_{In case the COVID-19 4th wave hits, the service business sector, including tourism, transportation, hospitality, and real estate, will have to reconsider the work from home option}

HIGHLIGHTS:

China experienced another COVID-19 wave.
The Covid surge impact Work from office Transition
PM asked people to be vigilant and take precautionary actions.
Business like, tourism, transportation, hospitality, and real estate have to reconsider work from home option

Work From Home option amidst COVID-19 Surge, Companies need to reconsider

Companies switched to working from offices after two years of working from home, until the first lockdown in March 2020. Businesses saw this transition as smooth in terms of establishing a hybrid work culture in the new world of work.

But, this transition is now being impacted by the expected surge of COVID-19’s 4th wave in India. Where this wave has hit China drastically.

According to global media reports, China experienced another COVID wave and reported 3.7 million COVID cases in one day. Apart from this, on Sunday, Prime Minister, Narendra Modi addressed the nation and asked people to be vigilant and take precautionary actions against the COVID-19 surge.

The government has instructed the health ministry to implement the RT-PCR test as mandatory for international passengers arriving from COVID-19 4th wave impacted countries, like China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Thailand.

According to the Union Health Ministry, India had 196 new coronavirus infections as of Monday, bringing the total number of active coronavirus cases to 3,430.

The COVID-19 surge will have an impact on the company’s hybrid work culture, in which employees can work remotely from anywhere.

The Hybrid Work Pattern Opted for by Companies:

Meesho is ending its work-from-anywhere model in June next year, having adopted a flexible model of working.
Acenture and Persistent Systems opted to open small offices in cities where they already had larger setups.
Infosys is resuming work from the office in a three-phased manner.
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) enforced WFO and required employees to work from the office at least three days per week
Snapchat called on employees to work from the office by February.
On the other side, many companies, especially in the manufacturing sector, are fully operational from their offices as well.

Consideration for Companies at present:

As per the media reports, China has again witnessed the COVID wave, with over 2 million cases reported every day. The government of India has taken initiave to mandatory RT-PCR test for international passengers, arriving from Covid effected countries

As per the current status in India, the number of active cases is on the decline. But, businesses in India have to take precautions in their hiring plans as the rising COVID-19 cases in many countries and also due to fears of a global recession.

According to the livement reports, the Hospitality, automobiles, commercial and office real estate, Travel, transportation, and mobility will be on high alert during the expected coronavirus outbreak. As the covid news comes at a time when there’s a hiring slowdown.

Further the report stated that job opening in tourism and hospitality sector are reducing as the companies are getting more cautious, other sectors like manufacturing and consumer sector still are on hiring spree.

If the fourth COVID-19 wave hits India, companies in the tourism, hospitality, transport, and real estate sectors will have to reconsider and opt for work-from-home options again.

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