Remote Working At Crossroads: To Be or Not to Be?!

Abstract

Work-from-home is an arrangement that many companies worldwide had to adapt to due to the lockdown of 2020 and continued risks post lockdown as well. While many companies had adopted it comfortably, given the kind of job roles employees have, many companies are still struggling with the policies and process-related aspects of work-from-home. This article deals with a situation where work-from-home is a new phenomenon thrust upon them due to the pandemic. This company TPS is dealing with how to manage a mix of work from home and work from office mix, due to reasons that include, a lack of uniform company values and a common binding culture, absence of protocols to deal with this kind of a crisis, and very little exposure to remote working tools and applications. In addition to the complexities posed by the external environment, TPS is facing workforce morale issues and lower productivity. Quite a few high-performing employees are exploring opportunities in other companies. The article concludes with a few questions on how to get to a situation where the challenges can be tackled and a better future can be envisaged for TPS. The answers to the questions would probably help so many such companies which are facing similar challenges. This case-based article would be useful for classroom discussions in a strategic human resources management subject, particularly in recent developments and challenges. In the same subject/course, this can also be taken for discussions on creating newer organizational structures, systems, and designing of roles.