Amazon India has seen growth in several categories, ranging from WFH essentials to toys and a significant spike in demand and sales of dishwashers and vacuum cleaners (Photo: iStock)

E-commerce firms see spike in demand, even in unusual categories

3 min read . 31 May 2020Madhurima Nandy, Tarush Bhalla

While demand for work from home products, consumer electronics and personal care may reflect the new normal, a spike in sales in some categories such as immunity boosters and gourmet food products have taken some firms by surprise

Trend of waist-up fashion has brought personal style into sharp focus (Photo: Getty Images)

The new rules of waist-up dressing

3 min read . 30 May 2020Shubham Ladha

As work from home continues, stylists suggest ways to enhance personal style for video calls

Employers feel replicating the office experience at home increases productivity.

Companies provide home office upgrade to make WFH better

1 min read . 22 May 2020Rashmi Menon

To help people transition better and adopt the work-from-home lifestyle more seamlessly, many companies, especially multinationals and startups, are providing their employees home office allowance or some other facilities like furniture and computers

Photo: Reuters

Work-from-home not a choice for poor, less educated

1 min read . 21 May 2020Surbhi Bhatia

Workers in jobs that can’t be done from home are without insurance and have low earnings, a US study suggests

Photo: iStockphoto

In race to upskill, millennials face webinar fatigue

2 min read . 21 May 2020Sohini Sen

The lockdown has given people a lot of time and opportunity to learn and upskill, but with hundreds of webinars on offer, there’s new worry about missing out on a chance to take advantage of a masterclass

A Microsoft logo. (REUTERS)

Microsoft Teams is getting new features for both users and developers

1 min read . 19 May 2020Prasid Banerjee

The idea is to eliminate the need for setting up a team from scratch every time someone starts using the app
The company has been adding new features to Teams thanks to increased uptake as more people work from home due to the pandemic

Microsoft Corporation Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella. (AFP)

Work from home could be harmful for employees, warns Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella

1 min read . 19 May 2020IANS

Microsoft has extended its work-from-home policy until at least October
Companies across the world are now encouraging employees to work from home

Work from home mandates has meant that companies are beginning to discuss the implications of the model on a long term basis. (iStock)

Work from home: Employee benefits set for overhaul as companies redraft rules

2 min read . 17 May 2020Kalpana Pathak, Romita Majumdar

Work from home mandates has meant that companies are beginning to discuss the implications of the model on a long term basis.

Some startups are aiming for permanent work from home for a majority of staff. (Photo: Ravindra Joshi/Mint)

Firms gear up for extended WFH

3 min read . 15 May 2020Nandita Mathur

Prolonging the work-from-home policy is a safety measure, helps reconfigure the workplace and cut costs, say analysts

Working for 14 hours a day has become common now. (Photo: iStock)

Fixed office hours become another casualty of covid-19

2 min read . 13 May 2020Rashmi Menon

Young professionals say managers often schedule meetings later in the day, and work hours often stretch to 14 hours a day
While creating boundaries is important to avoid burnout, employees are hesitant as they’re scared to lose jobs

Microsoft said India is currently less impacted by these attacks than other Asian countries (Photo: AP)

Firms need built-in anti-phishing solutions for employees : Microsoft

2 min read . 13 May 2020Romita Majumdar

Many of these solutions can be implemented through natively embedded solutions in the software platforms used by enterprises
Companies need to build secure systems for employees that are also simple to use with embedded security

Twitter said it will not have business travels before September, with very few exceptions, and no in-person company events for the rest of 2020 (Reuters)

Twitter to allow some employees to work from home permanently

1 min read . 13 May 2020Reuters

Tech giants like Facebook Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google have allowed most of their employees to work remotely until the end of this year
The pandemic, which has infected more than 4.2 mn people globally so far, has led to strict lockdowns in most countries and changed the way businesses function, with work-from-home emerging as the new norm

A crisis can trigger innovation

Around The Workplace

How do you innovate in times of crisis?

2 min read . 12 May 2020T.N. Hari

Innovation is rarely about inventing a jet engine or an iPhone. While these are big-bang innovations, they are few and far between

A restaurant in Amsterdam is testing servers in protective gear providing food to clients in a safe ’quarantine greenhouses’ (Reuters)

HR Matters

What office 2.0 serves well

4 min read . 12 May 2020Hema Ravichandar

While we debate about the uncertain future, the new work-from-home drill has impacted the professional work ethic for the better

The validity of these add-on packs also depend on the validity of the base plan that the customer had chose at time of recharge

Reliance Jio launches new ₹151, ₹201 and ₹251 add-on packs: Details here

1 min read . 08 May 2020 Edited By Aparna Banerjea

The three prepaid add-on packs offer 2GB data per day plans and costs effectively around ₹200 per month
Jio also announced a new annual prepaid data plan of ₹2,399

Photo: Abhijit Bhatlekar/Mint

Software services firms bet on digital business amid slowdown

1 min read . 07 May 2020Ayushman Baruah

Infosys is seeing an uptick in demand for certain areas of digital with many people working from home

As a pilot, the private sector lender has implemented the WFH model for the compliance and HR departments. bloomberg

Axis Bank to make WFH an integral part of work culture

1 min read . 06 May 2020Gopika Gopakumar

The bank has decided that employees will continue working from home for two or three days in a week

Microsoft has increased the number of participants who can be seen simultaneously on Teams meeting stage from to nine from four Photo: iStock

How to improve your video call experience on Microsoft Teams

2 min read . 06 May 2020Abhijit Ahaskar

Buoyed by the overwhelming response and feedback from users, many of these platforms are constantly getting new updates, adding new features to enhance user experience
Microsoft reportedly plans to increase the group chat size in Teams to 250 participants from the current 100 by mid May

Photo: Abhijit Bhatlekar/Mint

Covid-19 Impact: 93% India Inc employees worried to return to offices

1 min read . 06 May 2020Abhijit Ahaskar

99% employees want their company to be held accountable for their health under corporate health responsibility
A significant 25% were also concerned over their financial situation, while 16% feared that the crisis will not end soon

The new normal of WFH has also led to a need for re-skilling, especially in digital skills. (Pradeep Gaur/Mint)

Demand for remote workers sees an uptick

1 min read . 04 May 2020Ayushman Baruah

Work-from-home jobs doubled in the third week of April versus the first week of March, said a market analyst
The new normal of WFH has also led to a need for reskilling especially in digital skills, according to staffing firms

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