Flexible schedule keeps employees happy
When my furbaby, Joey, was still around he would help me on the days I worked from home. I made him sign a confidentiality agreement first, of course.
Yahoo’s CEO has announced that employees will no longer be able to work remotely.
A major uproar seems to be coming from working parents, especially mothers.
Not to discount parents at all, but I am not a parent. And personally for me if this was announced at my place of work I would be unhappy with the new plan and it would add a layer of challenge to my life.
When my company was 4.5 miles from my house I rarely worked from home. And that was if I had to be home for the exterminator or something like that. I never worked a full eight hour shift from home.
Now that my company is about 20 miles from home,which means a long commute and traffic over the Bay Bridge I work from home on Fridays. It was an agreement my boss and I made when the company moved. He also works from home on Fridays.
I prefer to be in the office with my co-workers.
But there are times working from home is necessary: big project where interruptions are detrimental, numerous private conference calls (I sit in a cube and rather open area) or just when you need to crank something out and get it done.
Working from home one day a week makes me more productive professionally and personally. My commute time is about 30 seconds from my bed to the desk where my laptop sits. I sit at a desk in our home office and seriously work. The TV doesn’t get turned on and I get work done.
The benefit for me personally is I can run errands on my lunch break. I can throw in a load of laundry. Since I take the shuttle to work there is no running errands on my lunch break (or laundry for that matter).
If I have a doctor’s appointment I work from home and don’t have to take a whole sick day for that appointment. Seems to be a much more productive option to me.
I understand Yahoo’s decision to a point. But working from home one day a week for me makes a huge difference in my life. It used to give me only four days a week that I had to get up at 5:30 a.m. But now on Fridays I get up at 5:30 to be to the gym in time for a 6:30 class.
Because of my long commute my personal time is very limited. If I had didn’t have the option to work from home one day a week (actually I could probably work from home more than once a week–but I choose not to) I might have to figure out another plan of action.
My company makes it easy for employees to work from home, as a sales person throughout the U.S. and at our various international offices and for someone like me. Just about everything I need is in my computer, including my phone and voicemail. (I realize not all jobs can be worked from home.)
Good workers stay longer when work is flexible. If not, they can go somewhere else and make more money and get flexibility. I hope Yahoo realizes that they could lose some good people.
With my company giving me this flexibility it shows they care about me as an employee. And frankly, one less day to commute and have it easier to get things done for me is a huge plus in the mental health department.