rE-dEfININg-wORk sPACe

SHIFT OF WORK FROM WEST TO EAST

Even way before COVID we had the first flattening which is globalization. In the year between 1990 to 2010, we saw many companies set up their offshore units in the far East and other developing nations. There a part of the teams started working in the east and a major part was on shore near the customer or the market and this slowly shifted and became sometimes a bigger portion working offshore & a minor part working onshore near the customer or the market.

WORKING WITH VIRTUAL TEAMS EVER SINCE year 2000…but did not look at replacing office space with the home workspace.

This shift happened for cost arbitrage and move to centers of excellence model providing real-time solutions. Even in the east, there were cities that were more costly than others so again there was a movement for part of the teams to the Tier 2 cities having work locations in various geographies. So even before Covid we were delivering remotely if you take the IT, ITES & product R&Ds of major MNCs. As tech-enabled us to connect and collaborate without ever meeting in person.

MIND STUCK IN AN INDUSTRIAL ERA - (physical office as the holy cow)

But still what made us stick to the office space to deliver work? is surely a question to ponder. My opinion on this is that our work even though advanced & tech moving even faster our minds were still stuck on the industrialization era of having everyone under one roof and we just never broke the mindset or nothing broke that. We just tried creating the same office spaces where ever we moved part of the teams due to cost we still kept the physical office as the holy cow. We painted it made it beautiful remodeled it, made it bigger brought in many facilities so employees stayed in the office and need not step out much for their needs & wants. With a gym, indoor games, food courts & what not & much more.

Then came COVID and forced the workspace to rethink to deliver. Much of the workforces were forced to stay at home but still, those who can work from anywhere continued to work from their homes & those who were not enabled to deliver from anywhere those employees who can be enabled were enabled by giving them the tools in a matter of days despite many hurdles faced. Business has now practically understood what can be delivered from anywhere and which requires office space.

So our philosophy of what work is truly transformed even the unbelievers have been forced to re-think their ideology of office space & how work can be delivered.