There is a lot of passionate debate in the blogosphere about YAHOO CEO Marissa Mayer’s decree to require all YAHOO employees to work in the office and not remotely (from home). These are from voices I respect.
But I also believe that Marissa Mayer had to make a very difficult decision that is for the best of a struggling company. If she hopes to make YAHOO successful, thriving, and financially rewarding for the employees, she has to make changes. And I don’t think she made this decision lightly, but I do think she put the company’s goals ahead of the comfort of the employees.
And yes, that sucks. It isn’t fun to work for someone that cares more about their own bottom line than your comfort. But I also imagine that the paychecks people will earn from working in the YAHOO offices will make up for that inconvenience.
Here is the thing: while there are self-motivated, type-a personalities that can accomplish lengthy projects and tasks at home, that number is not the majority. Most people succeed with accountability in a social environment. I speak from experience! While I have accomplished crazy amounts of social media campaigns here at home, and was grateful for the chance to work in between nursing my newborn at home, I accomplished more when I was away from home. I just got a new job and will be working at their office. I cannot personally give the same kind of focus here at home, breaking up fights, cleaning up messes, that I can when 100% of my attention is with my co-workers and manager.
However – I really do hope that Marissa Mayer gives flexibility to mothers. Morale is also an important factor in productivity. That is why some work at home professionals accomplish so much. So to keep morale higher, I think she needs to give an ample amount of sick days, or allow some telecommuting when necessary.
This is not an all or nothing argument. I think she made a very unpopular decision that was financially beneficial to YAHOO. And while I believe working as a team in one location will increase productivity, uniformity of vision and goals and eventually success for the company, I also believe flexibility should be a factor.
And that is why I support less telecommuting for YAHOO. It just had to happen!
Edited to add: Many have asked me about studies to back up my point of view. A quick Google search leads to studies that sugest telecommuting increases productivity. However, there is one element that I was stuck on: the communication and cohesion of everyone in the offices. I agree with the Forbes article. It cited a study out of University of Massachusetts-Amherst that basically found that the farther someone is from others, the easier it is for them to lie or exaggerate. I am still searching for this study so I can read it for myself instead of relying on Forbes’ interpretation of it, but the finding seems logically sound.
You pretty much summed up my thoughts on this.
I totally see your point here. It is interesting, however, how her decisions is so different than the rest of businesses in general. For instance, my company is doing everything it can to get rid of office space, downsizing like mad, getting people to work at home more days a week, etc. While it does take special people to have the motivation to work from home (my husband does it) if they REALLY are concerned about the bottom line ($$) I am not sure if it’s the best decision for Yahoo.
Krissy, that is such a great point you made about how it seems like almost all the other companies seem to be going the OTHER direction. There is one thing that I can see being different about those companies and hers: Perhaps she sees a real need for unification that wasn’t happening before. Whenever a new leader steps into an organization, it takes a LOT of work to get everyone to agree and follow the new vision. And it is harder to be unified in vision when so many aren’t even seeing your face.
But I agree – the cost of everyone working in the building really is higher than if they worked at home. I hadn’t considered that.
I think you said it better than I could have, and I couldn’t agree with you more.
I think it was a good call – I mean, if I worked in an office, I am SURE I’d get more done. BUT I think that when she made space for her own kid to come to work with her, she made it seem like she didn’t care about her employee’s kids. I think if YAHOO! had an in-house daycare, it would even things out a bit and people wouldn’t be all “that’s so unfair” about the call.
You make a wonderful point about the need for an in-house daycare. It is so hard to find (and afford) quality child care for working moms. If YAHOO! could provide that for the employees I am sure morale would increase and there would be way less grumblings about the requirement to work in the office.
Just because you happen to work better in an office doesn’t mean everyone does. I can get so much more done alone (whether alone in the office before/after hours or alone at home) than I can when dozens of people are constantly distracting and interrupting me. Studies also show you’re wrong on this and as a general trend, productivity goes up when people telecommute. It might have been the right call for you, but not for everyone–and not even for most people.
Excellent point Andrea. I am willing to be proved wrong and I understand the benefits of telecommuting. Just a quick Google of “telecommuting and productivity” shows some stats that support your view.
I also agree with Forbes – http://www.forbes.com/sites/margiewarrell/2013/02/27/get-to-the-office-or-get-out-why-marissa-mayer-has-made-a-smart-move/
She quotes a study that says communicating honestly with your team is significantly lowered when working away from the office. And YAHOO! really needs to join together as a team so they can turn the business around to the money making machine it has potential to be.
I think Annie was saying that while some people can work well from home (like you apparently), most people cannot. Even when there are no kids at home and I have no interruptions, I still find ways to procrastinate and distractions to keep me busy.
I have held several telecommute jobs, and currently write my own blog. Working from home just didn’t work for me, as it doesn’t for many people.
My husband works from home 2 days a week and he loves it..it works for him (of course he has no kids to contend with at home either). He does say it is a lot more work when he is at home versus in the office, but he is motivated enough to do what he has to do…not everyone is.
And I am not stuck steadfastly to my position. Other studies have found that part time telecommuting and flexibility in the workplace to allow for life to happen do increase productivity too. I think Marissa’s plan will work for YAHOO right now and I hope she has plans to increase morale with more flexibility.
Great post Annie. I could never work at home, heck I don’t even blog at home. I’d never get the time unless I stayed up until 3am every day.
I find other places to blog, or do it when the kids are off visiting the grandparents, or at school, etc.
Working at home just doesn’t suit everyone well, and I know I am one of those people who needs to be away from home…just too many distractions to deal with at home! 🙂
Excellent post, Annie. Telecommuting and flexible work hours are not a black/white issue. It’s multifaceted.
Job sharing and on site daycare help working mothers. Software companies do need workers to work together and exchange ideas face to face.
I think there needs to be a balance. I would agree that coomunication breaks down when people solely wotk from home. However, if I can get a day every week or 2 working from home, I can seriously focus on the tasks I’ve set aside for that. This results in my days from home being much more productive than my days sitting in a cube at work.
Just my 2 cents.
It is tough to be at the helm of a company, leader do have to to what they feel is right. I am all for flexibility too though.
Oh, I so disagree on this one. I work for a global company that hires the right people and pulls together virtual teams from all over the globe. We rock client work because of it. You know why? Because it’s the best talent for the job, rather than just the talent that wants to live on the West Coast or is the office feifdom’s flavor of the moment. I think she’ll lose her best talent, who will go elsewhere so they can have a life too.
I can see your point – other companies DO rock the telecommuting model. And you also make the excellent point that she stands to lose talent that will go find another job where they can work in a way that suits them best.
But one thing your company has that Yahoo! did not – cohesion and unity. Before Marissa stepped up, it was falling apart. She is doing what she can to totally turn it around. I bet she does lose some talent….but I feel like she is doing what she sees as best. I am sure she did not make this decision lightly.
Only time will tell. And I am not afraid to totally take back my opinions if you and others against her model are proved right. 🙂
I don’t doubt at all that she had to make a difficult decision. I bet the actual choice was to get rid of WFH options (and hope the people who can’t hack it in an office quit – aka no severance to pay!) or lay off tons of employees. (I haven’t read anything on the decision, but I have worked in corporate America enough to know that this is part of the conversation when companies have to cut back.)
With that said, I know many, many people who are *more* productive at home. They tend to work longer hours since the commute takes less time (particularly here in the Bay Area – I’d much rather work an hour longer a day if I could give up the 2-3 hours of commute time), eat while working, and do so with less stress. In global companies such as Yahoo, there is so much that is done via conference call or video conference anyway – being in the office doesn’t make much of a difference when interacting with colleagues. And in my particular position, I get interrupted a BILLION times a day if I’m in the office by the people who think that the office is a great place to be social (or that I can get something for them if they talk to me long enough).
I don’t think this was about working from home at all – or about women in the workforce. I think it was a desperate move to try to right a dying company. I doubt it will be the only desperate move she makes (and I don’t think she made this decision alone at all! there are Board members involved, for sure!) and if she somehow manages to turn this company around (DOUBT!!!) her efforts will be applauded.
In the mean time, she is likely going to be seen in a positive light by future employers because she’s not afraid to make difficult decisions – not “swayed by the plight of the working parent.”
Personally I work for a company that often puts employees first. I feel very divided at times about it – it benefits me personally, for sure, but at the same time I’ve seen the harmful effects. For instance, there is an aging employee who holds a higher position, yet can no longer meet the demands of the job and continues to be employed because of tenure and compassion while other more capable employees are denied promotions or raises – the more capable people end up leaving and that less productive employee costs a ton AND gets so little done!
I really appreciate this comment. So many excellent points. I have never lived the “commute” life. In fact, I don’t personally know anyone that travels more than 90 minutes to work. So there is another piece of my bias – lack of experience. Knowing that little bit of info does enlighten me. But still – if Yahoo! needs to make a profit or they lose their jobs…and like you said, Marissa didn’t just make this up on her own…perhaps travelling to work is better than not having a job to travel to
And I was talking to my husband (a small business owner) about her decision and how it put Yahoo!’s interests above the convenience of the employees. He agreed that as a business owner/CEO, you have to make decisions that seriously suck sometimes.
No business and no CEO has it perfected. Time will tell how this works (or doesn’t).
Well said my dear friend! Well said!
I have mixed feelings on telecommuting overall. I did it for two years and was really successful in getting much more work done at times than I do in the office. I could focus so much better without all the noise in the halls and people stopping by. Also had the chance to keep working when I called into meetings whereas in the office you are expected to sit in the room. The flexibility of the company I work for giving me that option is something that increased my sense of loyalty to them in some regards.
On the other hand, working from home is not for everyone and I don’t think it is the right way for every company either. She’s got some things going on at Yahoo that really necessitate change so I figure it would be good to actually have some of that interraction, brainstorming, spontaneous action taking place that is not as easy with telecommuting.
We will see!
I worked 8 1/2 years part time in the office and the other part time at home. The company was spread across the US with my customers all over the country. My team was all over the US as well which is why working from home was possible. Recently due to a major company re-organization my position was eliminated and I was laid off. So, now I am job hunting and specifically looking for a job with the flexibility to work from home. So, this is a tough one for me because I totally understand why working in the office is important for some companies and certain office roles, but as a single mom (with a very unreliable ex-husband) working full time in the office means a lot of very negative things. My daughter would be subject to after school daycare until 6pm. That means no after school activities for her. That means more money on gas. That means only having 2 hours a night to spend with her (dinner, homework, bedtime). It means Yahoo is one more company I can not work for in order to be a parent.
Thank you so much for sharing this. It is an honest perspective and the reason so many people were upset with her decision.
I see the benefit in asking everyone to be at the office and while I support that decision, I don’t support the strain it puts on families. If she is going to require them to be at the office, she needs an in-office day care and/or financial provisions for child care.
I agree, there are people who work the same from home and from office but to find them you need to be really lucky! I work from home and it took me good 2 or 3 years to learn how to do it. Find my space, lock myself in the room (or just in my head, when there was no room available) and just, well, work.
I don’t think anyone’s saying that someone can work at home and simultaneously care for children. There’s no way I could be productive if I didn’t have someone here caring for my kids.
As someone who never had any flexibility while working in Corporate America, I don’t understand the sense of entitlement that people feel…I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a company saying “If you want to work for us, you are going to work IN our office.” There are so many people unemployed right now, and I bet they would jump at the chance to work for Yahoo! and drive to work every day. It’s what most people do – they “go” to work. Flexible schedules, telecommuting, etc; those things are privileges, not rights.
Thank you Jenn! This is exactly how I feel. The only way she could get some better PR out of her decision would be if she established an in-office day care.
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