Work from home (WFH) concept has suddenly gained momentum after Yahoo abolished work-at-home policy as part of the initiative of the CEO Marissa Mayer, who wants Yahoo to get going again as before. Why Mayer has adopted this policy and how it is feasible in Yahoo’s case is not the point of discussion, but what has suddenly cropped up are two views. One which supports WFH and another which labels it as something which is a deterrent to innovation.
It is being said that those employees who work from home are more productive, and at the same time those who report to office are more innovative. I wonder has anyone asked the two kinds of employees about this? After this demarcation should the employees who rush against time every day to report to office and do their work diligently and plan for the next day and then go back home think that he or she is not being that much productive as someone who is doing the work sitting at home? Or someone who is balancing their life at home along with work, who is answering calls while the milk boils, who strategizes even when guests are asking hundreds of questions to them, should think whatever they do they will never innovate as the one who go to office?
Isn’t work from home an innovation in itself? Isn’t working at office meeting targets being productive? Both the options have their own set of problems as well as incentives along with that. When you report to office you lose precious time on the road, but still you manage that and get back to work every day. You never include that thing in your work schedule, do you? When you work from home, you first need to change your mindset and then that of others around you that you are actually working and not lazing at home. Isn’t that difficult?
Each company has some requirements and the main goal should be to see if the work is being done or not. If work from home policy is introduced or abolished that entirely depends on the set of situation at that precise moment. That doesn’t mean any of the options are not feasible. Both are, and it totally depends on the specific policy of the company where it is in vogue.
The notion attached to work from home concept that you have an easy job or it doesn’t require much innovation doesn’t hold good. If we ask the entrepreneurs of the startups most of them started working from home and if they did not innovate they wouldn’t have survived. If employees working at office would not have been productive then profits would not have been there and sales targets would not have been achieved. In my opinion, it depends on the mindset of the person, he can be productive and innovative if he wants to and can be none even under the best of conditions. What do you think?
