Coronavirus in India: India Inc pushes for work from home, stopping spread of misinformation
IT industry is gearing up to safeguard employee health as Coronavirus hits Indian shores (Image for representation)
Coronavirus in India: As novel coronavirus hits Indian shores and number of cases rise, top names in Indian corporate world like TCS, HCL and others are taking notice and implementing measures to safeguard the health of their employees. Many companies are advising work from home. Big industry honchos like Anand Mahindra, Harsh Mariwala and more have weighed in on the issue as well. They've advised caution as a lot of misinformation is doing rounds on Coronavirus.
Indian IT companies are taking specific note as their employees have a lot of global exposure.
A Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) spokesperson said on Tuesday that they have advised their employees in Italy to work from home. A Delhi resident who returned from Italy was found positive in recent days. An Italian tourist and his wife were found infected by coronavirus in Jaipur.
"We are ensuring that our staff have all the information and support they require. In addition, we are also working closely with our clients to co-ordinate any measures in this situation," the spokesperson said.
Anand Mahindra, Chairman of Mahindra Group, agreed with the push towards work from home. He predicted that work from home will be more normal.
"The crisis will pass,but I think it’s making the world press a permanent ‘Reset’ button. 1) It’ll accelerate working from home 2) lead to more digital ‘virtual’ conferences 3) More video calls, less meetings.4) Less air travel, leading to a greener footprint. Anything else?" he said in a tweet
The crisis will pass,but I think it’s making the world press a permanent ‘Reset’ button. 1) It’ll accelerate working from home 2) lead to more digital ‘virtual’ conferences 3) More video calls, less meetings.4) Less air travel, leading to a greener footprint. Anything else? https://t.co/ISb2wNJpiD
— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) March 4, 2020
HCL Technologies said it has invoked an epidemic contingency plan in the impacted geographies and is providing full support to employees, wherever possible.
"'Remote Working/Work From Home' strategy has been activated to aid social distancing in the impacted regions. Travel advisory across the organisation has been issued with full precautionary measures," the company said.
It has also formed a special global task force to actively monitor the situation and take necessary actions in consultation with external agencies (International SOS).
"HCL is pro-actively invoking all required measures to ensure business continuity and will also be providing full support to clients and employees," the company said.
Even Twitter has asked its global workforce to work from home if possible.
"We are strongly encouraging all employees globally to work from home if they're able. Our goal is to lower the probability of the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus for us — and the world around us," Twitter said in a blog.
In a series of tweets, Jennifer Christie, who leads the people team at Twitter, said, "Today, we shared additional guidance, strongly encouraging all Twitter employees globally to work from home if they're able. Our goal is to minimise contact with others and contain any potential risk, protecting everyone's health and safety."
Other big names of India Inc have tweeted against the spread of misinformation.
Harsh Mariwala, Chairman of Marico, shared a funny anecdote in which he received a WhatsApp forward claiming that ginger in hot water cures coronavirus
I received a Whatsapp forward claiming that ginger & hot water can cure the coronavirus. No, it cannot!!
We need to stop spreading misinformation in these times.
pic.twitter.com/PgVtH8k7fA— Harsh Mariwala (@hcmariwala) March 3, 2020
Harsh Goenka, chairman of RPG enterprises also made such a tweet.
…….and waiting for some joker to pop up and claim that gobar or gau-mutra is the cure for #coronavirus.
— Harsh Goenka (@hvgoenka) March 4, 2020
(With agency inputs)
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