The global trend is shifting towards the virtual employee. The market is seeing a drastic change, with small and large players alike adopting virtual employment — and there are clear reasons it's proving successful.
Where the trend began
It accelerated during the pandemic, when lockdowns forced organisations to adopt remote work almost overnight. To many companies' surprise, revenue often increased: office space, electricity and furniture costs fell, employees reported better work-life balance, and travel costs dropped. Even pollution and air-quality indexes improved with less commuting.
What happened after the pandemic
When lockdowns lifted, many organisations kept the model. Large MNCs opted for hybrid, while many smaller organisations announced permanent work-from-home. Some argued that in-office collaboration is more result-driven — citing easier discussion, culture, networking and personal growth — but the overall trend continued.
Companies like TCS, Accenture and Wipro announced permanent work-from-home for some verticals and hybrid for others. Today, mid-sized and large product-based companies and MNCs largely adopt a hybrid model to draw benefits from both remote and office work, and employees increasingly find hybrid works better for them.
For a developing market like India, the last few years have shown a spike in small-scale industries and startups — many home-grown, organic and in-house manufactured products — proving that virtual employment can scale a business.
