Mathew Ingram at GigaOm wrote an article on Yahoo's new policy on

Mathew Ingram at GigaOm wrote an article on Yahoo's new policy on
remote workers:

Not long after her arrival at Yahoo, new CEO Marissa Mayer started
handing out carrots to her new employees, including new smartphones,
free food and other Google-style amenities. Now she has brought out
the stick: namely, a directive that employees are no longer allowed
to work from home, something that is expected to affect as many as
500 Yahoos. Mayer's move has its supporters, who argue that she is
trying to repair Yahoo's culture - but in doing so, she could be
sending exactly the wrong message for a company that is trying to
spur innovation after a decade of spinning its wheels.

The moment I first heard Yahoo proclaimed this policy I became angry.
It does not impact me directly, but as a highly skilled and experienced
IT Security and Networking professional now on the market I can say
that Yahoo is no longer on my list of companies I'd care to work for.
Here's why.

About 15 years ago while I worked for EDS as a Network Security
Administrator my marriage fell apart. Up until then I rarely if ever
worked from home. With divorce looming I had sole custody of my two
young kids. I had to work from home when they were sick or were off of
school. At the same time my role at EDS changed to include firewall
administration, demanding more of my time to cover on-call and odd
support hours.

I was fortunate to report to managers that understood my situation and
worked to help me. I worked with a great group of professionals who
didn't complain about my flexible work schedule. In fact we all worked
together so everyone could have the same flexibility I had. How did I
handle things? I became infamous for keeping sleeping bags, pillows,
snacks, and toys for my kids in my cube. I don't know how many nights I
carried the two of them into the data center in the middle of the
night, each slumped over a shoulder while I badged through the security
doors. They slept on the floor swaddled in their sleeping bags and
little heads resting on Disney-themed pillows, lullabied by the white
noise.

When I interviewed with Magna I was very upfront about what I needed to
do to take care of my kids and what I would to do in return. They took
me on without hesitation, and I always appreciated and respected the
trust they placed in me. Similar to my days at EDS, the team at Magna
embraced me and the flexibility I needed. I repaid my boss' and team's
trust in many of the same ways I did for EDS, but there was one case
that was above and beyond.

For reasons that escape my memory the IT staff in Europe all quit on
the same day. The organization I worked for was very lean. There were
no extra people around to help fill in while they hired new staff. I
stepped up, waking between 03:00 and 04:00 Eastern time to support
Europe until I had to get my kids ready for school. I'd drop them off
(no bus service) and return to cover the rest of the European day and
my normal work. I was caretaker of servers and services in addition to
the network and security. I did this for almost 6 months from my
basement, buying the European IT director time to hire some great team
members.

When I moved into management my team earned with me the same
opportunities and respect that I earned. With instant messaging and
email, IP telephony and video conferencing, and cheap Internet-based
VPNs back to the company they could do everything they needed to do
from home that they could do from work. Yes, you cannot replace
face-to-face interaction. But by the same token how much hallway and
water cooler talk is mere friendly trivia?

I'll leave how companies chose to handle working from home to what
makes sense for them and their business. But I want the conversation
rephrased to talk about working from home as a tool and not a benefit.
It can help both the employer and the employee, and that can't be taken
lightly.

I sincerely hope Marissa Mayer reconsiders her decision. She's closing
a door on quality hard-working talent that will go elsewhere just at
the time when she needs them in Yahoo.

via [1]Why Marissa Mayer's ban on remote working at Yahoo could
backfire badly - Tech News and Analysis.
__________________________________________________________________

My original entry is here: [2]Why Marissa Mayer's ban on remote working
at Yahoo could backfire badly - Tech News and Analysis. It posted Tue,
26 Feb 2013 14:39:21 +0000.
Filed under: EDS, kids, leadership, magna, Management, marissa mayer,
remote working, support, vpn, yahoo,

References

1. http://gigaom.com/2013/02/25/why-marissa-mayers-ban-on-remote-working-at-yahoo-could-backfire-badly/
2. https://www.prjorgensen.com/2013/02/26/why-marissa-mayers-ban-on-remote-working-at-yahoo-could-backfire-badly-tech-news-and-analysis/