On Telecommuting and Office Culture

There’s been a bit of buzz about the memo that went out to Yahoo employees from CEO Marissa Mayer suddenly requiring all employees only work in the office, rather than telecommute.

Wait, what?

I shudder to think what would happen if the President of the University here suddenly required everyone to work in the office and forbade telecommuting. Working remotely is common practice here. Most faculty have home computers and do a great deal of course preparation and work, as well as writing and research from home, where they can escape from the distractions of the office (read: students). We do all have to come in on a regular basis. We have to teach; we are required to hold office hours; there are meetings and what-not.

What would happen to productivity if all faculty were required to clock into their desks at 8:00 am and stay there until 5:00 pm?

I can tell you, that would be full of fail. (I suspect a few murders would result too. Sometimes you gotta get away from these people!)

If I had to do that, my office door would be shut much of the time. People popping by to chat sometimes results in great new ideas, but most of the time just delays me finishing what I’m supposed to be doing.

Let’s face it, when I look at my to-do list, most of it involves sitting in front of a computer. I can sit in front of my computer at home. In fact, I can sit in front of my office computer at home through the joys of VPN and Remote Desktop Connection. If all I’m going to be doing is sending e-mails, I’d like to home in my PJ’s, thank you very much. If I’m writing a manuscript, I’d like to have my feet up in front of the fire, not shivering in my always-too-cold office.

Plus consider the time and money savings if I don’t have to make that long drive in each day? (Not to mention energy savings and the lack of excess CO2 being pumped into the atmosphere.) Or the cost of child care? Sometimes flexibility of working at home means that $200+ per week on day care can be avoided.

The concept that the benefits of interaction with your office colleagues outweighs the benefits of working remotely completely boggles my mind. I don’t deny that there are benefits to being in the office. I’m in every day for about five hours. I have to be in the office during that time because the mass spectrometer is here, and the classroom, and students. I have my morning chat with the mass spectrometer and make sure it’s ok, then teach and meet with people as needed. I inevitably have a lovely good-morning chat with our office staff. I’m happy to be there.

Once all the office and lab work is done, I’m left with computer work. I can do that at home, and I do. Last night I sat for more than an hour fiddling with isotopic data. Exams are written in the evening. They’re graded then as well. I review my lecture notes. I write sections for grant proposals. I respond to e-mails and arrange meetings. All in the cozy warmth of my home office. (And some of the time with an adult beverage within reach. That also helps productivity. Trust me.)

So what do you think? Do you think it’s reasonable for any employer to expect that all employees work only in the office? Does telecommuting damage productivity? Does the final product suffer when employees telecommute?