Covid-19 effect: Most prefer working from home, say productivity up, reveals all-India survey

As companies worldwide are taking the decision of letting people work from home, Indians seemed to have taken a liking to the new normal ushered in by the Covid-19 pandemic. According to a survey of 720 respondents across India, 54% love working from home and 56% believe their productivity has increased by working from home.

Around 34% respondents, who said they like working from home, are also willing to take a 10% pay cut if companies allow them to work from home permanently, revealed Mavericks India’s report — Covid-19 and Beyond: An Evolving Perspective. However, most of the respondents who agree for a pay cut are also senior executives.

The report, which was released earlier this week, also states that 81% of the people who used to spend more than 90 minutes of one-way commute to the office would love to work from home permanently. According to a report by MoveInSync, on an average, Indians spend two hours a day commuting, which is the highest in the world.

Among the respondent from different cities, 52% from Mumbai said they like working from home, compared to 78% in Pune, 66% in Bengaluru and 51% in Delhi. The report also stated that women prefer the work-from-home setup more than men.

Chetan Mahajan, CEO of Mavericks, said, “By working from home, people can save costs associated with commute, grooming and maintaining a formal wardrobe, apart from saving time. Of course, there are teething problems of maintaining a work-life balance, but it will evolve and people will learn to adapt to the new phenomena.” 56% of the respondents said they were struggling to find a work-life balance as the lines have blurred in the past few months.

Mavericks conducted the survey in September-October to understand the behavioural changes among people caused by the pandemic. The report also states that 51% respondents have started focusing on maintaining better hygiene since the start of the pandemic.