Published Paper Details:

The COVID pandemic was declared a public health emergency of international concern on January 30th, 2020. It later went on to be declared a pandemic on March 11th, 2020. A pandemic is a spread of a disease that has affected many people in different countries and continents. Post 11th March unexpected things happened like a complete shutdown of regular activities such as schools, colleges, offices. During this time, a lot of industries had to re-examine their working norms, they faced major difficulties for just staying put. Considering the post pandemic world, things have changed dramatically. If we compare it to the pre-pandemic world, especially in reference to the IT industry, the working norms have changed in a humongous manner. This is primarily due to the fact that working from home is easier in this industry than in any other. Many companies have claimed a significant increase in revenue when people started working from home. In this situation, when a lot of things change, the functioning of the management and employee expectations also change. There must be a common ground where both employee and employer can work in harmony to increase productivity and provide an amicable working environment for all. The focus of the recovery is not only the revenue generation, but it's also important to analyse the impact it had. Many things have improved for the better, including employee behaviour, working norms, and a focus on health. This research study focuses on understanding the impact of the pandemic on employee engagement, the issues and challenges faced by the employees and the companies because of sudden and prolonged work from home. The study suggests ways to improve employee retention and new management techniques incorporated in IT industry post pandemic. The findings show the impact of sudden work from home. It was most amicably accepted and adapted by folks working in the IT industry. The companies were able to accommodate the work from home policies. Initially, it enhanced the performance, deliveries, and productivity. Later, when people got used to working from home, companies had to revamp the policies to accommodate more flexibility. The study highlights that virtual engagements, investing in employee growth, giving growth opportunities, and incorporating frequent check-ins are likely to help employee retention and create a healthier working environment specially post pandemic. Mid approach between work from office and work from home is "hybrid" mode of working which is preferred by both employees and employers as per the results. This creates better working norms for both employees and employers working in the IT sector.