According to Research, 96% Of Indian Enterprises Have Requested Workers to Return to Work in Whole or in Part

According to Cisco research, about 96 percent of organizations in India have forced a complete or partial return to the office, with productivity, team collaboration, and leadership pressure as important factors.

Contrary to popular belief, seven out of ten (76 percent) employees in India responded positively to their organization’s mandate to return to the office, and 82 percent of employee respondents expressed a desire to return to the office at least a few times per week, according to the study titled ‘From Mandate to Magnet: The Race to Reimagine Workplaces and Workspaces for a Hybrid Future’.

Despite the good response to the office return, workers’ motivations for in-office labor have shifted dramatically. The major reason they return is not to do individual work, but to interact (80%), ideate and brainstorm with colleagues (53%), and build a feeling of belonging (58%). This trend reflects a shift in employee expectations and requirements for their workplaces.

Workplaces do not adapt to changing employee requirements.

According to the report, workplaces are not prepared for this new method of working. When it comes to workplace design and seating arrangements, 64 percent of workers in India believe they are not favorable to teamwork and creativity. Despite an increasing focus on teamwork, 85 percent of firms polled still devote at least half of their office space to individual workplaces.

Employees believe that individual workstations (40%), big (48%) and small (58%) conference rooms are inefficient or just somewhat useful for increasing office efficiency.

Concerns have also been raised about technology infrastructure and integration.

Employers who believe meeting rooms are ineffective at increasing in-office productivity cite a lack of audio and video endpoints (48 percent), poor audio-visual experience quality (59 percent), a lack of inclusive audio and video endpoints (50 percent), and inconsistency in the experience for remote and in-office participants (57 percent). On average, slightly over half (54 percent) of conference rooms in enterprises have video and audio capability.

On the plus side, the report suggests that businesses are making headway in modernizing their workplace spaces. Eight out of ten employers have already implemented adjustments in the aftermath of the epidemic, and 90 percent aim to do so over the next two years. Adapting to technology improvements (70 percent), meeting changing employee expectations for workplaces (67 percent), and better supporting hybrid work (50 percent) are the primary drivers of change.

“Our study reveals that employees across the region have embraced hybrid work and are willing to return to the office more often, but with a caveat, workspaces must adapt to their evolving needs and expectations,” said Sandeep Mehra, Managing Director of Collaboration Sales, Cisco APJC.

The analysis is based on a November 2023 double-blind survey of 9,200 full-time workers and 1,650 employers. Participants came from seven Asia Pacific markets: Australia, Hong Kong, India, the Philippines, Taiwan, Thailand, and South Korea.