000) ones. Yet again, the reason is obvious. Unlike the latter two categories, the mid-size ones have higher growth potential.
The overall cheerfulness is possibly due to an underlying belief that the health crisis is temporary, and will not last beyond this year. This is because 79 per cent agree the world will find a cure for COVID-19 within the next six months, i.e. by the end of 2020. In fact, 58 per cent say India바카라™s overall social, health, and economic situation will improve바카라”either a lot or a little bit바카라”by the end of July 2020. If the pandemic doesn바카라™t exist in its severe form, there is no reason for a pandemonium.
How Survey was conducted
The Outlook바카라“Toluna Survey on Employee Sentiments covered 20 cities바카라”Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Calcutta, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Pune, Jaipur, Lucknow, Indore, Surat, Bhopal, Patna, Guwahati, Vijayawada, Cochin, Chandigarh, Kanpur and Vishakhapatnam. A total of 1,206 respondents바카라”all fulltime employees (men and women) of private companies바카라”were interviewed online this past June using a standard, structured, self-filled questionnaire and the data captured in Toluna바카라™s server. Employees were interviewed in the 25-55 age-band. These aside, a few other variables were used additionally.
Illustrations by Saahil; Graphics by Saji C.S.
