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5.2 Hearing Women’s Voices
                          WHAT WOMEN SAID…


                   Drawing from their COVID induced work from home experience, women cutting across
                   PSEs, shared multiple anecdotes that acts as an eye-opener to various facets of a
                   work from home arrangement.  WfH cannot simply be bracketed into a good or a bad
                   option. Underlying a good or a bad option, there are factors at play. Therefore, it is
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                   interesting to hear the women’s voices. Some of them are captured here.

                   Workplace is a competitive Space

                       -  “Work  place  is  a  competitive  space;  absence  or  lack  of  it,  is  not  good  for
                          professional grooming. I therefore believe a balance between the two – that is,
                          work from office (WfO) and Work from home (WfH) is best. Moreover, in an
                          office set up, we interact, meet and learn from diverse group of people; in a
                          work from home, this interaction is mostly limited to peers (Respondent, Power
                          Grid Corporation of India Limited).


                   WfH gives less time for idle biases

                       -  “It kept me away from office gossips and politics. There was better utilization of
                          overall  available  time  on  daily  basis”  (Respondent,  Indian  Oil  Corporation
                          Limited).

                       -   “There was better time management - meetings could be started and ended
                          within planned timelines without cascading effect on other planned activities. In
                          view of online meetings, wait period for people to assemble for the meeting was
                          bare  minimum.  Relevant  people  attended  the  meetings;  discussions  and
                          approvals  were  to  the  point  and  with  lesser  digressions”  (Respondent,
                          Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited).

                   WfH without self-discipline and accountability is not that easy

                       -  “Set  hours  –  not  stretched  hours  while WfH.  Even  if  the  company  has  not
                          issued a guideline or prescribed a rule, it is best to set specific office time for
                          oneself while working from home.  If we do not fix a set time for work, in all
                          likelihood family members may feel that she is home all the time, so she can
                          do all the house work. They won’t be able to comprehend the requirements of
                          our job” (KII-NLC India Limited).















                   44  Source: SCOPE-ILO Survey, 2020.
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