As Pune battles yet another monsoon season, visuals of submerged roads and waterlogged tech parks in Hinjawadi, Kharadi, Viman Nagar, and Kalyani Nagar have reignited demands from tech workers and unions for work-from-home (WFH) options.
A now-viral image of a bus half-submerged in water in Hinjawadi became symbolic of the frustration among employees, prompting the Federation of IT Employees (FITE) to issue a renewed call for WFH and immediate improvement of infrastructure in Pune’s IT zones.
The issue has also gained traction on social media. Meanwhile an HR professional’s heartfelt note summarising the everyday struggle of low and mid-level tech employees in cities like Pune, Bengaluru, and Mumbai.
“Dear companies, if you can’t give work from home during the rains, at least give travel allowance,” the post begins. The message describes how employees earning modest salaries, sometimes as low as ₹27,000 a month, end up spending over ₹10,000 just on daily travel due to auto and cab cancellations, flooded roads, and overcrowded trains.
“Some are just trying to make it to the end of the month without breaking down,” the post continues. “This isn’t about entitlement. It’s about basic decency. It’s about empathy. Please stop calling everyone ‘family’ in your company emails if you're not going to treat them like one.”
Demand by FITE
FITE representatives echoed similar sentiments, calling on IT companies to not only reintroduce remote work during the monsoon but also push authorities to fix long-standing issues like waterlogging, potholes, and poor drainage that turn commutes into dangerous journeys. With traffic snarls and delayed public transport becoming a daily challenge, techies are urging that their health, safety, and dignity be considered—not just productivity metrics.
The monsoon has become a recurring test for Pune’s urban infrastructure, especially in its high-profile tech corridors, and this year, the pressure from within the IT sector itself may just force a long-overdue conversation on smarter city planning and more humane workplace policies.
