The Myriad Facets Of The Elixir Of Power

 Lust for Power is the aphrodisiac that, paradoxically, helped build as well as deflowered empires; Genghis Khan built a sprawling one while Mir Jaffer’s lust deflowered a glowing one - leading to Siraj –Ud –Daulah’s abject surrender, to the British, in the Battle of Plassey, 1757 that led to the immediate British control over the prosperous Bengal province – a springboard used later to capture India. The myriads of power, thus, make for a fascinating debate.

Power in simple terms is control/authority over others. Early man - Hunter gatherers - assumed it vide physical strength instilled through threat of retaliatory violence; later with the establishment of village settlements, power was sought via the sword – by a class that evolved into the Kshatriyas caste in India or the warrior/nobles class in Europe. The growth of Religion provided an alternate power centre – the Brahmins caste, in India, or the Priestly class in Europe.  While agriculture was the primary occupation in ancient civilized societies, the largely self-sufficient village still needed to buy what they did not produce or produced less than their necessities; that led to the genesis of the trader class – the Vaishya caste in India or the Merchant class in Europe. Later, with the emergence of currency, the opportunity of intermediation - to collect accumulated savings & route it to the needy even while claiming a margin - led to the emergence of the banking class – perhaps, an extension of the broker class during the barter trade period.  The heredity of occupation – that determined class hierarchy - was enforced by law even during the Roman Empire which, in India, took the form of caste. The lowest class of peasants/Farmers, in Europe, or Shudras in India, were, unfortunately, bereft of power.

While power remained largely the preserve of the warrior class who ran kingdoms, there were times when the priestly class wielded more power – like the Pope during the crusades. Florence or Genoa, in Italy,  emerged as successful examples of the merchant class ruling Republican city states.

History is replete with examples of two of these interested groups coming together to secure power. The family of Saud in Arabia entered into a symbiotic alliance, with religious leader, Mohammed Wahhab, in 1744, to support the “Hanbali” form of Islam in lieu of which the latter granted a religious shield that moralized the regime’s expansionism. The banias in India – like the Jagat Seth’s of Bengal – became the chief financiers of the state in lieu of which they secured favourable trade/tariff deals. The Medicis – the merchants of Florence – funded the election of their preferred candidates as Popes & secured the lucrative Papal banking account in return which provided them with ample liquidity to plan the expansion of both their business & power base.

There have been interesting times in history when some leaders coalesced 2 class identities to eliminate power sharing. A king also becoming a religious leader is one such case – Caliphate in the Muslim world; George VIII, already the King of England, since 1509, became the head of the Church of England, in 1536  Lorenzo Medici copied the template & sowed the seeds that, over time, secured control of the Papacy by having their family members as Popes – Pope Leo (1513-1521) & Pope Clement VIII (1523-1534).

Monopoly of power by certain classes/castes inevitably leads to the emergence of an aspirational class amongst the denied. It takes of form of revolts & revolutions. Attempts by the peasant class in Europe or the shudras in India were crushed mercilessly under feudal regimes until the French Revolution – with principles of Liberty, Equality & Fraternity – of 1789, became the bedrock of the Democratic model & the Russian communist revolution, of 1917, provided successful templates. The basic communist manifesto of each citizen getting as per his need & paying as per his ability to create an egalitarian society did attract adherents but over time suffered as the dictatorship of the proletariat quickly degenerated into the dictatorship of the Politburo or the dictatorship of a strongman – Stalin or Mao kinds.  Power flows from the ‘barrel of a gun” averred Mao justifying violence unlike Democracy that calls for a peaceful time bound transfer of power respecting a majority opinion.Thus Democracy, despite its flaws, is the best model on offer.

Democracy, in modern societies, with a universal adult franchisee has done more to usher in equality & herald a reduction in inequity; constitutions propagate justice & fairness. While most of the elected representatives in India, after independence, belonged to the forward castes – Brahmins, Kshatriyas & Banias – power transition to the OBCs (Other Backward classes) was work in progress even before VP Singh, announced Mandal Commission reservation because the latter boasted of greater numbers – the key in a one person one vote scenario.  in, 1990. Mulayam Singh Yadav in UP & Lalu Yadav in Bihar were formidable mass leaders who went on to became CMs in 1989 & 1990 respectively, Mandal commission implementation accelerated the power shift. Likewise, Mayawati – a Dalit- became CM, of the largest state in India, UP, in 1995.

Democracy, in India, has taken a different trajectory unlike in Europe or Americas. The erosion of class was a welcome development in occidental nations while in India we have taken the route of caste/religious alignment to secure a majority in the first past the post ballot arrangement as Madhavsinh Solanki did in 1980’s, in Gujarat, vide the KHAM (Kshatriya-Harijan-Adivasi-Muslim) coalition; likewise, Mulayam & Lalu cobbled together the Muslim-Yadav (MY) coalition to become CMs of India’s most populous states. Mayawati stitched together a Brahmins-Dalit alignment in 2008, to become the CM of UP. Nitish Kumar, like Karpuri Thakur earlier,  attempted to strengthen his hold on power by segregating the OBC into Extremely backward classes (EBCs); he created a coalition of the forward castes with Non-Yadav OBCs & the non Paswan Dalits; meanwhile, the BJP, in UP, rode to power, in 2017,  following a similar template – a coalition of forward castes with non Valmiki Dalits & non Yadav OBCs - & Installed a Kshatriya Yogi Adityanath – who also heads a religious Institution (Goraknath Math) as a CM.

Such coalitions, though a legitimate exercise in the pursuit of power, often carry the risk of creating social schisms. Caste polarization is as dangerous as religious polarization. Urbanization & increasing literacy levels were recommended, by Ambedkar, as the surest way to usher in equity & annihilation of caste; hopefully, India shall achieve such an objective

Is Work from Home (WFH) a sustainable solution?

India announced a Corona virus induced lockdown, in Mar ’20, much to the immediate chagrin of both employers & employees; both cohorts, over time, though, realized the benefits of the measure, prompting them to evaluate work from home (WFH) as a permanent measure. Indian IT & ITES (Information technology enabled services) that pioneered outsourcing/”off shoring”  earlier remodelled themselves rapidly into remote working by equipping teams with laptops, VPN connectivity, video conferencing tools, headsets, ergonometric tools etc. - & the rest of the economic actors followed suit; some people have termed it “Home-shoring” – a 10,000 employee delivery centre replaced by 10,000 home offices.

Industry association NASSCOM advocated & the govt. approved the shifting of bonded assets from the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) & Special Economic Zones (SEZ) & Telecom partners upgraded close to a million base stations – as part of the standard DOT (Department of Telecommunications) disaster management SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) to make WFH a reality.  IT/ITES firms transitioned to cloud based security protocols & multi factor authentication based VDIs to fulfil data privacy laws & attempt winning client’s confidence.

Is WFH sustainable or will the initial “euphoria” deteriorate into “weariness” & worse still “burnout”.

Arguments in support of WFH

Globally tech companies like Twitter & Square have asked their employees to be on a WFH mode forever while Facebook & Google have given employees options to work, remotely, for considerably long time. In India, Rajesh Gopination, CEO of India’s largest private sector employer, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), with 4.5 lakh employees, announced in their annual report FY20 the 25X25 model: “by 2025 only 25% of our associates will need to work out of our facilities at any point of time; every associate shall be able to realize their potential without spending more than 25% of their time in a TCS office. Furthermore he adds” our customers are comfortable with this model & want us to take more work that others are not able to handle”. Clearly, clients appear not to be complaining.

In India, FMCG (fast Moving Consumer goods) company, CavinKare, closed their corporate headquarters, in Chennai & 4 branch offices, in June 2020, because MD Ranganathan – the pioneer of the sachet revolution - saw a “30% increase in productivity during the 100 days of lockdown; only factories & R&D centres shall have employees come in & work”. Marico, meanwhile, is working with an external consultant to ensure at least 40% of its office based staff WFH.

The cost benefits of the measure for the corporates who save on office space rentals is obvious just as employees save on travel time & the opportunity to spend more time with family.

Arguments against WFH

IT companies who had procured land from govt. decades earlier - to build their office campuses -  are precluded from either sale or sub-letting; such companies therefore do not see too many savings; furthermore, even if govt. approves the same, the option to rent out such spaces appears bleak if WFH becomes a default solution adopted by many companies.

Tiger Tyagarajan, CEO of Genpact, opines that real estate costs are not flexible in the short run as they are still incurred; whether it can be eliminated in the medium to long term is debatable. He adds that real estate are not the only cost to be considered in a WFH scenario  as IT, Info Security & data privacy can become much more expensive than an office environment. Furthermore, while the same IT assets can support two or three employees across shifts, each employee needs a separate device in WFH, forcing additional asset purchases. It is easier & cheaper to build & maintain a secure network in one location rather than in a distributed setting. The cost of providing softer elements of infrastructure - ergonomic chairs, a reasonable workstation & a secure internet & office supplies – has not been taken into account he says. Furthermore Tyagarajan adds that the kind of homes employees live in, no of people in those homes & whether the space is conducive for knowledge work are other imponderables. As per a Knight Frank survey too, cost savings vide lower real estate footprint was lost on account of additional costs incurred towards ensuring an effective WFH arrangements.

No wonder Google employees demanded & secured $1000 for creating infra at home.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella believes that “employee health” shall be negatively effected if asked to WFH permanently. Other critics highlight the likely obituary of “bonding” & creation of a “company culture” if WFH gets perpetuated. Culture is a glue that binds people together & a competitive advantage imbibed mostly vide F2F interactions & non-verbal interventions at the workplace.

Despite the best efforts of IT/ITES companies there are clients still worried about data safety & the attendant costs of additional security architecture; the recent data breach at BigBasket.com was disconcerting.

Some employees have complained about the fatigue of WFH, absence of a face to face interaction with clients & teams impacting productivity & morale drops due to lack of appreciation vide a pat on the back otherwise possible in an office setting; tough to replicate such a feeling even with collaboration tools they allege.

How shall the future look like?

Reduction of Sales Offices: It is sane to predict that sales offices can be trimmed; after all most of the sales guys operate from upcountry locations from their home & an office setting is a luxury available to sales personnel headquartered in the branch office locations. Else, most of the sales force meets generally once a month in a physical setting for the monthly sales meet to review the performance & plan for the next. Reducing branch offices across is thus unlikely to effect productivity.

Enthused by increased productivity, RPG group announced a policy effective Sept 1 2020, wherein all its sales personnel shall WFH permanently while office staff would WFH 50% of the time & 75% in special cases. This shall apply to factories & plantations too - all personnel who don’t work with machines. HR head Venkatesh said “we have categorized employees into 4 groups by the nature of the work & basis that it would be decided who would work remotely & to what extent” While in IT everybody can WFH exceptions shall be ‘those who need to work from a SEZ/client location or mandated by contractual obligations with clients to work from company premises” This shall rationalize office space & enable hot desking.

Rise in outcome based employment: Indian Staffing association claims that 12% of IT/ITES staff are contractual & project such nos. to increase from 5 lakhs in 2018 to 7.2 lakhs in 2021. The pandemic shall accelerate crowdsourcing & outcome based engagements; gig economy shall flourish which shall force people to invest on skill development – an opportunity for EdTech & other training firms

Govt. has introduced a 5 year fixed term contract while states like MP, UP, Gujarat have abolished labour laws for about 3 years which could prompt companies to look more at ‘contract labour “ rather than permanent manpower. The recent labour violence of workers damaging Wistron property on account of unpaid wages & implementation of 12 hour work hours without additional payment, despite promises, could create regulatory challenges.

Teamlease services has announced closure of its “permanent recruitment” vertical.

Increased capital intensive industrial growth & job crisis thereof:  Manufacturing companies might not be able to offer a WFH solution to its shop floor employees. But the pandemic induced social distancing & reduced workforce norms - without a significant productivity dip - & the possibility of recurrence of such events could prompt manpower rationalization; a shift towards more mechanization / robotification, with a potential to create a job crisis down the line.

Fractured work week: A 3 day office week with 2 days WFH could emerge as a compromise solution; a hybrid work model with staggered timings & office by appointment are emerging trends. While some employees might want to WFH long term & thus it could become an elective – based on employee choice.

Pre pandemic, Microsoft Japan conducted an experimental 4 day work week which resulted in 40% productivity increase, 23% reduction in office electricity usage, 59% reduction in papers printed by employees; workers were happier & took less time off. A 4 day 40 hour work week - with increased work hours for the days off - is increasingly being experimented.

Real Estate upside in Tier 2 towns: Rental yields of areas close to office spaces have dropped since WFH gave an option for the employees to operate further away in the same city or work from their upcountry native places, ensconced in the comfort of support systems. Bigger yet affordable homes at 35-60% lower cost are available on city outskirts as per moneycontrol.com; with a huge rental arbitrage developers confirm increased demand for 2.5BHK & 3.5BHK so that extra spaces can be converted to makeshift workspaces. DLF has sold 88 independent floors worth Rs. 300 cr. during the last few months alluding to the potential of premium housing. Business centres within apartment complexes by developers is a new trend to cater to the WFH crowd. Pepperfry has reported a 400% increase in home office furniture – compact study tables, ergonomic chairs, storage cabinets.

As per the International Property Consultants, Cushman & Wakefield, flexible working spaces witnesses a 60% drop YoY & going forward many small & mid-sized co-working spaces shall be forced to shut shop. As per a Regus survey financially scarred companies have resorted to seeking smaller & flexible office spaces to save on costs.

Opportunities for Cyber security firms: As per Laurence Pitt, Global Security strategy director, Juniper Networks, cybercriminals took advantage of the expanded attack surface - use of unsecured home networks & BYOD (Bring your own device) & siloed operations to launch phishing, vishing & ransomware attacks; 73% of CIOs & CSIO’s across 9 countries as per their survey conceded that their organization’s network & security have sometimes struggled in terms of added business demands during the pandemic.  

It is reasonable to conclude that Data security concerns in decentralized setting could spell new opportunities to cyber security companies. The launch of 5G down the line could offer opportunities for data theft to happen faster & more discretely.  Identity & access management for users & apps & Virtual cyber incident reporting & remote deployment of forensic tools could become the new template. Cloud companies offering SaaS (Software as a service) shall gain too. Pitt argues, however, that since security investments were brought forward, by companies, in 2020, therefore 2021 could see reduced spending with an increased need to demonstrate fast value from previous security investments. Connecting to secure DNS services, with minimal implementation costs, heavily encrypting data - at rest & in motion - & role based controlled access to data the likely way forward.

Conclusion

Clearly some companies like CavinKare & RPG have opted for a permanent WFH solution while others like Infosys believe that the future of workspace shall be hybrid – flexibility to work from office or home. Irrespective of option chosen all organizations shall opt for resiliency & be ready to deploy Remote work solutions. Tyagarajan says that the debate on cost advantages of WFH misses the bigger point of humans loving choices; work becomes a passion & pleasure when employees are offered the choice of travelling to office to interact with teams in person or WFH in a quiet focused setting.

Thus a Flexible working week & hot seating are definitely in. Personnel in manufacturing, engineering & construction where physical presence is necessary shall continue their usual work practices even as companies opt for greater automation to reduce manpower with a potential to trigger a job crisis.

The blurring of the home/office lines & stress induced thereof could be addressed by having a daily team call in the morning to signal start of the workday & a debrief call in the evening to signal end of workday to prevent burnout & aid bonding. Measuring output rather than hours put in shall aid “trust” increase. Non -work team interactions at regular intervals, informal awards & synchronized team lunches could aid sense of “belonging” & help serve to reduce mental stress issues. Skills like “self-direction” by workers, comfort with digital tools, empathy, virtual communication skills, adaptability & motivation skills could vary across employees & calls for the HR department to plan interventions after assessing skill-gap analysis.

Enabling, engaging & empowering employees is the way ahead.