We have experienced huge changes in our working lives since the pandemic began – driven of course by necessity and concerns for safety. In 2023, the pandemic hasn’t left us completely. However, it’s fair to say that we’ve learned to adapt to new behavioral patterns and unexpected situations. The year 2022 was all about moonlighting, getting back to office, employee wellbeing and quiet quitting. Industry experts believe that some of these workplace trends will continue to stay in India in the New Year as well.
Moonlighting
Moonlighting means taking up an additional job or more alongside an existing job. Critics of the practice say that the employee offer letters clearly prohibits dual employment, and if they are found to be in transgression, companies have the right to fire them. IT major Wipro fired 300 staff members for moonlighting. TCS and Infosys have also been critical of the practice that has been seen as unethical.
However, advocates of moonlighting argue that as long as the employee’s moonlighting is not aiding a competitor or affecting the employer’s work, it is not unethical. According to a report by job-finding platform Indeed India, about one in five employees in the IT sector are keen on moonlighting to make an extra buck. Aligned to this, companies like IT major Tech Mahindra, online food delivery platform Swiggy and employee wellness platform Nova Benefits have said that their employees are allowed to take up side hustles as long as it doesn’t affect their own work.
The issue has been in public discourse, especially among IT professionals, as some of them reportedly resorted to moonlighting during COVID. Minister of state for labour Rameswar Teli – in a written reply to a question on moonlighting in the Lok Sabha on December 19 – said that staff can’t take up additional work that is against the interest of its employer. “As per the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946, a workman shall not at any time work against the interest of the industrial establishment in which he is employed and shall not take any employment in addition to his job in the establishment, which may adversely affect the interest of his employer,” he said.
Remote Or Hybrid Working
Many companies, including IT majors are calling their employees back to office and doing away with the WFH option. However, most companies and employees are struggling to get back to normal after getting used to the ‘new normal’ of WFH. According to Tech Talent Outlook by job site SCIKEY, 82 per cent of employees in the IT sector want to work from home rather than from the office.
According to data shared by Indeed India, a majority of employers in e-commerce (95 per cent), and construction and real estate (90 per cent) prefer to have their staff working from the office, while 37 per cent of employers in the IT sector planned on having their employees work remotely.
A more recent Nasscom and Indeed India’s Gen Z and Millennials: Reshaping the Future of Workforce report said that while the future of work would continue to be hybrid, their survey found that Gen Zs were more willing to go to office – 85 per cent of Gen Zs preferred to either work completely from office or in a hybrid mode (a combination of office and remote working).
Focus On Mental Health & Work-Life Balance
The research by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP (DTTILLP) found that among the 80 per cent of employees reporting poor mental health, 47 per cent said work-related stress was the biggest factor affecting their mental wellbeing. However, 39 per cent of those experiencing poor mental wellbeing did not take any steps to try to manage their symptoms – such as seeking professional help – with around a quarter of this group saying this was because they a negative impact on their personal and professional reputation at work. The report also called on Indian businesses to implement effective workplace mental wellbeing programmes, including creating “a culture where workers feel secure when talking about their mental health at work”, and establishing “a comprehensive strategy that helps people stay healthy at work, tackles the root causes of work-related mental health problems, and supports those experiencing mental health symptoms”.
Keeping in mind the work-related stress, India Inc has increased its budgets for employee wellness. Ever since the pandemic arrived, mental health has become a big concern for the industry. According to the data shared shard with the Economic Times by HR solutions company Aon shows, more than 70 per cent of the companies have introduced or increased financial assistance in the form of mental wellness and stress management programmes, insurance, paid time off, and home relocation assistance. Companies including RPG Group, IBM India, ICICI Lombard, Microsoft, PwC India, Colgate-Palmolive (India), L’oreal India, PayU and Fi Money have all stepped up their focus on employee wellness.