In a typically muddled attempt to clarify her decision to ban telecommuting at Yahoo, CEO Marissa Mayer chose her April 18th keynote slot at The Great Place to Work Conference to set the record straight:
“People are more productive when they're alone, but they're more collaborative and innovative when they're together. Some of the best ideas come from pulling two ideas together,” she explained.
The problem with Mayer's 'clarification' is two-fold:
– Despite its poor, year-after-year performance and me-too status, people still follow Yahoo's lead. Best Buy, for example, ended its flex-time work policy one week after Mayer pulled the plug at Yahoo.
– Second, countless research has been conducted that proves Mayer is dead wrong.
For example:
– Working from home is GOOD for creative work. Remote workers are 11 to 20 percent MORE productive when performing creative tasks, according to E. Glenn Dutcher, a University of Innsbruck researcher.
– Telecommuters are almost twice as likely to work more than 40 hours a week, according to a joint study by the University of Texas and University of Iowa.
– Because of these, and other positive by-products of telecommuting you can find in this Inc. Magazine article, Kate Lister, president of Global Workplace Analytics, has said: “The people who are allowed to telecommute now tend to be the oldest, highest paid and most trusted employees. I call it the five percent privilege. Businesses need to get past that.”
Amen, Ms. Lister. Amen. Peppercomm's telecommuters also happen to be among our most trusted and valued employees.
I think Ms. Mayer's bizarro world version of the Emancipation Proclamation was done for one reason and one reason only: it was a highly creative way to downsize the hundreds of Yahoo employees who for financial, physical, moral or ethical reasons couldn't afford to uproot themselves and their families and relocate to Sunnyvale, California. Period. It had nothing whatsoever to do with productivity, creativity or collaboration.
And, for Mayer and Yahoo, that's nothing to shout (or yodel) about.
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Point made, No Maas. I’m all about working smarter, not harder. The stats (and there were many others in the Inc. article) merely built the case that telecommuting is the smarter way for businesses to go. I still believe Mayer made her decision because she wanted to reduce head count.
Thanks Stan. Time will tell if, by forcing people to collaborate they will, in fact, collaborate. I don’t think one can force strategy or creativity. They either take root and flourish in a culture, or they don’t. Some of my very best ideas which, in fact, later became revenue streams for Peppercomm, came while allowing my mind to wander as I ran long distance, climbed mountains or boxed. So much for forced collaboration.
Point made, No Maas. I’m all about working smarter, not harder. The stats (and there were many others in the Inc. article) merely built the case that telecommuting is the smarter way for businesses to go. I still believe Mayer made her decision because she wanted to reduce head count.
Thanks Stan. Time will tell if, by forcing people to collaborate they will, in fact, collaborate. I don’t think one can force strategy or creativity. They either take root and flourish in a culture, or they don’t. Some of my very best ideas which, in fact, later became revenue streams for Peppercomm, came while allowing my mind to wander as I ran long distance, climbed mountains or boxed. So much for forced collaboration.
Repman,
Folks like Cisco and accenture have 80 to 90% of their staff telecommuting at least on a part time basis. And as a general rule, workplaces are leaning towards granting greater flexibility to employees. This is based on the following three assumptions or reasons:
1. The technology is available and the type of work being done is conducive for telecommuting.
2. It ultimately saves both parties in the long run. Companies save money on office space and employees save money/hassle of commuting.
3. Productivity improves and satisfaction increases.
Yet, when the reason stops, therefore should stop the RULE:
I can only imagine that #3 is out of whack at Yahoo. According to the leaked memo, the new policy calls for workers “physically being together.” Sometimes you need to take one step backward to take two steps forward. Here is a telling quote from the internal memo:
“We need to be working side-by-side. That is why it is critical that we are all present in our offices… Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home.”
I applaud Marissa for shaking things up with this gutsy move. She was brought in to breathe new life into a stagnant culture. iPhones and free lunches are nice, but its time to get everyone off their remote island and back onto the boat. They is no gray in this decision, meaning no wiggle room or exceptions to the “no telecommuting” rule. It will be an interesting “all-hands-on-deck” summer at Yahoo! Will it be smooth sailing or feel more like shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic? I smell an iceberg.
Best,
Stan
I don’t agree with the Yahoo policy. I do, however, question this proof point in your post, Rep: “Telecommuters are almost twice as likely to work more than 40 hours a week.”
Just because an employee (telecommuter or not) is working more hours, doesn’t necessarily mean he/she is more productive, bringing stronger ideas to the table or producing effective solutions for the company. It simply means they are working more. For freelancers and contract workers (who likely don’t really qualify in the same category as you describe – but just for sake of example) – this can end up costing a company more money if they’re paid hourly.