According to this article, HP has followed Yahoo in severely limiting when employees can work from home. From the memo to HP’s employees:
“During this critical turnaround period, HP needs all hands on deck. We recognize that in the past, we may have asked certain employees to work from home for various reasons. We now need to build a stronger culture of engagement and collaboration and the more employees we get into the office the better company we will be.”
I don’t buy it. Working from home doesn’t always make sense, but it makes perfect sense for many people in many situations. Working form home occasionally can actually make people more productive, because it eliminates many of the distractions in the workplace.
HP cite the crisis they find themselves in as an excuse, saying that they need “all hands on deck.” Again, I don’t buy it. Why should working from home be fine in good times, but bad in tough times?
Here’s what I think is going on: When a company is in trouble and executives are feeling the squeeze, they often experience a desire for more control. One way to have that is to force employees into the office.
If there’s one thing I admire, it’s leaders who, in tough times, can stick to the same values and principles they espouse in good times. This is a good example.
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