When Virgin entrepreneur Richard Branson blogs about Yahoo’s CEO, Marissa Mayer’s decision to ban work from home and calls it a “backwards step in an age when remote working is easier and more effective than ever,” it bears attention.
There is no doubt, not everyone is mentally and emotionally equipped to work at home – productively. When I ventured out on my own in 1990 it was from a successful corporate background and I learned many environmental and personal lessons to equip myself for it.
Being a home worker is an image problem – just as being an introvert can often be. Working from home conjures up you get to keep those comfy pajamas on, and sleep until you want to, or do household chores when you procrastinate on work. Don’t kid yourself.
You must build up a routine and structure your time so that there is work time and there is home time, just like you would do if you commuted to an office.
More introverts are likely able to work productively, independently, because they seek solitude to be the best they can be, not usually found in the chaos of an office.
Collaborating with others can bring about the best ideas. Even as an introvert who can get in an energy downward spiral with too much people time, I find that when I get to talk out loud ideas with others, it helps nurture creativity, but that comes from a seed of an idea I had on my own.
As a facilitator of brainstorming for at least 20 years in my corporate training business, we would often build in preliminary time for personal ideation. In A Reexamination of Brainstorming Research: Implications for Research and Practice, , it’s referenced that even Alex Osborn who is often credited with designing brainstorming, encouraged the process as a tool to supplement individual ideation, not as the only way.
With the technology available today we can have group communication to create a similar environment: time for collaborating for those creative, crazy winning ideas and time for self-reflection.
Given the right tools, anyone can concentrate, stick to the task at hand, in the home environment. Granted most introverts are blessed with being able to concentrate, but anyone can make it happen when they work from home.
Being one attracted to new ideas and new ways, this year I’ve been working with the Pomodoro technique. Basically I list every thought rolling around in my head, weekly works for me, on the Activity Inventory Worksheet. From that, at the beginning of each day, I create my To Do Sheet. Finally after selecting the most important task from the list, I set my kitchen ladybug timer to 25 minutes and work until the timer goes off.
Procrastination in minimized, time is my friend and my productivity are high. Not to mention there is fun in my beating the ladybug.
While I’m not in Mayer’s position being the 6th CEO at Yahoo in five years (there is pressure there) I do know as someone more of an introvert, I manage to be effective and productive working from home as a solopreneur. Not to mention the enormous benefits to most companies, with the right leader and infrastructure.
Possibly Mayer would consider educating her staff on the ways of working more productively at home at the same time she gives them their goals and expectations from the companys side.
Working from home does have it pitfalls, both good and bad. It does take discipline and a self imposed structure. Not everyone can and does have the ability to do that. Teaching an individual to so, is key to finding a successful and happy median between work and home. The other factor is not having the ability to shut it off. Is’t as if the office is always open and the pull to do just one more thing is very great. Then work turns in to a monster and all absorbing. That too takes discipline and a self impose structure to prevent a potential burn out.
As far as the CEO’s (Marissa Mayer) new mandate, she needs to learn to train and trust. She will accomplish more doing that.
I am an introvert and have worked from home for many years. I find it exceptionally distracting when I have to visit the home office and spend time with colleagues. In fact I actually get very little done when I am there. As for Marissa – one of the items she checked when she made this decision was the number and frequency of vpn log ins. Some of those working from home did not even bother to log in, now that’s abuse. I am not saying that I agree with her decision, but I think there is more to it than meets the public eye.
Susan, I believe it’s possible Marissa know more than us about productivity in her workplace. Surely with her having built a nursery next to her office, she MUST know, there are some instances you have to be flexible.
Good detective work Gee Girl – but surely there is a possibility of a 90 day window of opportunity where people could be taught the best work-at-home skills, include the lack of vpn log ins from home.
Just my thoughts.
Personally am self motivated and am hence used to working very well from hotel rooms on the other side of the world. Working from home hence suits me. But it’s not for people who are not able to motivate themselves.
In the case of a company struggling to survive, like Yahoo, I do believe it’s a good idea to have everyone come to the office and inspire each other to get more and better results. When was the last time you used Yahoo?
That’s how introverts are for the most part Catarina: self-motivated.
For me, I’m on Yahoo about 2 or 3 times a week because of several groups I belong to there.
I think it was a mistake and contrary to what the CNN commentator says in the video, the decision to require people to come to the office will not weed out the deadwood. They’ll stay and the good people will leave, especially Millennials who want flexibility in their work schedules and be part of the decision-making process. Of course, there are advantages to kicking ideas around the water cooler. But those formal and informal get-togethers can be planned. And does a bookkeeeper need to be part of a brainstorming session? Hardly. If the person’s work assignment doesn’t require “face time” than why require it?
Excellent point Jeannette – that some good people, who can’t work under that stipulation, will leave. It’s a policy that needs to be tweaked. Thanks.