Wipro asks employees to work from office thrice a week

Wipro, India's fourth-largest IT services provider, is mandating that all its employees globally work from office at least thrice a week from this month, according to a company-wide email seen by Reuters on Tuesday.

Companies have been reversing or modifying their "remote work" policies as COVID-19 pandemic-related restrictions wound down for reasons including better communication and collaboration among workers.

Last week, Infosys, India's No. 2 software services exporter, asked some employees to return to the office 10 days a month, while industry leader TCS asked employees to return to the office for five days a week.

Wipro has been encouraging employees to work from the office thrice a week since May and about 55 per cent of the workforce are currently working from the office at that frequency, a company spokesperson said. Wipro had 244,707 employees as of September 30.

The Bengaluru-based company confirmed the mandate will be effective November 15, which was first reported by local media.

Starting January 7 next year, consistent defaulters may face consequences, according to the email dated November 6. The email did not give details on the punitive actions and Wipro's spokesperson did not comment when asked.

"As a global organization, we will continue customizing in-country adoption based on local legislation and agreements," the email said. It said that in some European countries, it may be necessary to consult with employee representation groups.