Home Alone During Covid-19: Employees Long For The Connect–Virtual And Real 

Yet, fixing the bandwidth only solves part of the problem. Workers marooned at home lose the advantage of face-to-face interaction about projects and quick consultations. That, too, slows decision-making.

Karthik, who works with a ride-hailing firm in Bengaluru, said it’s faster to walk up to someone’s desk and get the work done. “With work from home, the productivity has dropped drastically,” he said. “A lot of documentation is required to keep everyone in the loop when working remotely.”

Sahil Mathur, global head of human resources and culture at InMobi, agreed. “Certain advantages come from everyone being in the same office, where people ensure that things are done fast,” he said, adding that sometimes execution gets delayed.

To ensure productivity doesn’t suffer, some companies are relying on apps designed to keep a check on those logging in remotely. Sidhaarth, a Delhi-based executive who didn’t give his surname, told BloombergQuint that his company has installed TeamViewer to monitor the number of hours spent on the system in a day. “Sometimes, if I’m on calls, it’s difficult to prove that you are using your laptop. Yesterday, my productivity was only four hours, while I was working till 9 p.m.”

Still, office is not about sitting at your desk and finishing an assignment. It also involves numerous interactions over coffee or tea, at times in groups, personal bonding and even small talk that are known to take stress off people and boost productivity. Some companies are trying to instill that fun element in their work-from-home experience.

Mathur said InMobi has asked managers to individually connect with staff virtually more often. “We do things like headgear Thursday where everybody will wear a cap in a virtual meeting. Or connect people while having tea or coffee,” he said. “We are trying to ensure that we don’t lose the connect. It’s important for employees to meet and connect.”

For Vishal, who didn’t give his surname to maintain anonymity, said his company, among the largest offshoring firms with more than 25,000 employees, is using videoconferencing app Zoom. “Peers can just knock me on Zoom using the link, and we can connect instantly,” he said. “It has become a cultural thing as to how do you virtually stay in office. This has been quite helpful.”

An HR manager at a large Delhi-based consumer goods maker, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the firm hosts a virtual tea session every alternate day between line managers and HR heads. The idea, the executive said, is to understand the challenges and stay in touch.

But she can’t wait to get back to office. For her, it’s been lonely to work from home—she misses the people, the plant on her desk and the office coffee.