Co-working hubs see rise in demand from tech firms

Kochi: Many companies in the tech sector have shifted to a hybrid work model, requiring employees to attend the office only two or three days a week, according to industry insiders. The change aligns with a recent appeal by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who urged corporate leaders to adopt work-from-home frameworks to reduce fuel consumption amid rising global oil prices.The structural shift is driving strong demand for regional co-working hubs, which offer employees a middle ground between remote flexibility and corporate infrastructure closer to home."A lot of companies have already switched to hybrid mode. Co-working centres near employees' homes will facilitate a proper working environment, especially for team tasks," said Madhavan N G, secretary of Prathidwani, an IT employees' group."We go to the office only two days a week. The company has allowed us to work from home on the remaining three days," said Kiran Eswar, an animator at Ernst & Young.The green push has triggered a surge in enquiries over the past week for ‘i by Infopark', a co-working facility managed by Infopark at the Ernakulam South Metro station. "A lot of enquiries have started coming in, especially from new companies," said Susanth Kurunthil, CEO of Infopark.Eleven companies currently operate from the facility, which has leased out half its total available capacity. Its location at the Metro station gives employees access to multiple modes of transport — Metro, regional rail and major bus networks — reducing the need to commute all the way to Kakkanad.