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Marissa Mayer’s Move To End Working From Home At Yahoo! Isn't Completely Unusual

Posted by JP Gownder on February 26, 2013

Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer made a splash in the news by changing the company’s policy on working from home. In a memo leaked to All Things D, Yahoo! told its employees:

“To become the absolute best place to work, communication and collaboration will be important, so we need to be working side-by-side. That is why it is critical that we are all present in our offices. […] Beginning in June, we’re asking all employees with work-from-home arrangements to work in Yahoo! offices. If this impacts you, your management has already been in touch with next steps. And, for the rest of us who occasionally have to stay home for the cable guy, please use your best judgment in the spirit of collaboration.”

Observers have pilloried the move. Forbes.com asked the question “Back To the Stone Age? New Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer Bans Working From Home.” TheAtlantic.com quickly chimed in with “Marissa Mayer Is Wrong: Working From Home Can Make You More Productive.”

I’m certainly sympathetic to the questions being raised by these observers: This is 2013, isn’t working from home critical to information workers in most industries? Certainly that’s my gut inclination.

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I’m Back To End User Client Computing… With A New Role Focus!

Posted by JP Gownder on February 26, 2013

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“Hello, I’m J. P. Gownder, and I serve Infrastructure and Operations professionals!” That’s my new greeting to Forrester’s clients. (I borrowed – aka “stole” – this opening line from my excellent colleague, Laura Ramos, who recently rejoined the Forrester analyst ranks herself).

After eight years in a variety of roles at Forrester, I’ve joined the Infrastructure and Operations (I&O) team as a Vice President and Principal Analyst. I’ll be collaborating with analyst colleagues (please see below) on I&O’s forthcoming Workforce Enablement Playbook. I&O pros face the constant challenge of empowering their companies’ workers with devices and services to make them successful in their jobs… as well as navigating the growing challenge of employees who choose to bring their own technology to work instead.

More specifically, I’ll be researching at least five issues pertinent to I&O pros:

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