So Yahoo! employees will no longer be permitted to work remotely, and the decision was made by a CEO who is both a woman and a mother.
Whether you believe Marissa Mayer is right, as does at least one former employee according to Business Insider, or whether you agree with the Huffington Post’s Lisa Belkin that her decision is the exact opposite of what CEOs should be doing, Mayer is defying current thinking about recruitment and retention.
Count me among those who oppose across-the-board bans on telecommuting. One-size-fits-all solutions just don’t work with today’s diverse labor force, and companies that rescind telecommuting options run the risk of losing high producers. Workplace experts support telecommuting, and telecommuting has helped our own team work more effectively.
The truth is this: either you’re a worker who produces or you’re not, and the location of your office matters little. While many employers still resist considering qualified candidates who inquire about working from home, companies that succeed in the years ahead will look closely at the talent pool and figure out varying solutions for a diverse population. And in many cases those solutions will need to include the option of telecommuting.