Hybrid work model is here to stay in New Year, too

New Delhi: India Inc is poised to increasingly adopt hybrid work models in 2025 as companies such as Infosys, ITC and KPMG prioritise employee wellbeing and work flexibility.

Already the majority of employees in several companies are attending offices for up to three days a week. Come New Year, these companies are set to continue with the hybrid work arrangements, executives said.

The list includes Deloitte, Colgate-Palmolive, Coca-Cola, Nestle and Tech Mahindra among companies.

Professional services firm KPMG has implemented hybrid work guidelines since April 1, 2023.

"Basis this guidelines and teams in consultation with their team leads, are advised to be at their base office location or client location for a minimum of 2 or 3 working days a week," said Reena Wahi, head of people, performance and culture at KPMG in India.

Colleagues have responded positively to this flexibility and follow the hybrid way of working, said Wahi. KPMG's rival Deloitte India too is following the hybrid working policy that allows employees to work remotely when needed.

Various companies have given employees the flexibility of choosing their office workdays.

Consumer products maker Colgate-Palmolive India currently has a policy of working three days from office and two days from home. "Within those three days, one day is mandatory for everybody to be in office and one day can be decided by each department. The third day is flexible," said Balaji Sreenivasan, executive vice-president, HR, at oral care maker Colgate-Palmolive (India).

Beverages company Coca-Cola is following a hybrid working policy in India similar to many of its other global markets. "We ensure our employees achieve work-life balance through initiatives such as remote work arrangements, flexible hours, and working out of our satellite offices in Bangalore, Mumbai, and Kolkata," said Irene Tan, vice-president, people and culture, Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia.

Likewise, IT services firm Tech Mahindra, which has implemented a hybrid work model where employees work from office three days a week based on their preferences, said chief people officer, Richard Lobo. Work-from-home models took off as contingency plans in the aftermath of the Covid outbreak in early 2020.

Many companies started five-day work-from-office schedules after two years but they faced resistance from employees. This led many companies to continue with hybrid work models, said an executive at a top-tier search firm.

Hotels-to-FMCG conglomerate ITC has also instituted an enabling policy that facilitates work from home for up to two days a week.

"While this policy continues and employees can avail this flexibility with prior approval depending on their roles, the majority of ITC employees lately have been working from office," said a spokesperson.

“We are witnessing majority of employees attending office, across all our locations, a few times a week. We have also opened offices closer to where our employees are based, to provide increased flexibility, said an Infosys spokesperson.

Infosys has opened centers in Indore, Nagpur, Hubballi, Vizag, Coimbatore, Kolkata, Mumbai, and Noida.