IT firms play the ‘workcation’ card in Kerala too
The Hindu
Workspace of small teams is shifted to a vacation spot for some days in a bid to address work-from-home issues
Settling down on a grassy patch by a riverside, with a laptop in hand, might be far away from the conventional image of a work day. But, with the many months of work from home, necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to its own share of issues, IT companies in Kerala too have begun experimenting with the idea of a ‘workcation,’ in which your workspace shifts to a vacation spot for a few days. Companies have been sending entire teams, comprising five to 15 employees, to beach resorts or hill stations for 3-7 days to let them get away from the pressures of working at office or home. Nishin T.N., an employee of QBurst Technologies in Thiruvanananthapuram, who recently had a ‘workcation’ with his team of 12 at Kumarakom for four days and three nights, says it was refreshing working with colleagues in a fun atmosphere after months of not meeting anyone.
In , the grape capital of India and host of the Simhastha Kumbh Mela every 12 years, environmental concerns over a plan to cut 1,800 trees for the proposed Sadhugram project in the historic Tapovan area have sharpened political fault lines ahead of local body elections. The issue has pitted both Sena factions against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which leads the ruling Mahayuti alliance in Maharashtra. While Eknath Shinde, Deputy Chief Minister and Shiv Sena chief, and Uddhav Thackeray, chief of the Shiv Sena (UBT), remain political rivals, their parties have found rare common ground in Tapovan, where authorities propose clearing trees across 34 acres to build Sadhugram and a MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) hub, as part of a ₹300-crore infrastructure push linked to the pilgrimage.












