Hindustan Coca Cola Beverages introduces permanent Work From Home option for all employees

Hindustan Coca-Cola Beverages on Wednesday evening announced a permanent Work From Home option for its employees. The company-owned bottling partner for beverage major Coca-Cola in India said that the policy will let employees opt for a permanent work-from-home option in the post-pandemic period, as long as their roles do not require them to be physically present at the work location, in this case, sales or at a factory.  

The company currently runs 15 factories in the country where it manufactures, packages and sells beverage brands such as Thums Up, Sprite, Coca-Cola, Limca, Fanta, among others. 

"This policy is led by empathy and flexibility, ensuring employees and their dependents to feel safe and be at ease, regardless of their work location. The idea is to provide a seamless experience that is meaningful both for the company as well as the employees," Indrajeet Sengupta, chief human resources officer, HCCB, said in a statement. 

The company said that this policy has been created in consultation with their colleagues who understand the problem more than anyone else. 

“The unique feature of the policy is that it has been co-created by our colleagues who we feel know their problems the best. The situation is evolving and hence we remain open and flexible to any modifications that the policy may need," he added. 

Along with this, HCCB has also started delivering ergonomically designed chairs from its office to the eligible employees, working out of its headquarters in Bengaluru, to their homes, on request. It will also provide monetary support to these employees to install UPS for power back-up including monthly wi-fi expenses, the company said in its statement. 

Employees can also avail of monetary support to purchase tables, headphones, lamps, webcam, external microphone, even a coffee mug or flower arrangement.  

Several other companies have also turned to permanent work from home feature which initially started due to the pandemic but is becoming increasingly popular.