India Inc lights up Diwali with longer weekends, flexible work and extra pay for festive shifts

New Delhi: Corporate India is celebrating Diwali with employees through extended weekends, work-from-home flexibility, gifts that are useful, and special incentives and workplace celebrations for those working on the festival days.

Quick-commerce firm Zepto advanced its scheduled holiday to Monday from Tuesday, giving employees an additional day off after Diwali. "We want our people to enjoy the festive season with their families by giving them a longer weekend to celebrate," said Sneha Arora, chief HR officer at the Bengaluru-headquartered firm.

At Hitachi India, employees were asked to vote for their preferred gifts from a list of items, and the popular choices included air fryers and Amazon gift vouchers.


The diversified manufacturer also hosted festive gatherings at hotels across India, bringing together its Indian and Japanese employees, including senior leadership, said chief human resources officer Ashutosh Anshu.

Employees could leverage its hybrid work policy, which allows two days of work from home a week, to manage festive travel and personal commitments, he said.

A noticeable trend this festive season has been the flexibility that companies are giving to employees on how they want to celebrate, said Aditya Mishra, chief executive at staffing and recruitment services firm CIEL HR Services. For instance, he said, "more work-from-home options are given wherever the nature of the role permits, to help employees who wish to travel to their hometowns and continue working".

Some companies are trying to ensure that employees who need to work on the festival days don't miss out on the celebrations.

Earning opportunity

Proptech firm NoBroker.com is organising special celebrations for its housekeeping, security, office support, electrical and maintenance teams.

This would include a role-reversal as well. "For those few hours, our HR team steps into their shoes, staffing the floors, managing security and keeping the offices running, so that not a single person has to miss the festivities," said chief executive Amit Kumar Agarwal.

Trev Mobility, an electric vehicles-focused cab-hailing service, rolled out a special incentive programme for its driver-partners working during Diwali.

"We are offering additional earnings over and above their regular payouts for working during the designated festive days," said founder Naveen Gupta.

"The incentive is structured around the number of days they choose to work, so even those available for one or two days can earn extra. Those who complete all four designated days of duty, including Diwali, are eligible for a significantly enhanced payout, with double payment under the programme," he added.