India’s IT giants tighten return-to-office rules amid AI disruption

India’s largest information technology services companies are steadily rolling back work-from-home flexibility and reinforcing office attendance, as artificial intelligence-led disruption, shorter project cycles and a slowing global demand environment reshape the sector.

From Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to Wipro and Infosys, companies are recalibrating workplace policies to push for greater physical presence, citing the need for faster collaboration, closer client engagement and tighter execution as technology cycles compress in the AI era.

Wipro recently revised its work-from-home guidelines, asking employees to spend at least six hours in the office on three days a week. The company has also tightened enforcement, stating that half a day’s leave will be deducted if employees fail to clock the mandated hours.

HCLTech, meanwhile, has taken a more calibrated approach. The company has not issued a blanket mandate for all employees. Staff in the E4 category are required to work from the office once a week, while those in E5 and above must attend office three days a week, without any prescribed minimum duration of stay.

TCS took one of the firmest stances in 2024, scrapping its work-from-home policy altogether. The country’s largest IT services exporter made daily office attendance mandatory and linked quarterly variable pay to physical presence, signalling a decisive shift away from pandemic-era flexibility.

Infosys, on the other hand, last year asked employees above job level 5 to mandatorily work from the office for at least 10 days a month, stopping short of enforcing daily attendance.

The move back to offices is not limited to India. Globally, technology companies are reinstating in-person work norms that were largely abandoned during the Covid-19 pandemic.

In 2025, Dell chief executive Michael Dell asked employees to work from the office five days a week, citing the rapid pace of innovation in the technology industry. The company had earlier required employees to be in the office only three days a week.

Microsoft, in September 2025, informed employees that it would require at least three days of in-office work starting 2026. Amazon has also mandated a full return to office, instructing corporate employees to work from office five days a week.

Google has similarly asked some of its employees to return to office at least three days a week, warning that non-compliance could put their roles at risk.

Industry executives say the renewed push for office attendance reflects a broader shift as companies balance flexibility with productivity in an AI-driven environment where collaboration cycles are shrinking and client expectations are evolving rapidly.