Thanks to the pandemic experience, most large corporations are now equipped to handle the logistical challenges and digital infrastructure necessary for WFH.
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In the modern concept of workplaces, one significant development has been the emergence of the ‘Work from Home’ (WFH) model. The deadly COVID-19 pandemic necessitated the widespread adoption of remote workplaces. Thanks to the pandemic experience, most large corporations are now equipped to handle the logistical challenges and digital infrastructure necessary for WFH. The question, therefore, pertains: Why hesitate on a remote model of work, especially for the sectors that permit such a scenario without compromising productivity or efficiency?
Prior experience has shown us that sectors like technology, consultancy, and finance can not only survive but also thrive with remote work availability for employees. In fact, on a global scale, around 67 percent of employees are working partially or fully in the technology sector. In the Indian context, from 2020-2023, the revenues for the Information Technology (IT) and Business Process Management (BPM) industry grew at a healthy CAGR of 8.65 percent. Hence, the model’s viability has already been tested in recent years.
Multiple perspectives warrant such work flexibility. I classify these advantages into five categories: benefits to the host town (existing work hub), hometown (employees’ native place), company, employees, and the community.
Firstly, the inward migration pressure that metropolitan cities (host towns) face is reaching the threshold of a full-fledged crisis. Lack of meaningful employment opportunities in hometowns forces people to move towards host cities. Every third person living in urban areas is a migrant, moving largely for employment [1]. Over time, this movement has led to a systemic breakdown of civic amenities like public transport, water supply, sewage disposal, green cover, and so on, to name a few. Excessive dependence on a few economic clusters will only exacerbate the adverse effects of climate change. Last summer, Bengaluru faced unusually high temperatures during summers and acute water shortage. We had visuals of high-rise residents forced to head to gyms to take a shower. It would be ignorant to assume that such instances would be few and far going forward. The choking smog in Delhi or the endless traffic in Mumbai has already become mainstream. In fact, India is home to 9 out of 10 most polluted cities in the world. In such a scenario, it is even more essential to curb the population density around economic clusters. The planned expansion of civic amenities cannot catch up with the influx of people migrating for employment opportunities. As such, WFH would do wonders to ease the pressure on the existing metropolitans.
Secondly, if people working remotely consume within their hometowns, it would provide massive economic impetus to the local economy. This would automatically lead to rising demand for real estate, malls, leisure spaces, eateries, and so on. Once economic activity picks up in the region, there will be greater opportunities for native residents and a reduced migration need. In the long term, the local talent pool and thriving infrastructure from small towns can become avenues for investments in multiple fields, such as IT parks, global capability centres (GCCs), and R&D facilities.
[This article has been published with permission from IIM Bangalore. www.iimb.ac.in Views expressed are personal.]