Why Remote Work Can’t Be Stopped
When Dell recently surveyed its 110,000 employees about their work habits, it discovered something surprising: While only 17% of Dell’s employees were formally authorized to work wherever they prefer, 58% were already working remotely at least one day a week. That’s good news, says Steve Price, chief human resources officer at Dell. In 2013, the company had said it wanted half its employees to work remotely for at least part of their week… by 2020.
In contrast, International Business Machines IBM -0.41% recently gave thousands of its home-based employees a choice: Start working at one of IBM’s regional offices or take a hike. IBM once boasted that 40% of its employees work outside traditional offices, it has its own in-house tools to facilitate remote work, and it regularly promotes telework to its clients. Other companies that have reversed course on remote work include Yahoo, Bank of America and Aetna.
Read more here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/why-remote-work-cant-be-stopped-1496577602
Personally, I think businesses that put more value on an employee's output than on the time they spend at their desk will end up with a better, more dedicated staff. So I love the idea of working remotely, or at least having the option to do so part of the time.
It all comes back to one thing: control. Backwards thinking enterprises value control of their employees over everything else, even at the expense of productivity. These dinosaurs will be swept away by forward thinking businesses that promote individual thinking and creativity.