Amid the communal tension in Gurugram, corporate establishments and businesses have opted for a safe, remote work setup for the safety of their employees despite sales and work hours affected due to the closure.
“Given the situation, we have issued a temporary work from home advisory for this week for the safety of our employees. Our offices are still open and functional for staff who have to come in for urgent business-related matters,” said a spokesperson at ixigo, an online travel portal.
Scuzo Ice ‘O’ Magic, a dessert brand with outlets in Delhi / NCR which is open till midnight, has been compelled to close outlets in Gurugram and Faridabad by early evening these past few days. “This decision has significantly affected our sales, the peak time for which are 7 pm-12 am. Despite these challenges, we remain committed to the safety of our customers and staff. We hope for a swift resolution to these unfortunate events, so we can continue to serve our community,” said Gagan Anand, director and founder.
The urban corporate hub known for its glitzy high-rises, luxury hotels, malls and gated condominiums is home to large Indian corporates and start-ups, as well as multinationals offices like Nestle, Coke, Pepsi, Bharti Airtel, Google, KPMG, Microsoft, American Express, Dell, Samsung, Ernst & Young, Deloitte, Oracle.
Home to industrial manufacturing and factories such as Hero MotoCorp and Maruti Suzuki, many companies in Gurugram are taking stock of the situation as well as working in the interest of their teams’ safety.
“We have taken pre-emptive actions to ensure the safety and welfare of our team members. As violence was reported in nearby districts, we have adjusted office hours, enabled remote working options for the upcoming days. Our leadership and human capital teams are constantly monitoring the situation and have facilitated secure departures of on-site and frontline members. Pick-and-drop facilities and additional travel allowances were sanctioned to ensure the safe travel of team members and the non-disruption of caregiving services. These measures ensure continued productivity while fostering an empathetic culture,” said Simardeep Kaur, chief human resource officer, Max India and Antara Senior Living, a specialised residential facilities for short- and long-term care, pre- and post-operative care and memory care for seniors in Gurugram, which is a part of the Max Group.
But despite the disruption, it has been business as usual for most corporate and public relations business. “We have learnt to efficiently WFH during the pandemic. We have built-in redundancy to remotely manage operations and client servicing needs. It was easier for us to re-calibrate this week, as we are following a hybrid format to date of working from the office only three days a week and hence have processes and structures to account for team deliverables and meetings. I hope the tension is resolved soon, as longer-term WFH impacts both morale and productivity. Face-to-face meetings and engaging with team members is an immensely valuable part of the equation to collaborate, innovate, create, and learn,” said Archana Jain, MD and CEO at PR Pundit, an integrated communications consultancy with offices in Gurugram, Mumbai and Bengaluru.
The unrest is uncertain for the food economy too. “The recent riots have added to the industry inflation. Businesses in general, be it for production or sales, are witnessing setbacks. The margins of produce are lower yet vegetable, especially tomato, prices are skyrocketing. This is because of the unrest and the shock to the supply chain. Most companies are facing this issue and the farmers are turning to localised areas and mandis to sell the produce directly because of the disruption in the supply chain and the ongoing unrest. The government is managing the situation and we hope things will be back to normal soon,” said Ishit Pilani, co-founder of Organic Roots, a ready-to-eat healthy food brand in Gurugram.
While corporates are advised to work from home, Vineet Taing, CEO, Vatika Business Centre in Gurugram, which has various MNCs in the complex, observes that a good number of employees are working from their respective offices.