Chained To The Desk

I don't talk much on this blog about work place issues. My main reason for writing in this space is to get away from the stress of the job that I have. I am an engineer and I keep my sanity by crafting, creating and writing.

With that said, I feel compelled to weigh in on the hubbub around the decision that Marissa Mayer has made that all Yahoo employees are to work in the office.

Don't let the title of this post fool you, I am in complete agreement with the decision she has made. As someone that has worked both in the office,  from home and remotely from other locations, I can tell you I prefer to work in the office. There are high distraction days when I wish I was working from home but overall, working from home doesn't work for me.

As many distractions as there are at work, there are many more at home.  I don't have the ability to work away for 8 hours without wanting to do a load of laundry, do the dishes or check the mail.  For some, this is the main reason to work from home, but for me it doesn't work. I do tend to be more productive at home, but I am also a procrastinator and I know how I am.

But, this is a personal preference.  Not everyone is the same and I would never presume to think that all people can work the same. With that said, Yahoo is a company that needs to change. They have dealt with some serious professional ethics issues over the last few years and those stemmed from the top of the food chain. What inspiration or motivation do the worker bees have to draw from when CEOs have been shown the door for dishonesty? Who's to say the employees aren't following the examples that have been set before them. What Marissa needs to do is clean house and the most effective way to do that is to get everyone in the office. Let's get everyone together, work out the bits that don't work and then we can look at bringing the flexibility back. 

For now, I think the Yahoos need to get into the office and prove they can turn the company around. Prove that first and fight for additional benefits later.

This is my opinion.  What's yours?