Does Working From Home Work? It Helps If You Like Your Teammates
Many of the articles about Marissa Mayer's decision to ban working from home at Yahoo eventually get around to mentioning that she recently added a nursery to her office.
But this is really not a women's issue. I don't think we should talk about it that way.
Men with families often get a free ride in these debates — and working women without kids often feel they are unfairly saddled with baggage that has nothing to do with their lives.
The real question — the one that matters — for Mayer as a new CEO of a struggling company and anyone with a stake in creating more flexible workplaces is this: Does working from home work?
I clearly have a conflict of interest on this one.
I work 20 paces down the hall from my bedroom. I commute in my slippers. I report to the office about 6:30 a.m. and right now it's 10 p.m. and I am still here, though it is not as if I've been working the whole day.
A colleague recently asked me if I sleep. I do, sometimes right in the middle of the day.
I also routinely sneak off and go for a run — or play ultimate Frisbee. (Don't laugh. In Silicon Valley it might be more useful than golf.) When my daughters come home from school I'm here — I might be working, but I can take a break for violin practice or math homework or to get a hug.
And I can write this because I am productive. And — so far — at least the folks at NPR have liked my work. It works for me because, in the end, the hours balance out — and I am in control of my time.
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