WFH versus high career trajectory: Are people working from home slacking?

A sizable chunk of youngsters – 47 percent – said they will change jobs within the next 12 months. Of them, 61 percent said this was because of return to office (RTO) plans. (Illustration by Suneesh Kalarickal)

As the fear around the pandemic subsides, the debate over the future of the work from anywhere (WFA) model has gained attention. TCS is calling its employees back to the office at least three days a week. Deloitte India does not offer WFA as a regular feature to its employees. And CXOs have been calling ‘white collar lethargy’ the new pandemic.

On the other side, there is a demand for Gen Zs. A sizable chunk of youngsters – 47 percent – told job portal Indeed that they’re very likely to change jobs within the next 12 months. Of them, 61 percent said this was because of return to office (RTO) plans by their employers, which would snuff out their aspirations of continuing to work from home (WFH).

When opinions on WFH and career growth remain poles apart between employees and employers, one question remains the same: For a high-growth career trajectory, do employees need to turn up at the workplace?'

The salary factor

When investment banking major Citigroup faced a churn in its workforce, it adopted a newfound approach to tackle it. The financial services firm opened a new hub for junior investment bankers in Málaga, a Spanish seaside city.

It selected 27 employees to work in Spain promising work-free weekends and eight-hour days. However, it comes with a price. These employees will receive around half as much money as colleagues working in Citi’s main offices.

However, the move has been seen as another “mommy track”. A mommy track at work is an arrangement for women in the workforce that facilitates motherhood, such as flexible hours, and long maternity leaves, but at the same time, it may reduce their chances of career advancement.

Further, the approach is quite opposite to the idea of location-agnostic pay ― a setting where employee location does not factor into his/her salary structure.

And it's not just Citibank which is offering a differential salary to employees working from anywhere. Google, Meta, Apple, and other major companies have followed a somewhat similar approach.

Some industry leaders say this discourages the whole idea of flexibility if companies are explicitly telling employees to return to office or lose their career growth.

Software firm Wildbit has been a remote company from day one and has been a stern supporter of location-agnostic pay.

“In the US, when someone moves to a place with a lower cost of living, we never decrease their pay. That would be preposterous; they’re making a personal choice with their own financial goals in mind,” Co-Founder and CEO Natalie Nagele, wrote in a post.

What is happening in India?

Major companies based in India, including PwC, KPMG, and Deloitte announced permanent work from home last year for select employees.

Though PwC's deputy people leader, Yolanda Seals-Coffield said location does factor in employees' pay, when Moneycontrol reached out to all three for more details of the policy in India, they did not comment.

Others having work from anywhere models such as Nagarro, Emeritus, axio (formerly Capital Float) and Kodo follow location-agnostic pay. Some people going to client locations get a small bonus, but that's it.

However, concerning productivity and career growth in and outside the workplace, opinions differ.

The question of white collar lethargy

K Sudarshan, MD - India & Regional Chair, Asia at EMA Partners, feels “white-collar lethargy” has firmly set in, and CEOs believe that is the new pandemic. “There has been an undercurrent of resistance to turning up at the workplace and they are seeing employees coming up with innovative reasons for not turning up at the office,” he wrote in an article.

“They are seeing lack of engagement, commitment and ownership, drop in productivity and, in some cases, employees moonlighting on the side,” he adds.

Seconding the above thoughts, Prashant Sharma, Chief Technical Officer of Zydus Group, told Moneycontrol that in face to face meetings he found higher energy levels and the ability to handle tougher discussions. “Collaboration levels went up.”

Working in a critical supplier to the healthcare industry, Sharma feels for employees to get into a high-growth trajectory is not simply a uni-dimensional skill-based game. Though he agrees that jobs which are purely individual skill-based, WFH may work to a certain level.

“But eventually, you get to a level wherein you need to manage projects, teams and handle diversity,” he says, adding, “These are not off-the-shelf competencies.”

Does innovation depend on ‘genuine collaboration’?

Fi Money’s growth and continued innovation depend on “genuine collaboration”, and it is in this spirit that the fintech firm decided to return to office. “We wanted our people to be exposed to multiple areas of focus to foster innovation, learning, and teamwork,” says Poornima Kamath, Head of People and Culture, Fi Money.

Currently, all employees are working from office and they can take three weeks' worth of working days in any combination to work from anywhere they like.

Interestingly, instead of having the engineering, design and marketing teams seated separately, Fi employees across functions working on the same projects are seated together.

“This leverages the benefits of different skill sets coming together,” Kamath says.

‘In-office collaboration doesn't necessitate productivity’

In September 2021, $3.2-billion edtech firm Emeritus declared its team members can choose to come to offices only if they want to – across the world, including in over 63 cities in India.

The company claims its attrition has “dipped significantly” and increased talent productivity. Further, some employees have relocated to remote Arunachal Pradesh from Mumbai and are getting paid without factoring in any adjustment because of the location.

Technological interventions, regular team meetings and once-a-month in-person parties have helped Emeritus keep the teams engaged, Global CHRO Ganesh S says.

“If I were to have it my way, I don’t see myself working from an office ever again,” he says. “Bottom line ― I believe working from home/anywhere is the surest way to ensure there is a high growth trajectory for our team.”

Similarly, most Nagarro employees around the world work from anywhere, including 13,000 people in India. Further, many people who aren’t tethered to families and children ― singles or empty nesters, for example ― are spending a lot of time roaming around the country.

“Very often you will find them online from Goa or Himachal Pradesh or other exotic locations,” says Manas Fuloria, CEO and Co-Founder, Nagarro.

There is no material difference in the pay among employees. Some people who visit client locations get a small bonus. “With sufficient investments of time, energy, and money in digital substitutes, coupled with occasional travel and physical meetups, one can maximise productivity,” Fuloria adds.

“At Kodo, we have team members who are outperforming their peers while working remotely, interacting and aligning work virtually, and yet they have a very high growth trajectory,” reveals Deepti Sanghi, Co-Founder & CEO, Kodo.

It's all about discipline

WFH is more of a recent phenomenon post-pandemic and may lead to lethargy for that category of people who are not committed to their goals but are limiting their current engagement only to earning their salary, says Mayur Taday, Chief Business Officer of staffing major TeamLease Services.

Taday has some examples: People logging in from home without informing their supervisors, not keeping their video on while meeting clients, not being attentive in meetings and not following the professional decorum expected of them.

On the contrary, he says, highly productive employees who are also high on commitment will use the WFH option to enhance their use of time and outcomes.

Another example he gave is for salespeople when there is a lack of velocity to convert opportunities into business outcomes. “It is the lethargy,” Taday says.

“If you are committed to completing a half marathon in 2 hours, you need to run at 10.5 km/hr an hour but if you run at 7 km/hr, it is either a capability issue or simple lethargy since the commitment to the goal is missing,” he adds.

Chhaya Sharma, Head of HR of axio, believes that maintaining a balance and discipline is imperative. “Along with balance, discipline is key to building a strong career.”

Axio announced a policy that allows employees to work from anywhere for a month every year. “Our team members exercise the required discipline to make our hybrid work culture a success,” Sharma says.