Kamal Ghorui
Bengaluru: One size doesn’t fit all in the return-to-office push. Work-from-home, once the defining perk of the pandemic era, is quietly being phased out across India’s IT sector as companies tighten hybrid work norms and make in-office presence the new default.TCS has mandated five days of office attendance and linking compliance to variable pay and career progression. In 2024, TCS rolled out a work-from-office policy that directly links variable pay to attendance compliance. Employees with 85% or higher office attendance are eligible for 100% of the variable pay for the period, subject to organisational decisions. Those with 75–85% compliance receive 75% of the payout, while employees with 60–75% attendance are eligible for 50%. Staff with less than 60% compliance are not eligible for any performance bonus. Other IT majors, while stopping short of a full return, have introduced their own checks and balances to enforce hybrid work.Infosys mandates a minimum of 10 in-office days each month, with 30 days of medical exemption built into the policy. Employees can also avail five non-medical exemption days per quarter.Wipro now requires employees to work from the office at least three days a week, allowing up to 12 exemption days annually for those unable to meet the requirement. Accenture asks employees to come in once a week. In practice, attendance is often shaped by team-level expectations and managerial discretion rather than policy alone.The broader shift signals a move away from one-size-fits-all work models toward more tightly monitored hybrid frameworks. Work-from-home, once used as a key talent attraction tool, is losing relevance in a market marked by slowing revenue growth, margin pressures, and cautious client spending.“HR norms are moving toward role-based and outcome-based hybrid models,” said Phil Fersht, CEO and chief analyst at US-based IT advisory HFS Research. “Early-career staff, client-facing roles, and teams handling sensitive data will see tighter in-office norms, while senior or highly specialised roles will retain greater flexibility. AI and automation are also making work more collaborative and iterative, increasing the value of in-person interaction at certain stages.”Pareekh Jain, CEO and lead analyst at Pareekh Consulting, said companies are tightening norms because concerns around attrition and talent attraction have eased. “There will still be flexibility for mental and physical health needs, but that will vary by company. Some will mandate two or three days a week, others 10–15 days a month,” he said.
