TOP IT COMPANIES ROLL OUT VIRTUAL PERKS AMID WORK FROM HOME PRESSURE - REPORT 

As work pressure has increased while employees struggle with work from home (wfh), major top companies like Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys and Genpact are conducting online music concerts, stand-up comedy sessions and online leisure. 

Along with such sessions, the IT companies are also organising wellness initiatives and holding talks on mental health to maintain their standards of being a cool workplace.

Before COVID-19, IT companies showcased amenities like fully furnished gyms, sports areas, beer bashes, organic meals and other perks. The idea behind it was to come to the workplace and everything would be taken cared of but not anymore.

After the pandemic taking over, the majority of the IT workforce are currently working from home. Meanwhile, earlier this year, on July 2, TCS through its #OneTCS channel hosted a concert of singer Jonita Gandhi. Milind Lakkad, Global Head, Human Resources, in the September-ended quarter said that it continues to focus on the physical and emotional well-being of its employees. 

“Our OneTCS channel has hosted inspirational leaders, mental health experts, virtual town halls and global talent hunt competitions, all designed to reduce stress and the feeling of isolation, and to boost morale,” he said.

Even self-help and counselling services were availed by nearly 8,000 TCS employees in Q2. Not just that, even Infosys, is using virtual reality (VR) technology for new joinees to experience the workplace and interact with colleagues. 

“We have sessions where teams can get together to maintain a fitness schedule; we provide virtual rooms for collaborative meetings and have substantially increased online leisure and wellness options,” Richard Lobo, Executive Vice President, Head HR, Infosys, told BusinessLine. 

Weeks back, tech company Accenture had a ‘speaker series’ with cricket commentator Harsha Bhogle for its employees. Looking into other companies, Larsen and Toubro Infotech (LTI) has a 5-5-5 initiative, wherein its leaders connect with 5 employees at 5:00 pm on a Friday evening to discuss non-work-related issues that team members may be facing. To which the company provides organisation support wherever needed.

Among all this Tiger Tyagarajan, Genpact’s president and CEO, feels that the tech companies depend on how effective they would be in taking the job to the workforce, rather than making them come to work. 

“We are not going back to the era wherein all employees will be required to work from physical offices at all times,” said Rajeev Ahuja, President at NYSE-listed Startek.