Another (trend or fad?) in employee motivation was the emergence of \"work from

Question

Another (trend or fad?) in employee motivation was the emergence of "work from home" programs. Yahoo (they seem to be fond of adopting and dis-adopting each HR-related "next big thing" lately) - tried this one as well (article here). http://www.forbes.com/sites/petercohan/2013/02/26/4-reasons-marissa-mayers-no-at-home-work-policy-is-an-epic-fail/#69c1e8a96c74

What are your thoughts on Work at home programs? The article lists a few "pro"s - but there are many other issues to be considered on both sides of the problem. Also, it would be interesting to get some "votes" from the employee side - do you feel that your work productivity would be higher at the office, or at home?

Explanation / Answer

Personally being an employee, I would love to avail work from home opportunities. But, of course this has its own pros and cons which I have mentioned below:

• The amount of time saved by not commuting. It truly can be an eye opener when you start calculating how much time is spent on the road traveling to an office location. Let’s say that you commute at least 20 minutes each way to work, when calculating the time saved is almost like receiving an additional four-week vacation every year.

• You can improve your work/life balance -- Many professionals struggle with finding a balance between work and their personal lives. Working from home can make this balance a little bit easier to find and maintain.

• Less stress for you in juggling the demands of parenting, family needs and feelings of always being rushed in your personal and professional life.

• Develop an attitude that you work from home not at home. Plan on taking breaks and leaving the house when needed. Working from home can be a great option to consider if it matches your goals and personality. The opportunities to be more productive and produce results are within your control however don’t lose sight of the need to communicate daily with those who can influence your career growth.

• There's less ad hoc learning -- Office workers are constantly in a position to learn from their peers. When you work from home, you will need to make an extra effort to seek out networking and learning opportunities on your own.

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