Telework Bans Don’t Address the Problem

Decisions by Yahoo and Best Buy to ban telework have many scratching their heads as to why these leading companies would completely ban telework, particularly when many studies have indicated that telework is a valuable, cost-effective and productive option for companies and government agencies.

Yahoo and Best Buy say their moves to ban telework aim to foster collaboration and innovation by bringing employees physically together. But is that really the case, particularly at a time when technology is making it all the more easier to collaborate? In fact, one expert believes Yahoo, Best Buy and other private sector companies can learn from the best example out there when it comes to telework: the federal government. “Sometimes the federal government gets beaten a lot, but [telework] is one area where I think the private sector could really learn from the federal government’s example,” Cindy Auten, general manager for Mobile Work Exchange, told Wired Workplace this week. “The best thing is the federal government actually defines telework – they put metrics around it, look at everyone’s eligibility and put in management training. Sometimes the private sector doesn’t even define it.”