Reading Marissa Mayer’s new diktat that required all Yahoo! employees to work from office brought back memories:
A few years ago, when we were really running tight in terms of space in our Mumbai office, I asked some of my ‘CRM’ support team to work from home.
The two young boys I proposed this to, did not seem excited.
When questioned, the feedback I got from them was startling.
The first boy (23) said, “Alok, my father made fun of me when I tried this. He said, “What kind of stupid job do you have, that doesn’t need you to go to office? Is this a real job or some scam? Maybe you are pretending that you are employed…”
The second boy (24) shared something even more shocking! He said, “My mother laughed at me and asked me to get milk, vegetables and eggs from the stores downstairs. She assumed that working from home meant – not having any work to do.”
Both these young men were ready to quit their jobs rather than choose an option to work from home.
Of course, India is very different from the USA where working from home is part of the culture (and very common). Having said so, these are my views:
– Working from office actually imposes certain self-discipline on people; that I believe is very important.
I have seen many young people starting their first job with us. Coming to work on time (need not be a very rigid fixed time) and slogging the whole day is important to train the body and mind to ‘apply’ itself when it comes to doing something productive.
When I joined my father’s business, I was asked to ‘sit’ (see Wait, Watch and Win). That was my job at the job.
Point made – coming to work is important to imbibe as a discipline at a very early age that helps in the long run.
– Some businesses require the ‘presence’ of people.
In many old world Companies, the bosses’ “commitment” is recognized by when they arrive at work and when they leave. Many old owners I know take pride in saying, “I come first to office and leave last.”
In my factory, the word was that if you looked at your watch just when my dad drove in, it would definitely be 9:30 am. His physical entry into the factory was like a ‘time check’.
On the flip side, I know some Marwari Companies where the staff gossip about the young owners calling them ‘lafangas’ (loitering hooligans) just because they never show up at work.
Point made – old world Companies demand that you show up. You have to be physically around.
– Coming to work actually teaches you a lot about life!
Assuming that you don’t work for the Municipal Corporation of Mumbai (where the agenda of working is to NOT attend work), most jobs today are fun, challenging, scary, demanding and nerve-wracking. The job teaches you what life really is.
Politics at work, stupid bosses and their super bosses teach you why life is not a fairy tale. Intense competition at the workplace teaches you that sometimes just being good at your job is not enough – you have to also know how to package and present yourself beyond just being intelligent and clever.
Hmmmm- I wonder why are these guys at work?
I believe that staying at home for long job durations cocoons you and is protective and false. It can easily disenchant you from the real world and even make you unemployable.
Real jobs in real offices teach you about the real world. No denying that.
– What happens at work, is magic!
If you consider the business of making mobile games (what I run), everything happens at the work place. Inspirations, laughs, ideas, observations, silliness, the mashups of emotions, hopes, dreams and fears.
We make games we like to call ‘slices of life’. And we see many slices at the workplace.
So many of us find a mini ‘satori’ or ‘nirvana’ moment when something magical happens at work. It may be a great idea that gets approved, a suggestion that saves the company lots of money or anything noteworthy! That magic happens when lots of energies are pooled together.
At the cost of sounding boorish and old fashioned, I stand for Marissa Mayer and her new rule.
Yahoo! will become a bigger and better company when the payroll shows up at work. Not when it’s virtual, like its business!
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Mohul Ghosh
At the end of the day, its all about the ‘flow’ which one get while working (assuming he/she is happy with the job). There are some artists (writers, designers, coders, thinkers) who just cant get the flow inside an office, amidst politics and silly mind-games. I guess, the employer should leave it to the employee to decide, whether he is comfortable working from home or office. Its the results which matter at the end of the day. But yes, for a fresher, a dose of actual corporate experience is a must.. Nice thoughts, Alok sir!
Ruchi Mehta Jain
I agree with Mohul, I know for certain that my hubby inspite of being a creative head at TIL, loves to work from home and some of his best work is produced at 4.00 am in the morning! However having said that I also firmly believe its better to work with a team sitting in office rather then in isolation. I think its to each its own. There should be some king of flexibility in terms that Work from home can be allowed 2 time s a week etc….
Anamika Joshi
This is something which I feel so connected coz I often find myself in the dilemma whether to work on critical projects from home or from office. At office I often end up doing employee management and other office related stuffs. I sometimes just walk out of my office towards my home which is hardly a kilometer far only to come back to office after I have finished working on an urgent project.
I don’t know how much its feasible to have an employee work completely from home. But one thing is for sure that sometimes it’s the want to meet colleagues at work place and all the fun that we have that makes us come to office and work sitting together. There’s nothing more exciting than having like minded people around working with a single objective. Similarly When I used to work for others, the same environ polished me in its own ways – good or bad – and made me more confident and patient.
Another point is – when you go back home after all the hard work, you feel the bliss – which is otherwise not possible to experience when working from home. 🙂
Sagar Yadav
There is a spiritual aspect to people coming together and working. May I suggest to look at the spiritual side of working at office. Although my firm belief is, it requires a good infrastructure and a lot of enjoyment, mostly self-enjoyment, and self-engagement, having the realization that we are multiple personalities within one and then enjoying the social environment created by the multiple personalities is the key to working at home as efficiently and joyfully as working at any office. For the one who has been able to achieve that, is in the capacity to be in the crowd when alone and can be alone in the crowd, place does not stop them from creating.
Rohit Sakunia
Completely agree with Alok Sir here. Alongside him, read a few more opinions from Indian entrepreneurs on the same diktat. This is what they had to say.
https://www.brijj.com/group/head-vp-gm-hr–article–Indian-Entrepreneurs-Say-Aye-To-Marissa-S-Work-From-Home-Policy?eid=3631092
Vinay Chhoda
I do agree that working in a real world office environment is probably ideal but I think the work from home or office debate should also probably include the supporting infrastructure that exists in terms of time taken to commute and difficulties in commuting when it rains in Mumbai for example.
Allowing people to work from home might actually increase productivity in cities like Mumbai where traveling from point A to B is a task in itself. The time and effort saved can benefit the firm provided the employee is disciplined in his approach to work.
Abdul Wahid Khan
I am not sure if any company asks its all employees to work from home. Its just that companies allow them to work from home because of their personal limitations and requirements.
For example, it takes me 1 hour to reach my office by my two-wheeler. If I can some days work from home when I dont have much meetings, I can save travel and work two hours extra.
Pawan Deokule
Dear Alok,
I differ on most of the points within this post. Its a bit patronizing of the old world and Marissa Mayer!
Marissa’s new diktat has more to do with the changing environment in the US. Most large firms have been facing an issue of ‘absense during crisis’ situation leading to new norms by companies to insist that all employees are available at an hour of need. Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg implemented ‘lockdown’ where kids come to see their parents at work…no seriously!
Such norms rarely work in a secular, democratic and highly confused country like ours. Our father’s believed that time was of the essence as core industries were in the lead where time meant quality and precision; and was based on the 10:32 a.m. press of the right button. But its not like they did not travel and work never stopped when they fell ill!
In the case of your employees, you asked the wrong guys to work from home, perhaps you should have asked the senior employees to work from home, the responses might have been quite surprisingly opposite. The new guys would need to learn more about the firm while the seniors have been there and can multi task from anywhere. The rowers have to be on the boat, the managers can manage shouting off the coast every once in a while.
I remember an ad agency I worked with in the 90’s where the creative guy was told to go out and watch a few movies and was never woken up even if he slept on his desk – Its a creative idea strike business you see!
Working from home is a great concept for an employee who needs some lone time or extreme concentration, else team work and being with other employees is always more productive. However, this may not conclude that SOHO is a bad concept. Just may need reformation in implementation!
Do not mean to upset you or be offensive but I believe the perspective in which this post has been written is biased to news from Yahoo! and hence had to point it out.
asha chaudhry
dude… just dug this from the archives….!
sure working at office is great and amazing things are created (in your case games) when you bounce ideas with co-workers.
but surely some people can work just as well from home?
hint, hint!!
i find myself super productive in my quiet environs of goa.
yes, coming from advertising the one thing i do miss is the ability to hang out with the boys in their smoking zone and bounce ideas with them! (and give gaalis to the client/client servicing team who NEVER understand good creatives!!)
BUT
every office should offer working from home as an option – especially to flexi-moms/dads…