Columnists Laila Yuile and Kathryn Marshall battle over the issues of the day. Winner of the last duel on sex education was Laila Yuile with 53%.

This week’s topic:

Is banning work from home the right move?

Marissa Mayer’s decision to ban all employees from working at home is not only shortsighted, it’s potentially damaging to Yahoo in the long run.

The real problem isn’t lost productivity and creativity — it’s the company’s failure to create an effective policy and method to manage employees who work from home. In ordering employees back to the office by June, Mayer has failed to seize a prime opportunity to make effective changes in a corporation that has been through multiple CEOs in the last five years.

Read Kathryn Marshall's column

Some large corporations are recognizing the mutual benefits for employees and employers when workers telecommute — with some benefits not just limited to the company itself. Society benefits when workers conduct business at home, thereby reducing the number of vehicles on the road and the amount of pollution in the air. The cost savings to the employee of not having to commute is significant – less gas used, less wear and tear on a vehicle, and less money spent on transit passes.

Employers reduce the costs associated with maintaining office space, supplies and energy. In fact, many companies have maintained successful track records of employees working from home. Telus, for example, already has 50% of 27,000 employees across Canada working from home and is pushing to have 70% by 2015. Why? Put simply, it works. Telus has created a system to manage and measure productivity that ensures people who work from home are actually working. Measurement goals must be met and work has to meet a standard befitting the position and corporate expectations.

This is where we get to the potential damage Mayer may have done to the corporation in her haste to force everyone back into the office.

Mayer seems to think that ensuring her workers have their behinds parked in an office cubicle will suddenly make the people who slacked at home stop slacking. Ask anyone who works in an office who the slackers are and I guarantee you they will produce the right names. Being in an office doesn’t ensure productivity, nor does it enhance creativity. Mayer’s decision betrays her reputation as a visionary leader, and reveals her to be someone who reacts without full comprehension of what went wrong.

With applications like Skype and a plethora of technology to support workers and employers alike, working from home is a win-win situation. Too bad for Yahoo Mayer can’t see that.

Laila Yuile is an independent writer, blogger and political commentator. You can read her blog at lailayuile.com.

Poll

Who wins this week's duel on the work-at-home ban?

Sunday, May 19, 2013

0% 0 votes	Kathryn Marshall
0% 0 votes	Laila Yuile