Wipro, an Indian international technology company, in an e-mail has directed its employees to attend office for atleast three days in a week or else they'd lose the day's leave.
Wipro's employees received the mail on September 2 with the human resources team to not approve of any requests for work from home (WFH).
According to a report by The Mint, the e-mail read, "If there are any such approvals, please cancel such approvals with immediate effect, and suggest the teams to attend office three days a week minimum. The leaves should get deducted in system for any deviation from the above said WFO policy."
An Indian multinational information technology services and consulting company, LTIMindtree also announced a similar course of action on September 1.
It linked employees' leaves to their attendance stating that those who fail to turn up in office for four days, they'd lose a day's leave.
According to Mint, a Wipro employee on the condition of anonymity said, "The management will cancel a day of leave for every day missed in office. Simply put, if an employee is not physically present in office for the required three days a week, then all three days would be counted as leaves."
A source aware of the matter spoke on the condition of anonymity that this course of action regarding linking of leaves to attendance is only for specific projects and doesn't apply to all employees.
According to the publication, Wipro had in November 2023, made it mandatory for employees to attend office three days a week.
The company's management had said that in-person interactions are critical for professional development of employees' talents.
An HR expert on the matter said the decision of bringing employees back to office has an aim of increasing productivity and to spot best performers ahead of the appraisal cycle.
According to Mint, Adecco's India Country Manager Sunil Chemmankottil, said, "These companies believe that employees will be more productive and foster a stronger company culture by working from the office. Since the beginning of the fiscal year, IT services companies have been making a concerted effort to bring employees back on-site. Now might be the opportune time to enforce a return-to-office policy. With the next appraisal cycle approaching in January, IT services companies will be better equipped to evaluate employee performance, attendance, and overall engagement."