First day, first show: Resuming work post lockdown

A few weeks prior to the lockdown Hitesh Shah who runs a paper import business called NTDC at Fort decided to expand his 1000 sq ft office by acquiring an additional 1000 sq ft space It was a move that he wouldnt have thought much about if it wasnt for the Coronavirus pandemic that soon followedAfter three months of lockdown Shah resumed office on June 8 along with seven employees I have a team of 17 people As of now only 10 per cent has been asked to make it to the office every alternate day as per government norms he says At a time when workers will need to sit further apart to follow social and physical distancing norms Shah is glad he now has additional spaceHitesh Shah in blue founder of paper supply company NTDC is able to maintain physical distance because he has currently a staff of seven functioning from a 2000 sq ft office in Fort Pic Bipin KokateAs stayathome orders begin to loosen in Maharashtra with Mission Begin Again companies are planning for their employees to return to the office From face recognitionbased biometric systems immunity shots contactless services to social distancing circles in common areas the workplace is being restrategised At Shahs establishment the clockin time has been shifted to noon to ensure employees have their meals at home and then report to work Although we have a pantry that is adequately stocked we want to restrict frequent visits to the kitchenette for the time being Shah lives in Matunga and drives to work To ensure his staff does not get harrowed by commuting given that the Mumbai locals taxis and aggregator cabs are yet to resume full operations he has allocated a vehicle with a driver to pick up his colleagues from South Mumbai The ones who live in the suburbs have been exempt from comingA staffer sanitises the interiors of YesssWorksBut not everybody may be as fortunate Meghana Nadkarni who works as an exam coordinator with a management institute is reeling from her first day at work It wasnt the work which was the problem but the journey to get to work she says The Goregaon resident has had to brave serpentine BEST queues to make it to her Vile Parle officeCDK Global India employees were asked to fill up an assessment test for mental and physical wellbeing Only those who cleared it were allowed to come to officeAccording to a statement by the BEST 2132 buses operated on 81 routes on the morning of June 8 As per the rule only 35 people are allowed at one time in a bus 25 sitting and five standing With fewer buses its agonising waiting for your turn Although fake videos of passengers rushing into a bus with zero regard for physical distance have been circulating on social media Nadkarni says the scene wasnt too different on the ground An old man accidentally tripped over me in the rush she says Nadkarnis unmissable morning ritual these days is not a quick cup of chai but a dash to the washroom to sanitise her bag and other belongings before she does the same with her desk I also obsessively wash my hands because you never know whats settled on the surface of doorknobs and elevator buttons Her office is on the ninth floor and taking the elevator comes with its own set of risks They limit the number of people but being in an inherently cramped space feels frightening As a precautionary measure she wears gloves while pressing buttons When it comes to work the 36yearold says she is doing pretty much what she did at home except with a mask on While I agree wearing it is vital you feel smothered when its on for long hoursJoy GeorgeJoy George the head of Human Resource at CDK Global an MNC that specialises in providing software solutions to auto dealers says its natural for employees to feel unmoored given the safety and distance norms that they need to follow We held a Town Hall meeting where people who reported to work offered testimonials on what their first few days at work felt like Many admitted feeling weird and lost initially Its about changing habits he says CDK was recently recognised as a Great Place to Work GPTW for 20202021 In keeping with the company standards they launched an app to assess the physical and psychological wellbeing of employees Only those who secured a safety badge were asked to make it to work Every single person from the MD to the intern had to fill the survey on the app EarlySalarycom a FinTech startup chalked out a plan to decide who could make it to work in the first phase flexibility being the keyword We decided that employees who have seniors in their home small children or have a pregnant spouse will continue to work from home We also agreed that travelling in public transport is not a wise idea and are keeping away all those who take more than an hour to reach office they will all continue working remotely says Akshay Mehrotra cofounderAkshay MehrotraFor a workforce that has tasted the fruits of remote working placing people back into the office has generated much debate Shah is not an advocate of remote working Three months of work from home WFH hasnt changed his point of view My concern is coordination Call me oldschool but Id rather yell across my desk to call a coworker than make a WhatsApp call to get things done he says According to Tanay Shah cofounder of Diamond Chef a bespoke jewellery brand at BKC the concept of WFH doesnt sit in their industry because they deal in highvalue products We had clients sending inquiries asking for products for upcoming events Now that were finally able to source raw material in the market we wanted to get down to it straightaway he says The challenge for Shah has been to ensure employees follow safety norms to the T Ive realised that sanitisation and hygiene doesnt come naturally to us the need to wear a mask maintain physical distance and disinfect our belongings is something that needs to be constantly reinforced To reiterate the norms they have circulated an SOP standard operating procedure among the employees informing them about what they need to do before beginning the days workmdashdisinfect the desk carry your own bottle and spoon so that you can avoid using cutlery from the pantry not to forget to wear a face mask before stepping outTanay ShahRedbrick a coworking workplace in Andheri has pasted posters of dos and donts on the walls doubled the housekeeping staff to ensure industrial level cleaning and increased the sanitisation points at every 20 metres We check every visitors body temperature and have prohibited outside deliveries We have also created a medical room for people who feel unwell they can go in for a checkup says director Ashish GoenkaGeorge says herd immunity as provocative as it may sound can work Herd immunity occurs when enough people of a population are immune to an infectious disease either because theyve been infected and recovered or been vaccinated The software industry that contains the bulk of younger lessatrisk population could help develop immunity against the virus How long can we be holed up at homeOnly those staffers who live within close proximity of the office have resumed work at EarlySalaryThat said not everybody is buying into the argument Shrivallabh Kulkarni is the managing director at Dimenzion3 which offers global solutions in the fields of diversity and HR practices to multinational giants such as Amazon Accenture Oracle and DentsuAaegis Theres a grave risk in calling employees to office at this juncture even if its only 10 per cent of staff he says The problem is magnified in cases where employees are not being provided transport by their company and have to depend on crowded public transport There are employers who would want you to believe that its safe to report to work but it is not The virus poses a serious danger to public health right now He says the flexible working practices outweigh the downsides According to Kulkarni the current pattern will also disrupt work processes because it is likely to create a divide between the haves and havenots on the basis of private vehicles There could be people who presume that going to office is a privilege or there could be a section who might think the same about WFH It will create disparity in perception He says there are scores of corporations that have been able to pull off WFH successfully and continue to do soCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news