From 2019, when the term Covid was unheard of, to 2023, when the pandemic has receded, life in an IT company has changed forever, say techies from one India’s key software hubs, Pune.
They say remote work has become the norm, communication and collaboration tools have become more important, and the focus has shifted to outcomes and results. These changes have brought both challenges and opportunities for the IT industry, but they have also led to greater flexibility and work-life balance for employees, they say.
“From the time when everything happened only after we entered the office and sat on the desk in our cubicles to now sitting back on our beds, sofas and co-working spaces, Covid has bought about a change in our work culture that otherwise would not have happened,” says Mayank Srivastava, who works with an IT firm in Pune’s tech hub Hinjewadi.
Vikash Saxena, 29, who works for another Pune-based IT firm, says “streamlining work at home was initially a challenge but eventually it was adapted by all easily”. The one big change, he said, was how skill development became a focus area. “With time in hand to spare, where in a normal scenario one would travel or commute to work or home, skill learning became a healthy way to go forward,” he says.
Another techie, 28-year-old Ridhima Gore, says the shift back to office after logging out for Holi in 2020 was “sudden and not easily adaptable”. Her priorities have now completely changed. “I recently also got married and want to look for work from home opportunities because as an HR professional my presence in the office is not as important,” she says.
One key change, says a programme analyst at Kwiqreply, is that the “shift to remote work has led to a greater emphasis on communication and collaboration tools in the IT industry”. “Many IT firms have invested heavily in video conferencing, instant messaging, and project management tools to facilitate communication and teamwork among remote teams,” says the analyst.
For others like 23-year-old Shikhar Jain, a return to office this year was almost therapeutic. “The need to be back was to break the inertia of the work-from-home set-up. Also, efficiency is higher in the office with a more structured controlled environment with respect to a more comfortable space as in home,” says this software engineer.
Vartika Tendulkar, 29, sums it up: “Now, the need for offices is for more collaborative work.”
Hinjewadi is considered to be one of the major software hubs in India, alongside cities like Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Chennai, with companies offering a wide range of services, including development, consulting, and business process outsourcing (BPO). Some of the biggest names in the industry, such as Infosys, Wipro, and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), have a significant presence in Pune, along with many other smaller companies and start-ups.
