No WFH for Zoho employees: Sridhar Vembu says ‘….issues take longer to resolve’

Sridhar Vembu has said Zoho will not broaden its work-from-home policy after internal discussions found that in-person collaboration delivers stronger results for research and development teams. The remarks came after the company reviewed its workplace approach following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to reduce fuel consumption and avoid unnecessary travel amid rising global crude oil prices.

“Ultimately, after a lot of people inside weighed in on my X post, we decided not to expand WFH because the productivity of face to face problem solving is much higher in R&D. I have experienced this in my own development team - issues take longer to resolve when you are not meeting the people involved in solving the problem,” Vembu wrote.

‘Face-to-face collaboration works better’

Explaining the company’s stance, Vembu said direct interaction among teams helps resolve challenges faster and improves the quality of solutions developed.

“Collaboration happens more fluidly face to face and we come up with better solutions,” he said.

Instead of increasing remote work, Vembu noted that Zoho would pursue alternative measures aimed at reducing fuel use and improving sustainability.

“We are looking at electric bus fleets and electric cooking in our canteens to save fuel. We have made heavy investments in solar already,” he wrote.

Earlier remarks had suggested review of WFH policy

The latest statement comes only days after Vembu hinted that Zoho might reconsider its office-first model in light of Modi’s comments on conserving fuel.

On May 11, Vembu had posted, “I hope all of us heed the Prime Minister’s appeal. As a company, we adopted Work From Office fully in recent months, but we will revisit Work From Home now. We have adopted natural farming in our farm and we are also actively looking for ways to cut diesel use.”

However, Vembu has now clarified that the company believes physical collaboration remains more effective for quicker problem-solving and stronger outcomes.

PM Modi urges citizens to cut fuel use

Earlier this month, Modi called on citizens to adopt austerity measures as tensions in West Asia and pressure on global supply chains continued to impact energy markets.

Highlighting that India imports more than 88 per cent of its crude oil needs, the Prime Minister encouraged people to reduce petrol and diesel usage, rely more on public transport and choose carpooling where possible. He also advised organisations to allow employees to work from home whenever feasible.

“We got into work-from-home, virtual meetings, video conferencing, and many other methods during Covid-19. We got habituated to them. The need of the hour is to resume those methods,” PM Modi said while addressing a rally in Telangana.

He additionally urged citizens to lower edible oil consumption, avoid purchasing gold for a year, support Swadeshi products and adopt natural farming practices.

“We have to save foreign exchange by any means,” he added.