No More WFH! TCS Announces Full Office Return Starting October 1

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is reportedly planning to discontinue hybrid work starting October 1, 2023. In an internal communication, the company has instructed its employees to be present in the office for five days each week.

According to a Moneycontrol report, the current directive for this transition still maintains a three-day-a-week schedule. However, managers across different divisions have been encouraging employees to attend the office on all five working days. The company will provide flexibility and hybrid policies, making exceptions as needed.

As of quarter ended June 30, TCS had around 615,318 employees.

This move indicates a notable change in the work-from-home policies within the IT services sector, which employs more than five million individuals in India.

An internal email accessed by CNBC-TV18, said, “As communicated by CEO and chief human resources officer (CHRO) in various townhalls, it is mandatory for all associates to attend office on all the working days (5 days per week if there are no holidays) starting 1 October 2023.”

This represents a noticeable departure from TCS’ earlier position, which, from September 2022 onwards, mandated that employees follow a schedule and be present in the office for three days each week. The company had additionally cautioned employees about potential consequences if they failed to comply with this schedule.

Meanwhile, the email has not gone out to all teams, and is being staggered, according to sources.

The company has previously also received flak, after Chief Human Resources Officer Milind Lakkad said in a Q&A in the company’s annual report that attrition of women was higher when compared to men in FY23.

“Historically, women’s attrition at TCS has been similar or lower than men’s attrition, so this is unusual. There might be other reasons but intuitively, I would think working from home during the pandemic reset the domestic arrangements for some women, keeping them from returning to office even after everything normalised,” Lakkad said.