Workplace trends to be thankful for in 2015

A high-five for work-from-home professionals

The ‘old soch meets new approach’ ad rolled out by HP India perhaps best represents the millennial approach to work and life. The ad plays on the tug between the old and the new - a group of executives deride a young man for working from home, which to them means being 'lazy'. Later, when they enter their conference room, the boss introduces them to the new investor - who turns out to be the same man they were mocking before. The young entrepreneur sings off with, "I like your soch, but love my approach."

Though made to show the millenials’ attitude to work, it can apply to the growing number of women who want to do work and live on their own terms. What’s good for these women and men is more and more companies are willing to take on freelance workers or those who work from home or on temporary basis. According to a 2015 Freelancers Union survey of over 1,000 American workers, 34% had done freelance work over the past year, and about 60% of those who had received 25% or more of their income from those jobs.

Boost in D&I programs

Almost all top corporate houses in India have focused on having fantastic Diversity & Inclusion Programs in place. In 2014, American Express designed a unique gender diversity initiative called ‘Reach Out. The program, run in collaboration with 4 other top companies ---- PepsiCo, PwC and Tata Sons – created a partnership which enabled Amex to leverage each other’s Diversity & Inclusion programs. The program provided a development platform for senior women leaders to ‘Share, Network and Learn’ from leaders and peers across these organisations, to enable greater career success. Other Indian companies are following suit with their own D&I programs.

Sabbaticals at SBI

Arundhati Bhattacharya, SBI Chairperson and an icon for working women in India, receives plenty of heartfelt thanks, particularly from the women in her workforce after she introduced a policy allowing employees to take sabbaticals for two years. It came as a huge relief for many women who fear they'll be penalised for taking time out to care for family.

"In India, women are still the primary caregivers. Whether for children, for old people or sick people, you are the primary caregiver. No matter what position you are in," Bhattacharya said. The special sabbatical of two years can be taken by people three times in their career, usually for reasons of child-rearing or looking after sick people.

"A large number of women who have taken time off have actually come and thanked me because they said: 'You know, this feeling of guilt is terrible,' And if they're able to take off, they stop feeling guilty," says Bhattacharya.

Telecommuting? Extended maternity leave? Not dirty words

Having recognised that allowing people to telecommute is a good way of retaining talent, many Indian companies have taken to the idea. Godrej Consumer Products Limited (GCPL), for example, has flexi work and part time work options for employees, including women returning to work after a pregnancy or an adoption. This is in addition to a generous maternity leave --- full pay for six months. “We are trying to create an open and inclusive environment for our women talent, who return to work post an extended break,” says Rahul Gama, head – Human Resources, GCPL.

At SAP Labs, apart from twenty weeks of paid maternity leave, women are also given an additional sixteen weeks of extended maternity leave. In addition, women are offered cab transportation during and post pregnancy. The company has also introduced Run Mummier: a maternity return program that focuses on ensuring the return of a female employee after her maternity leave as smooth as possible. Best of all is the ‘Part work from home’ policy after the birth of a child. This implies that male employees, apart from paternity leave, have the flexibility to work for four hours at office and the rest from home.

Whatever your reason, take leave

Asking for leave is like asking for gold in Indian companies, but many new-age organisations are stepping forward with policies that allow employees not to cringe about the idea of asking for leave. According to scroll.in, Indian e-commerce giant Flipkart recently wanted to work on offering a new leave policy to employees which it hopes will help them maintain a better work-life balance through crucial events in their personal life. Now, employees who have been with the company for more than two years can take one to six months' unpaid time away from work as a career break to focus on their interests. Similarly, those getting married can claim five days off while those who lost a family member can claim unlimited leave to grieve and recover from the loss. In addition, the company also offers one-year career break without pay, if required. GCPL too promotes unlimited sick leave which is based on trust instead of an arbitrary number of fixed days allowed. "Sick leave is uncapped and trust-based because we don't believe that you can put a number to falling ill. Godrejites can avail of it on a 'need to’ basis," a company spokesperson said.

By Debjani Ray

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