I was taken by surprise to read the announcement that Melissa Mayer, the glamorous new wunderkind C.E.O. of Yahoo has announced that all workers must now report to a desk in the Yahoo office with no more in-home working to create better solidarity and inspire more creativity.
This seems to me a bold step---backward. One of the reasons given is that brainstorming is better in a large group participating together. Whatever happened to teleconferences and Skype? Aren't there plenty of means to make your face and views known in a group seesion of creative thinking?
The increased use of in-home workers makes a lot of sense, especially for working mothers who need to be available at certain key times in their family life with husband and, especially, kids. There are also any number of Mr. Moms around who can benefit from the flexibility of working in your own home in an age of computer/smartphone importance.
I thought the following from The Economist particularly relevant:
"Slapping down the sisters"
"Ms Mayer’s move is not just a bad idea in itself but also a nail in the coffin of the naive notion that women with big jobs help their sisters up the ladder. Her plan will knock out a few rungs. Flexible employers help women run families and jobs simultaneously. Rigid working practices make combining the two impossible or unpleasant. To be fair, as somebody who took two weeks off to have a baby, Ms Mayer is hardly asking others to do what she would not; but then she has dulled the pain of separation from her child by installing a nursery next to her office. Yahoo’s less privileged and less Stakhanovite women may well hoof it to a friendlier organisation.
But this is not just about women. A well-managed company’s workers want to be productive, and managers trust them to decide how and where they will perform best. If that’s not happening, the boss needs to find out why. You can shackle a Yahoo to his desk, but you can’t make him feel the buzz."
In the same article it is noted that the productivity per worker (total sales divided by number of workers) is three times as high at Google than at Yahoo---and Google is a titan in the field of working at home.
Of course, Mrs Mayer has the penthouse atop the Four Seasons Hotel as her home and has built (at her own expense, it should be noted) a nursery next to her office for her baby. Maybe they should convert the office to a gigantic Costco plus-sized office and build day care/nursery facilities there at corporate headquarters!
Somehow I don't think the sisterhood will find this a shrewd move, and Mrs Mayer may have to change her mind one day.
I too was surprised by this move. Not sure what's behind it but who can know really. I expect there will be plenty of employee dissatisfaction. I expect we have not heard the last of this.
ReplyDeleteThere will be defections.
ReplyDeleteIn our office, we have the option to work from home when necessary (sometimes for extended periods of time as permitted by managers). I came from a company where this wasn't an option and I can't tell you nice it is to have more flexibility to get things done. Our office is quite flexible since we have employees in Hilton Head, Charleston and even Bulgaria! The option to work from home helps us stay healthier as people who pick up colds and bugs are encouraged stay home. It's fabulous for parents (both moms and dads) when a child is sick because they aren't forced to take a day off. I think that was a crazy move from a company like Yahoo! who should be keeping up with changes. As a woman who hopes to have children one day I'm grateful to work for a company that's so flexible. When your company helps you out, you're much more likely to help them out.
ReplyDelete