Cognizant, a major IT company has issued a stern warning to its employees and stated that if they fail to obey the work from office order, it could result in their termination. According to a report by Mint, the company sent out a letter to its employees on April 15, urging those who have not yet resumed in-person work despite previous warnings to take responsibility.
Employees were reminded to review previous communications from company leaders as they were expected to return to the office. Until the beginning of this year, Cognizant did not have such a policy and allowed teams to visit office based on the project requirements. However, this new instruction comes several months after the company instructed its employees in India to work from the office three days a week starting in February.
The company’s letter quoted in the report says, “Please note that failure to adhere to the directions will amount to serious misconduct as per company policies and accordingly, appropriate disciplinary action will be initiated against you, which may lead up to termination.”
Meanwhile, an insider close to the situation quoted in the report, revealed that employees had received numerous instructions to return to the office from various sources, including the project manager, human resource team and team manager. Another executive disclosed that in February, Cognizant sent emails to its employees, particularly those on the bench, alerting them that their office attendance is being monitored and reported to senior management. For those not aware, employees on the bench are those who have not been assigned to a specific project or client.
The employee further added, “Many of my colleagues across cities in India have received verbal warnings by HR to return to office for work if their project demands them to work from office for a certain number of days. Things are getting back to their previous state, as before COVID.”
Another individual explained that there was no specific date given to return to the office because it depends on the project's need. On the other hand, a different employee disclosed that one of their team members was placed on the bench due to their absence from the office, despite receiving warnings from HR, the employee's supervisor and project manager. This situation, according to the employee, has affected several others who failed to follow the office attendance policy.
Cognizant concluded the March 2024 quarter with a total of 344,400 employees. This was a reduction of 3,300 employees compared to the December 2023 quarter. It is mentioned that 73 percent of Cognizant’s workforce, which comes to 254,000 out of 347,700 employees, are based in India.
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