Big News Work at Home or Telecommuting Squashed by Yahoo’s CEO
Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.
Telecommuting and Work at Home
When I saw the news about Yahoo’s CEO, Marissa Mayer squashing the policy in allowing employees to work at home or telecommuting I wondered how this would go over in the current work force. Sure enough, many opinions surfaced ranging from complete disagreement with Yahoo’s CEO to people that understand that telecommuting could actually affect work performance in a negative way.
Researching this further as I have been telecommuting and a work at home independent contractor when I was in the real estate lending industry. I didn’t think it affected my performance or ability to earn a very nice income. I was always involved with company meetings either via Skype or on occasion, attend them in person. In fact, for me, now a home based entrepreneur, find that I don’t have the pressures of corporate structure and believe in my own discipline. While this is true for me, I am sure there are people telecommuting that are affected and need a more structured work place.
Telecommuting and Work at Home Great Divide
Forbes released an article, Yahoo’s New Policy Exposes The Great WAH Workplace Divide
Anger. Resentment. Outrage. Jealousy. Accusations. Finger pointing.
We’re hearing all that in the wake of Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer‘s declaration that her employees will no longer be allowed to work at home. But that outrage isn’t all pointed at Mayer.
The discussion of working remotely has touched a deep, and for some of us, unexpected nerve among people who don’t have the ability to do so. Call it the Great WAH Workplace Divide (with WAH standing for “work at home”).
Yesterday, when I suggested that Mayer ought to reverse her policy, I was surprised by the vehemence of some of the comments on my story. A lively debate also broke out on my @mickimaynard Twitter stream, and it’s being repeated across social media and in workplaces everywhere in the country.
From my reading of what people have been saying, these seem to be the two sides of the issue:
- Working at home isn’t really work. You can only do that in an office.
- Working at home increases productivity. If you do it right, you get more done than in an office.
Let’s take the “WAH isn’t work” concept first, because it ties in most closely with what Mayer is getting at. Working at home, or from coffee shops or parks, seems by many in Silicon Valley to be a birthright. Facebook, after all, was invented in a college dorm room. The idea is that you don’t need to sit in a cube to be creative — in fact, innovation doesn’t come from within an office. It thrives every place but there.
Judging by news stories and comments posted around the Web, some Yahoo employees had stretched that policy to the limits. Certainly, Yahoo’s performance in recent years gives the impression that its work practices, if not its culture, needed a change. Mayer, as a new boss, most likely wondered, “Who actually works here?” And, one way to find out is to herd the troops back into the office with a sweeping “no WAH” policy.
But the WAH backlash isn’t just at Yahoo. There seems to be a genuine feeling among some people in the workplace that a real job takes place in an office. These people argue true technology innovation comes when employees are co-located. You have to see the whites of everyone’s eyes to know they’re actually doing their jobs and get the most inventiveness from them.
Full Article….
Well there you have it! Now I wonder how you feel about work at home or telecommuting. Do agree with Yahoo’s CEO decision and policy change? Do you work better at home or in a structured work place? Please share your comments below.
Oh…. and should you be ready to fire your boss after reading the article, then please join me and my team and we will show you how you can change your life, work at home and earn a better living for your and your family!
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