IT and technology services provider Wipro has directed its employees to work from home (WFH) till January 18, 2021, especially in India and the United States as the COVID-19 pandemic is still raging. Nine out of ten of Wipro’s workers are based in these two countries. Informing employees about the extension of WFH, the Bengaluru-based company said that other guidelines for those who need to go to office remain the same until January next year.
“Keeping the safety and wellbeing of our employees in mind, we have extended our work from home policy till January 18, 2021. As of now, nearly 98% of our employees are working from home,” the company said in a statement.
Wipro further said it would take a decision on WFH in other countries depending on the situation due to the pandemic. “Given the current situation, we have decided to extend work from home for employees in India and in the US until January 18, 2021. We will take a decision on other countries depending on the pandemic situation, local guidelines and customer requirements,” Chief Operating Officer Bhanumurthy B and Chief Human Resources Officer Saurabh Govil wrote in an email to employees.
Wipro further told its employees that, “all support and non-billable employees, including those who are currently not engaged in any projects, are advised to work from home after consulting their respective managers.” The company has over 1.85 lakh employees, with most of them working in its centres across India.
Nearly 98% of all employees across India’s top IT (Information Technology) firms such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys and Wipro were continuing to work from home, it was reported in October. This translates to 8.61 lakh employees who are working from home, as per data shared by the management for the financial quarter, which ended in September.
Most IT companies are adapting to the new normal with extended WFH. TCS has envisaged a ‘Vision 25*25’ policy where it aims to have only 25% of its employees work from its facilities by 2025. Infosys and Wipro too, have said that they will adopt a hybrid model of work to help build social capital.