U.S.-based IT giant Cognizant stated that it anticipates its Indian workforce to work from the office three times a week, marking the end of the age of remote work brought on by pandemics, according to a document obtained by Reuters.

Employers justified the change with arguments like improved communication and understanding of corporate culture, but many employees have bemoaned on social media the resulting loss of flexibility and work-life balance.

All India colleagues are "expected to be in the office an average of three days per week, or as defined by their team leader," according to a message released by Cognizant CEO Ravi Kumar S last week. However, he did not specify when this change would take effect.

He asked employees to prioritize tasks "that benefit greatly from being together" during the in-person time, such team development, training, and joint projects. Based in India, almost 254,000 of Cognizant's 347,700 workers make up the country's workforce, according to the company's annual report.

The Indian competitors of the New Jersey-based corporation, Tata Consultancy Services, Infosys, and Wipro, ordered staff members to report back to work in 2023; TCS established a five-day-a-week schedule. According to the memo, Cognizant, a Nasdaq-listed company, will provide a new hybrid work scheduling tool for India that would assist managers in organizing schedules and reserving office space for their staff.

According to a Reuters spokeswoman, the company is of the opinion that the hybrid model "will define the future of work" and is dedicated to continuing to grow into Tier-2 cities in India, where a large number of its employees reside. Industry observers applauded the action. According to Gaurav Vasu, founder of research firm UnearthInsight, they would have a favorable impact in terms of operating margin in two to three quarters as such a move by IT businesses boosts productivity and utilization levels.