Flipkart asks all employees to work from office five days a week

To be sure, while Flipkart has mandated all employees to return and work from the office, they’re going to come back in phases over the next few months.

Walmart-owned e-commerce major Flipkart has ended its work-from-home (WFH) option and has asked all employees to return to the office five days a week, Moneycontrol has learned. Flipkart gave its employees the flexibility to work from home in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic, in line with the approach adopted by most other companies at the time.

The WFH policy remained in place for several years from 2020, but Flipkart began rolling it back in phases. It first asked senior employees—largely vice presidents and above—to work from the office more regularly. “However, the new requirement now is for all employees, across functions and roles, to work from the office five days a week,” a Flipkart employee told Moneycontrol.

To be sure, while Flipkart has mandated all employees to return and work from the office, they’re going to come back in phases over the next few months. There are also exceptions in some cases, depending on the nature of the job. Furthermore, all employees are given a certain number of days which they can avail when they want to WFH.

Flipkart confirmed the developments to Moneycontrol. “At Flipkart, the vast majority of our employees and contractual/gig workforce, especially those in field roles, have always operated from their respective locations of work,” a company spokesperson said.

“In our corporate headquarters, we have been pursuing a gradual return to the office (similar to pre-Covid levels) for the past year and have seen increased interactions, synergies and deeper collaboration across teams. By returning to office, we aim to foster a strong sense of community for new hires and existing employees; and a shared focus on our common goal,” the spokesperson added.

Flipkart in line with competitors

The company’s move to call all employees back to the office comes at a time when the e-commerce landscape in India is evolving rapidly, especially with the rise of quick commerce.

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In fact, Flipkart is among the last new-age firms, especially in the e-commerce space, to end its WFH policy.

A few months ago, its arch rival Amazon, which is also preparing to launch its own rapid delivery arm, mandated that all its employees return to Bengaluru as they will be expected to work from the office five days a week.

The Seattle-based company is also in the midst of moving its Bengaluru office from World Trade Centre in Rajajinagar to Devanahalli to accommodate all staffers.

Similarly, Meesho employees have been working from the office five days a week for more than a year now.

Even in the quick commerce industry, where Flipkart Minutes competes with Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart, among others, Flipkart is among the last to ask employees to return to work.

For nearly a year, Blinkit’s staffers have been working from the office in Gurugram. Zepto, in fact, expanded its office space to accommodate all employees working from the office. 

Swiggy is the only company in this industry which largely still has a flexible policy. Most of Swiggy’s employees work from the office three days a week and two days from home. However, certain teams and employees, depending on the nature of their work, come into the office every day.

The developments come at a time when Flipkart is becoming a serious fourth player in the quick commerce space, after Blinkit, Zepto and Swiggy Instamart. The company is also preparing to go public at a later point in time.