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March 02. 2013 1:42AM
Marissa Mayer, the CEO of Yahoo, made a controversial decision last week when she banned working from home for all Yahoo employees. This news spawned a lot of debate over the topic and created a lot of anger among people who support working from home.
While Yahoo hasn't formally announced how many employees will be affected by the new policy, if they're anything like most tech companies, it's probably a good portion.
Mayer cited the need for Yahoo employees to better communicate and collaborate in order to become the "absolute best place to work." Apparently, her opinion is that can't be done when people are working from home.
Her decision is certainly bold and extreme. Working remotely has become more common in corporate America. Technology has provided us the opportunity to work from anywhere. From the increase in Wi-Fi-accessible devices to Internet access being everywhere, we have the ability to be productive regardless of where we are. But that's not the issue.
The question becomes whether people working remotely are as equally as productive as those working in a traditional office environment. And that's the big debate.
Personally, I have experienced both sides of the situation. These days, I come into the office every day, and I enjoy it. I only work from home when there is inclement weather or if I have appointments during the day that would create a situation where it makes more sense to work from home versus going into the office.
Everyone is different, but I believe I am more productive when I am in the office and interacting with people. When I am working from home, I am easily distracted. I'm not in a work environment. Sure, I am glued to my laptop and being productive, but there are things around me that cause me to lose focus. Some may call it attention deficit disorder, but I call it reality. When I'm at work, I'm in a work mentality. When I'm in my house, it's just not the same feeling.
Quality of life is something every company must consider for its employees. Having flexibility is important for a lot of people, and working from home certainly provides that opportunity. Sure, it's nice to have flexibility as long as the job gets done, but there is more to it. Would you be more effective and more productive if you were interacting with people face to face? Both sides can be debated with compelling facts and statistics, but at the end of the day, it's a decision that is based on what is right for the company, the employee and the job he or she does.
Marissa Mayer is the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, and her job is to turn the company around and get Yahoo back to a place where it can dominate the industry it is in. Her job is also to make decisions she thinks will help the company achieve those goals. And along with that comes the reality that some of her decisions will be controversial and upset people. And that's exactly what this decision did.
While I enjoy the occasional work from home day and also recognize the importance of flexibility and quality of life, I do believe people are more productive in a traditional office environment.
Some people may call it going backward. Some claim forcing to people to work in an office is archaic and short-sighted. Regardless of what people think, I applaud Marissa Mayer for making a difficult decision that she believes will help improve the performance of the company she is leading.
At the end of it all, Mayer will be judged on the success of Yahoo, not the number of friends she made along the way.
Christopher Thompson (cthompson@catch22solutions.com) writes Closing the Deal weekly for the Sunday News.
Christopher Thompson's Closing the Deal: Sometimes leaders have to make tough decisions to do what's best for company
While Yahoo hasn't formally announced how many employees will be affected by the new policy, if they're anything like most tech companies, it's probably a good portion.
Mayer cited the need for Yahoo employees to better communicate and collaborate in order to become the "absolute best place to work." Apparently, her opinion is that can't be done when people are working from home.
Her decision is certainly bold and extreme. Working remotely has become more common in corporate America. Technology has provided us the opportunity to work from anywhere. From the increase in Wi-Fi-accessible devices to Internet access being everywhere, we have the ability to be productive regardless of where we are. But that's not the issue.
The question becomes whether people working remotely are as equally as productive as those working in a traditional office environment. And that's the big debate.
Personally, I have experienced both sides of the situation. These days, I come into the office every day, and I enjoy it. I only work from home when there is inclement weather or if I have appointments during the day that would create a situation where it makes more sense to work from home versus going into the office.
Everyone is different, but I believe I am more productive when I am in the office and interacting with people. When I am working from home, I am easily distracted. I'm not in a work environment. Sure, I am glued to my laptop and being productive, but there are things around me that cause me to lose focus. Some may call it attention deficit disorder, but I call it reality. When I'm at work, I'm in a work mentality. When I'm in my house, it's just not the same feeling.
Quality of life is something every company must consider for its employees. Having flexibility is important for a lot of people, and working from home certainly provides that opportunity. Sure, it's nice to have flexibility as long as the job gets done, but there is more to it. Would you be more effective and more productive if you were interacting with people face to face? Both sides can be debated with compelling facts and statistics, but at the end of the day, it's a decision that is based on what is right for the company, the employee and the job he or she does.
Marissa Mayer is the CEO of a Fortune 500 company, and her job is to turn the company around and get Yahoo back to a place where it can dominate the industry it is in. Her job is also to make decisions she thinks will help the company achieve those goals. And along with that comes the reality that some of her decisions will be controversial and upset people. And that's exactly what this decision did.
While I enjoy the occasional work from home day and also recognize the importance of flexibility and quality of life, I do believe people are more productive in a traditional office environment.
Some people may call it going backward. Some claim forcing to people to work in an office is archaic and short-sighted. Regardless of what people think, I applaud Marissa Mayer for making a difficult decision that she believes will help improve the performance of the company she is leading.
At the end of it all, Mayer will be judged on the success of Yahoo, not the number of friends she made along the way.
Christopher Thompson (cthompson@catch22solutions.com) writes Closing the Deal weekly for the Sunday News.
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