As someone who hasn’t worked in an office environment for more than 15 years, I totally get the non-commute, shorts-and-sandals-informality upside of working at home. I also get the notably public response to Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer’s decree banning employees working from home. What used to be labeled “telework” is now another day not at the office for one in 10 American workers.
The “telecommuting” trend is grounded in enlightened self-interest and Psych 101 applications. In short, bottom-line results–seen as by-products of employee autonomy, improved morale, work-family balance and even real estate cost-cutting–matter more than sheer on-site face time. It’s part of the wired-world reality.
But that doesn’t make Mayer–a 30-something mom and the country’s youngest Fortune 500 CEO–incongruously retro, wrong and nostalgic for typing pools. It makes her the person charged with turning around Yahoo, a company seen increasingly as past its prime.
In effect, what Mayer is doing is getting everybody’s attention. It’s come-to-Jesus time at Yahoo Junction. And while the office, per se, may be overrated, there is no overrating accountability, especially at a struggling company.
Look for Mayer to refocus the mission, re-stoke the culture and see for herself who stays and who goes, whether for good–or for resumed flex time.