Women Shift To Flexible Work Culture Due To Pandemic

The Covid-19 Pandemic has made work from home the new normal. It has opened up a new range of possibilities for companies to strategically schedule working and restructure accordingly. It enables more flexibility with employees no longer tied to an office, they may be better placed to work flexible hours such as earlier or later in the day or even at weekends. Besides the company saves on office space, office supplies, utility bills and expenses for other facilities.

The most dramatic impact of Covid-19 on business operations is the drastic increase of employees working from home. Most women are willingly opting for the remote work culture, which has increased the number of flexible jobs for women. The shift to flexible work and increase in the use of digital technology during the Pandemic has increased the number of women workers.

The internet and broadband services have made it possible for employees to be constantly connected to the office. Apps such as Zoom, Skype etc have made professional communication much easier and very effective too. Flexible work options are as a result much easier and could be perhaps a big equalizer for women. It reduces the commuting time, which not only saves them on the expenses but that can also add hours to the workday, women can maintain full-time jobs and avoid losing on their careers during the time spent as caregivers. The flexibility would allow mothers to maintain their working hours after childbirth and to stay in relatively stressful yet well-paying occupations through times of high family demand.

Women have now the option and opportunity to work from home in a company situated anywhere in India: - The decision of remote work in the back office was farsighted before the Pandemic. Fortunately, India's 200 billion dollar tech industry has allowed employees to work from home which has opened up a plethora of opportunities particularly for women, who previously had to mostly sacrifice their careers for their husbands', or due to child care responsibilities or to take care of the elderly. With the shift from traditional office routine to work from home, Indian women have reaped in many advantages.

Opportunity to learn new skills: - Lesson to be learnt from the ongoing Pandemic is that nothing is permanent and one constantly needs to upgrade. Flexible work motivates employees to learn new skill sets to improve themselves. It helps women upgrade and subsequently new career opportunities open up for them, which was unthinkable during the traditional work routine.

Change in policies open the door for work from home for the long term: - Most of the company headquarters are located in big cities such as Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore etc. India is a diversified country and immense talent is there in small towns and cities. Not every woman had the privilege to shift to big towns. With flexible work culture, a big number of women who previously could not shift to bigger cities for work can now find employment. Many leading companies have already adopted work from home policy. One of India's largest software companies Tata Consultancy Services has said that by 2025, only 25% of its total workforce will be required to come to the office for work. Global giants Facebook and Twitter announced that they would allow employees to work remotely on a permanent basis. 

India is galloping steadily towards becoming a superpower, but for that its cultural norms need to evolve as well. Women participation in the process has to be in equal number with men, if not more. Flexible working hours and work from anywhere culture will surely be a step in the right direction to increase the women workforce.