In response to the fury of Bengaluru’s rain, IT companies turn to remote work

Bengaluru, Sep. 6 (PTI) – As torrential rains wreaked havoc on the streets of the technological hub, muddying roadways and cutting off water and electricity supply, some of India’s most well-known IT companies and startups have ordered employees to work from home.

The operations of IT firms and startups were mostly impacted because most of them had power backup and a hybrid work environment where some employees checked in from home, even if portions of the city where several international enterprises and homegrown startups are located were under water.

Tractors were used to rescue residents after parts of the upscale housing communities were swamped.

However, access issues for technology companies working on research and development significantly affected their global workflow.

The majority of the work is still being done in a hybrid setting, according to a senior executive of a technology business with offices in Bengaluru and headquarters in Germany, but accessing research labs is still a challenge.

When Bengaluru residents used apps to get groceries and food, they discovered that either orders for some locations were not accepted at all or delivery times exceeded an hour, even for those applications that typically advertise speedy delivery.

Swiggy Instamart Head Karthik Gurumurthy said in a tweet that Bellandur, Marathahalli, and Sarjapur have all been severely damaged by the rains.

To fulfil as many orders as we can today, we are collaborating with our merchants. Rely on us… Despite any delays, we will nonetheless fulfil your orders, he assured them.

Videos of IT workers riding tractors to work in the midst of severe waterlogging in the city appeared on social media sites as rains delayed transportation and threw life out of gear.

“All of our employees in Bengaluru are secure. Our delivery teams have been instructed to use proper caution and we are closely watching the situation, according to a Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) representative.

However, it omitted to mention how many workers were logging in from home and how many were arriving at the workplace.

On Tuesday, Indian IT giant Wipro told its staff to work from home and declared that business continuity strategies had been used.

Wipro has urged its workers to work from home today due to heavy rain in Bengaluru. Business Continuity Plans have been used, and there hasn’t been any disruption to operations, according to Wipro’s response to a PTI email inquiry.

The same pictures that were seen on Monday were repeated in several areas of the city on Tuesday due to additional nighttime rainfall, flooded streets, tractors transporting people through flooded areas, and submerged vehicles.

The e-commerce company Flipkart said it has been closely watching the situation and has encouraged all of its corporate staff to continue working from home.

“We are taking action to help any workers and families who have been impacted by the rains. We regularly provide our staff an advise with helplines to call in case of an emergency so they may get firsthand information, a Flipkart representative said.

The company belonging to the Walmart group added that it is “continue to serve” consumers.

There are SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) in place for their safety, including security training, SOS awareness, loss prevention awareness, and response protocols, among other things, the Flipkart spokesperson said. “For our delivery staff and hubs in affected areas, we have maintained a helpline number,” she added.

On social media, some experts cited encroachment, particularly around lakes and illegal buildings, as one of the causes of the city’s severe flooding.

Dramatic video of the rescue, inundated homes and roads, and swamped cars was shared throughout the day on social media.

“Things are not good. After his family and dog were saved by a tractor, Gaurav Munjal, the founder of the Softbank-backed education technology company Unacademy, sent a message on Twitter asking for caution.

General Manager of MediaTek in Bengaluru, Rituparna Mandal, stated that the company is taking all required precautions to safeguard the safety of the teams during the flood crisis.

According to Mandal, “We have provided rules to ensure that there is the least amount of disturbance to business and have advised employees to work from home until the situation improves.”

Although MediaTek employs over 800 employees in India, it was not involved in the Bengaluru split.

According to a representative for Meesho, the business unveiled a groundbreaking “Boundaryless Workplace Model” in February of this year, giving employees the freedom to work from any location, including their homes or offices.

“Breaking the usual workplace dynamics of mandatory attendance to the office, the policy’s flexibility allows employees to choose a location based on their convenience.

The representative stated that the “work from anywhere approach” was crucial in the current Bengaluru situation, where the daily commute has been severely interrupted as a result of the nonstop rain.

Therefore, it has been crucial to ensure that neither staff nor “our activities” have been negatively impacted by the rains, according to the spokeswoman.

We also have satellite offices in significant metro areas, giving employees even more options for their desired work environment. We will continue to implement forward-thinking, industry-defining policies that are vested in the best interests of employees, driven by our people-first philosophy, said a Meesho spokeswoman.

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