New Delhi : Around 39% of employees in the Indian formal sector are prepared to resume working from office premises amid unlock 5.0, found a TimesJobs survey. The survey titled, ‘Back to Work After COVID’, was conducted to understand the preparedness of both the employees and the employers. TimesJobs surveyed 1,268 employees and 863 HR managers working across different sectors.

Among the employers, nearly, 51% HR managers said that their firms could revoke the work from home policies soon. The rest 48% said that their firms could continue working remotely for some more time.

Here are the key takeaways from the ‘Back to Work After COVID’ survey:

• 23% organisations claimed that they are not yet prepared to resume their office even in unlock 5.0.
• 67% employers plan to provide cab facility to their employees for commuting to maintain social distancing
• 42% employers said that the future workplaces will have strict hygiene protocols as a standard mandate

“The TimesJobs survey findings indicate that organisations are all set to re-open their offices with an array of policy changes and a bunch of safety checks in place. While many employers are eager to get back to work to ensure the business continuity and manage employee productivity, it is certain that the work environment won’t look the same as it was in the past. Companies will have to think how they wish to operate, innovate and compete while getting back to work”, said Sanjay Goyal, Business Head, TimesJobs and TechGig.

Other significant findings of the survey are:

Companies to limit personal contact to ensure employee safety

A majority (65%) of HR managers plan to limit person-to-person contact to ensure safety at their workplace. Nearly, 53% surveyed professionals stated that the focus on hygiene protocols will increase. Almost 50% respondents said that temperature checks will be a mandate at their workplace. 37% said that they will reduce working hours of employees to facilitate cleaning and fogging thereafter.

No access to cafeteria, gym, and breakout zones

Infrastructure-wise, around 89% of companies plan to implement changes such as placing workstations apart, installation of barriers between two workstations. Almost 69% of them plan to discontinue cafeteria services along with blocking specific areas such as gym, common space, breakout zone, etc.

Touch points such as doorknobs to get replaced by hands-free devices

Nearly, 55% of respondents stated that they will be installing sanitizers at close distances to maintain hygiene at workplace. Next, 59% of them revealed that they plan to replace the touch points (i.e. door knobs, attendance touch points etc) with hands free devices along with changing the surface materials regularly.

Contact tracing and thermal imaging system to detect infected employees

As per 40% of HR managers, their firms plan to implement contact tracing to detect a COVID-19 infected person. As many as 36% of individuals said that they will initiate regular temperature checks of employees. While, 24% of participants said that their company will facilitate installation of thermal imaging system.

Organisations to take strict disciplinary actions to reinforce new workplace practices 

A majority (48%) of the respondents said they will sensitise and educate their workforce about the new workplace conducts. Next, 27% of them revealed that they plan to take strict disciplinary actions against the employees who fail to adhere to the new protocols.