Workplace Evolution Research_GRIA2015

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Evolution of Workplace in India

Firmwide Research Projects FY2015

A study to map the changing Indian workplace

Firmwide Research Projects FY2015 | Evolution of Workplace in India | March, 2015

Team

Sailaja Vedula

Workplace + Consulting

Rajendra Prasad

Maanasa Ganesh

Kavya Kashyap

Arpita Ray

Abhishek Srinath

Disha Chanchani

Sonmoy Chatterjee

Principal Sponsor:

Practice Area:

Smita Gupta

Project Team:

Evolution of Workplace in India | 2

THE QUESTION

How has the Indian Workplace, specifically for the ‘services’ sector, evolved over the years and what were the drivers of change?

The Indian workplace, specifically the ‘services’ sector, has largely been a western typology that was introduced into India in the 1990’s with little regard for the local context to draw from. It has evolved over time but its evolution has been driven primarily by business factors such as change in nature of business and real estate pressures and less from the Indian cultural context.

There is a growing realization, presently, that a maturing, global Indian workforce needs a workplace that speaks to their ethos and mores. The challenge remains for designers to discover what this ‘Indianness’ is and reflect it sensitively, appropriately and with vision in their designs. What works elsewhere in the world may not work with the same degree of effectiveness in India.

Focused, comprehensive information that specifically addresses socio-cultural and economic factors that hence defined and influenced the Indian workplace is not easily available. This study is an attempt to map the changing Indian workplace.


Goals & Objectives

Explore and map the evolution of the Indian workplace through the significant phases in its history

Garner a better understanding of the potential trajectory of change and its consequences on the workplace

Help identify and understand the driving forces that could potentially have an impact on possible future events or directions that will affect our clients’ business or our business

Establish publishable data and positions that would make our response to the Indian workplace more effective and appropriate

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Methodology

Interviews (structured & semi-structured), questionnaires, workplace observations, focus groups

Primary Data

Looking through past and completed projects to identify patterns and ideas around trends

Existing Literature Review

Secondary Data

Reviewed existing institutional research, historical archives, journals, white papers by peers, partners and other sources

We relied on secondary data research to study the nature of work and workplaces down the ages, starting from pre-colonial India (1520) to the present. Our focus was politics and State policy; trade, commerce and industry; demography and workforce; technology, urban infrastructure and workplace, as possible drivers of evolution. In addition to our secondary research, an attempt was made to document some of the issues, cultural as well as infrastructural, that were observed, typical to the Indian milieu.


• Influence of Modernist Bauhaus with concrete ‘Expressionism’

Politics & State Policy

Demography & Workforce

1520 - 1770 Precolonial Colonial Pre-Liberalization Post-Liberalization

• Mughal (Islamic) & Maratha (Hindu) Empires

• Network of rulers and landowners

• Seaborne Trade - Spices, Sugar, Opium

• Population Resided in Villages

• Coastal Cities Developed for Maritime Trade

• British East India Company Gains Dominance After Defeating Marathas

• Exporter of Raw Materials• Cotton Spinning, Weaving &

Jute Mills

• Cities Developed• Cantonment• Extensive Railway Network

• Indian Independence • Modelled after Russian Socialism• Post 1980 mild deregulation in key

sectors

• Emphasis of Public sector on Infrastructure

• Private sector focus on consumer goods

• Slow ingress of women to workforce• Post 1980 slight increase in global

awareness

• Early phase - Caste & Religion based polarization - political & social turmoil.

• Coalition politics for most of this period.

• 1991 - Near Bankruptcy, 2nd round of liberalization as part of IMF bailout

• IT Boom - flood of multinationals & global service providers start BPO operations

• Larger mix of GenX (1965-70) and GenY (1980-2000) in workforce

• Migration of workforce from Tier 2&3 towns to ITeS hubs

• IT parks setup in urban periphery to cater to IT enabled Services

• Modern curtainwall construction, larger column -free floorplates

• BPO operations 100-60sft/person - focus on housing the employee

• KPO operations 180-150 sft/person - focus on employee

Trade, Commerce & Industry

Technology

Urban Infrastructure & Architecture

• Low Technology • Telephony controlled by State - low penetration - 0.5 per 100

• B&W TV in 1965, color in 1982• Manual typewriters

• 1995 - Internet & Mobile Telephony Introduced• Fastest growing telecom market - 20x growth

from 2001 to 2011

• Male Dominated • Caste Based • Master-servant relationship

between owner -employee

• Small, Poorly Lit Space with Low Seating and Low Table

• Predominantly open/partially covered facilities

Workplace• Space very basic, few creature comforts,

dense configuration • Central AC in latter period• Focus on housing employee

• No change in Demography and Workforce

• Professional training colleges started to take shape

• Largely Low Tech• Telephone ,Typewriters

Introduced in Late 1940’s, in elite workplaces

• Workspaces Largely Unchanged

• Company Offices had Tables & Chairs

1773 - 1946 1947 - 1990 1991 - 2015Findings

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Globalization and the modern workplace have arrived in India very recently and are driving significant societal shifts. They can be carefully leveraged for desired changes in the inherent culture with its positives and negatives.

“India has gone through more changes in the past 20 years than most countries witness over a century.”

- Amit K. NandkeolyarAsst. ProfessorOrganizational BehaviorIndian School of Business

Perspectives


• Segregation of veg/non-veg food is important

• Seperate caterers• Segregation in kitchen

HIerarchy Demography

• High power-distance ratio• High degree of hierarchy• Corner offices for senior

management

• More accomodating of religious/cultural differences

• High focus on food services• Meal consists of multiple items.• Disposable dinnerware is usually

not acceptable• Facility and services required for

dinnerware and stocking• About 40% of Indians are

Vegetarian

• Seperate microwares for veg, non-veg food

• Dedicated handwash sink for before and after meals needs to be provided (seperate from toilets)

ReligionGender Food

• Only 15% of urban workforce are women

• Toilet ratio is calculated at 40% female ratio

• Amenities like creche are provided at the workplace

• Mothers room for nursing mothers• Address need for security for

women in workplace

• Population boom from 1985-now, 400 million people

• 60% Indians are under 35 and 50% under 25 years

• By 2020 the average Indian will be 29yrs

• Multi-generational workforce• Socio-economic and

culturally diverse workforce• tremendous advance in

technology

• seperate timings for men/women at gyms

• Need for modesty panels in workstations.

• Leapfrogged through tremendous adoption of technology

• Renewed focus on health and wellness

India Today

• Prayer rooms provided for employees of different faiths

• Seperate elvators for top management

• high service levels for C-suites

Hospitality Transportation LocationFacility

• Higher degree of hospitality observed for internal and external meetings

• Infrastructure to be provided for food preperation and service

• Business parks located away from existing social infrastructure due to unavailability of real estate and associated cost

• Parking to be provided for buses, cars & two wheelers

• Facilities/amenities for drivers• Space in office for helmets

• Increased corporate attention on sustainability and LEED

• Large floor plates: daylight penetration, navigation critical

• Long and streneous commutes• Somecompanies provide private bus

fleets to bus people in and out• Arrival & departure amenities need

to be provided to enhance employee experience

• Facilities used three times more - greater wear and tear

• Under trained housekeeping staff• Staff needed for clean-up of the

hospitality services. This includes service pantries and space for the service staff

• The supply of electricity and water from the grid is not reliable.

• Rapid urbanization over last 20yrs has not kept up with infrastructure

• All grade A and B office space have independent power, water and often sewage systems

• Special provision for focussed work

• Learning and training activites important for employee retention

• More collaborative -use collaboration spaces effectively

• Quick to adopt to new technology

Workstyles

• Teams are becoming more global• Need easily reconfigurable spaces• Explosion of local entrepreneuriship

• Demand for more work flexibility

• Heavy dependency on the phone as a communication tool

Findings


THE RESULTS

Our research shows that the development of the Indian workplace has not been linear. Historically, business was predominantly trade and its workplace was reflective of its hierarchical character. Employer-employee relations were more akin to the ‘master and servant’ relationship and this informed the nature of workplace. Over the ages, Indias’ socio-culturally feudal to economically colonial to now democratic political history effected various aspects of growth - from trade and commerce to infrastructure.

India, once a prosperous, self-sufficient economy, faced a fatal blow to its prosperity with the rise of the British East India Company in the mid-18th century. Under colonial rule, India, followed a non-industrial model Post independence in 1947, India slowly developed its industrial and manufacturing base. Industrialization promised self-sufficiency. The liberalization in the regulatory framework in the nineties, accelerated the growth of services sector. India’s growing reliance on the service sector marks a watershed in the evolution of the Indian economy. The workforce went from upper class male to a more diverse, (albeit male dominated) , young, educated , multigenerational workforce that is more demanding.

From zero technology in pre-colonial and colonial times, India’s technology landscape can be characterized as having seen three waves of evolution and growth - 1) outsourcing model based on labor cost arbitrage 2) small- and mid-sized enterprises that emerged post liberalization and 3) digital entrepreneurship . The rise of the service industry resulted in historically unprecedented rural-urban migration motivated by the prospect of greater employment opportunities. Infrastructure development has not been able to keep pace with the rapid expansion of cities. With the gradual shift to knowledge based work, keeping a higher quality workforce engaged and motivated is imperative. Employee engagement and satisfaction is affected by a variety of factors and a workplace that speaks to one’s culture is essential. Employees view their workspace as a symbol of whether or not they are valued by their employers. The space needs to respond to our uniqueness to reflect solutions that come from within and that celebrate our cultural differences and identity.


The Future

A corporate office represents a physical manifestation by which an organization and its most important asset, namely, its employees are cared for in an environment that is conducive for productivity as well as good health and safety.

Connection between office design and business performance is important and timely considering the challenges in today’s environment that range from competition for talent, rising salaries, shrinking margins and real estate cost.

India is at cross-roads in balancing development and the environment. A late starter, India, has leap-frogged in terms of development by not having to reinvent/redevelop many stages of development that the developed countries have gone through. The challenge is for architects to be sensitive to the Indian character and to reflect the cultural context in their designs appropriately and with vision.

WHAT NEXT India is a vast country with extreme variations and a ‘one-size fits all’ would not do justice to the multi-cultural, multi-lingual and multi-generational workforce. We are proposing to extend and conduct an in-depth study to document and generate a primer that could be used as a starting point while designing for India.

Documents

Workplace Evolution Research_GRIA2015