Backlash Against Remote Working as Companies Order Employees Back to the Office

An IBM-convened panel at SIOP 2017 explored the benefits and challenges of remote working. With perspectives from academia as well as public and private sectors, the consistent message was that teleworking works, and that associated challenges can be managed with careful planning and communication.

Apparently IBM doesn't believe its own research.

Last week thousands of IBM employees — roughly 40 percent of the total 380,000 workforce — were given an ultimatum. They must either relocate to a regional office or leave the company. This will be a substantial hardship for many of those employees because they may live hundreds of miles from the nearest regional office. 

IBM's move is part of a growing trend among larger tech companies that are rethinking telework. Within the last several years Best Buy and Yahoo both ended or severely restricted their telework programs.

The fact that Yahoo and IBM have made this move is pretty surprising to me. Most research on the subject indicates that teleworking, when handled correctly, works. In fact it works better than working in the office for many. The true enemy of deep, substantive work is often the office environment itself. Meetings, office chit chat, and all the distractions that find their way to your office or cubicle are the real enemies of work. 

Here is an interesting article from remote work proponent Jason Fried discussing why he thinks companies like Yahoo are making a mistake by eliminating remote work options. Put simply, if you hire quality people who are interested in doing meaningful work, then remote working is a great option. If remote working is not working in your organization, then it likely indicates a problem with the type of people you are hiring or in the structure of your organization itself. 

Perhaps these companies that are ending remote work programs are mistakenly addressing a symptom of a larger problem within their organizations.