Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has given an ultimatum to employees still working from home and asked them to return to work from March.

While the IT giant has extended the deadline to next month, they have made it clear that it will be the final deadline, and failing to comply will lead to serious consequences, reported The Economic Times.

TCS's chief operating officer, NG Subramaniam, confirmed the development to the publication, citing work culture and security issues as some of the concerns related to work from home.

"We are exercising patience but have taken a principled stand that employees have to get back to offices," Subramaniam was quoted as saying in the report.

"We have sent employees the final communication on this and if they do not, there will be consequences to face," he added.

He highlighted the risk of cyberattacks and indicated that employees who work from home are more vulnerable than those working from office. "One cannot have the kind of controls at home and there can be security risks to businesses," he said.

TCS is aiming to return to its pre-pandemic work culture and move away from the hybrid model it adopted during Covid-19. The company initially announced that a fourth of its employees would work from home by 2025, but now they want all employees back in the office.

As of now, about 65-70 per cent of the workforce comes to the office up to three days a week.

"We are very clear that we have to get our original culture back," Subramaniam said.

"Around 40,000 employees joined us online and quit online without any offline interaction during the pandemic and that kind of situation cannot be helpful to an organisation," he added.

TCS has seen a decline in its employee count in recent quarters, with attrition rates also fluctuating. The company aims to be back to its normal operating mode by the end of the current fiscal year, with the return of employees to the office being a key part of this plan.

Source: India Today