Kerala Government`s `Work Near Home` Model: Reimagining the Workspace

Case Code: CLHR076 Case Length: 4 Pages Period: - Pub Date: 2020 Teaching Note: Available

Price: Rs.150 Organization: - Industry: - Countries: India Themes: Future of Work, Work from Home, Remote Working, Productivity

Abstract

The case ‘Kerala Government’s ‘Work Near Home’ Model: Reimagining the Workspace’ describes the holistic initiative of the Kerala government to create a win-win scenario for the government, businesses, and employees at large during the COVID-19 pandemic. The case first describes the idea behind the ‘work near home’ (WNH) model that arose after the government found that employee productivity had dropped after two-three months of the employees working from home. The case then looks at how the government with support from IT Parks-Kerala designed and implemented a network of virtual and physical WNH co-working spaces across the state. The case also looks at how this model offered an alternate ecosystem to people through effective utilization of physical assets like hotels, engineering colleges, tourist homes and resorts, commercial buildings, and unoccupied houseboats which were lying idle owing to the pandemic. The case ends with a brief focus on the government’s Fiber Optic Network (K-FON) project and how the WNH model could be a first step toward discovering the nature of the new office space in post-COVID times.

Issues

• Understand the benefits of a flexible work environment
• Learn about the importance of employee productivity
• Learn about alternatives to traditional office work spaces
• Become aware of the need to design holistic development models for socio-economic growth
• Understand the need for innovative reforms in work-related policies

Introduction

In March 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, much like the rest of the world, the government of Kerala, a state on the south western Malabar Coast of India, announced a lockdown. As a result, employees across the state were asked to work-from-home (WFH). Officials of the state government very soon observed that even though productivity was quite high in the first month of WFH, things had begun to deteriorate thereafter. The productivity levels of employees declined in the second and third months of the lockdown due to various issues such as irregular power connections, unavailability of laptops at employees’ homes, family responsibilities and compulsions, and poor Internet connectivity. According to Sasi P.M. (Sasi), CEO of the Kerala government-owned IT parks, “While a majority of the women employees complained about the psychological pressure of handling both the household and office work, a loss in employee morale has been reported from many places.”

Keywords

Work From Home; Remote Working; Employee Productivity; Flexible work environment; Economic Development; Employment; Private-Public Partnerships; Government and Society

Buy this case study (Please select any one of the payment options)

Price: Rs.150 Instant Download

Price: Rs.150 Express Checkout

PayPal (3 USD)