For Gurugram expats, Diwali is a time to take the long weekend

Gurugram: For thousands of expatriates working in Gurugram's MNCs, Diwali becomes a reason to leave the city temporarily and take a long Christmas break or go for outdoor assignments.

Needless to say, this is due to the poor air quality in the Millennium City.

To make sure that the prevailing air quality does not adversely affect the health of their employees, most companies are also allowing expats to work from home, if necessary.

The expat population of Gurugram includes Japanese, Koreans, Americans and Germans, most of whom work in multinational companies.

There is also a spike in the number of air purifiers being bought by these offices as well as guesthouses.

An estimated 8,000 Japanese people presently live in and around Gurugram. Japanese professionals are not only employed in automobile giants like Maruti Suzuki and Honda, but also in various Japanese construction and auto ancillary firms that have set their base in the city.

"The air quality is bad and we are finding it difficult. Even though certain services are being provided to make sure that the air around is breathable, it is not proving to be that useful," said Horiuchi Ryou, whose husband is an engineer and is employed in Japanese construction firm in the city.

In addition to Gurugram, areas like Manesar, Bawal and Neemrana also house a significant Japanese population.

However, the low number of expatriate employees does affect the functioning of many companies. The high cost of living of most Japanese expats is borne by these company.

Moreover, the fewer expatriate employees turn up to work, the lower are the productivity levels of the particular company.