BIDDING THE OFFICE GOODBYE

For millions of Indians, “Going to the office” has meant economic empowerment, progress, independence, aspiration. The past year, though, has changed that. One of the casualties of the Covid-19 pandemic has been the office space as we know it. Employers have been forced to rethink how their employees work outside the big campuses and offices built painstakingly, designed to keep employees productive and in office for hours.

The realisation that the current model—with its regimented style of work, strict hierarchies and ‘fixed hours’—is flawed has dawned on employers across the world. From Silicon Valley to India, employers and employees have spent the past year re-evaluating their priorities. While employers have been figuring out how to measure productivity, prune investments in office spaces and keep staff motivated, employees have taken this time to take stock of their priorities in life, how they work and spend their time.

Tanya Sharma (name changed on request), 33, joined a global consulting, auditing firm in Gurgaon barely a week before the nationwide lockdown was announced on March 24, 2020. She has since been working from home and has never met her team in person.