Recent policy changes by Fortune 500 companies Yahoo! and Best Buy to limit remote work have sparked a national debate on workplace flexibility, with some employees supporting the emphasis on in-person collaboration while others value the productivity offered by remote environments. A growing trend toward remote work has seen a significant increase in telecommuting since 1997, highlighting both the advantages and disadvantages of such arrangements for employers and employees alike. As companies reconsider their remote work policies, the impact on employee morale, retention, and overall company culture remains to be seen.

1. remote work
unDer the
microscope
Linda Stuit

2. Introduction
2 | remote work under the microscope
Two major Fortune 500 employers have
made headlines recently by announcing
that they are eliminating or significantly
reducing opportunities for their
employees to work remotely. Response
to the announcements came quickly from
business analysts and the mainstream media,
speculating about the effect these decisions
would have on the companies and their
employees and how those effects might
eventually impact the workforce in general.
Yahoo!®
led the charge in February when
CEO Marissa Mayer instructed her HR
department to have all remote employees
return to working in company offices. The
reason given for the major policy change
was that the company believes face-to-face
employee interaction fosters a collaborative
culture that can’t be developed among
remote workers. A statement from the
company said that they are not offering any
broad industry view on working from home,
but rather making a decision based on what
is right for Yahoo!.
Just a few weeks later, electronics retailer
Best Buy®
also announced changes to its
policies about telecommuting. The company
isn’t eliminating remote work across the
board, but instead of it being an option that
employees can decide for themselves, they
must consult with their managers to discuss
whether the arrangement is working.
These policy shifts in high-profile corporate
America have ignited a national debate
about workplace flexibility. Some employees
at both companies have hailed the changes
as positive, saying that more in-person
collaboration and innovation will boost
morale and nurture the company culture
that is essential to maintaining a strong
corporate brand. But many workers believe
working remotely allows them to be more
productive, because they can concentrate
on their work without the distractions of an
office. While Yahoo! and Best Buy wait to see
how their changes play out, the discussion
and examination of remote work continues
to heat up.

3. For years, there has been a growing trend
toward permitting and even encouraging
employees to work remotely. A recent report
by the U.S. Census Bureau showed that
since 1997, there has been a 35% increase
in the number of workers in the United
States who work at least one day a week
at home. More than half of those workers
are private company employees, and the
rest are self-employed and government
workers. According to data gathered by
TeleworkResearchNetwork.com, in 2012
there were more than three million
employees in the United States—2.5%
of the total workforce—who were
telecommuting at least part time. The
teleworker population has grown by an
estimated 73% since 2005. Clearly this is an
3 | remote work under the microscope
Looking at the Office
in the Rearview
increasingly popular option to the traditional
daily commute to an office.
Technology and today’s bustling global
marketplace are two key drivers for the
popularity of remote work. Collaboration
has always been essential for fostering
creativity and innovation, but collaboration
no longer requires team members to sit in
cubicles and meet in conference rooms.
Complex systems that let employees
choose their own computers, smartphones,
tablets, and operating systems have brought
together a large, geographically distributed
workforce like never before. VoIP phones
and Skype enable communications around
the globe, meetings can be streamed live on
video, and shared PowerPoint presentations
on universal storage systems in the cloud
have taken the place of whiteboards and
dry erase markers. The team-oriented
corporate culture today’s businesses are
striving for no longer requires everyone
to be together in the same place at any
given time.
A few industry observers have suggested
that the decisions by Yahoo! and Best Buy
may signal the beginning of a reversal in the
telecommuting trend. But the concept of
working remotely or from home has become
deeply rooted in the workplace, with an
ever-growing body of research showing that
remote work benefits employees, employers,
and the bottom line.
The teleworker
population has
grown by an
estimated
since 2005.
73%

4. 4 | remote work under the microscope
In early 2013, more than 122,000 people
from 31 countries in the Americas, EMEA,
and the Asia Pacific regions responded
to a workplace survey developed by
Kelly Services®
to assess employees’ views
of work and the workplace. The Kelly Global
Workforce Index (KGWI) asked respondents
for their opinions about career development,
employee engagement and retention, social
media and technology, global mobility, and
workplace changes.
Results of the survey showed that the
workplace has undergone dramatic
changes that have spurred workers to
become more self-reliant and proactive in
controlling their professional development.
Workers are looking toward the future,
Taking Stock of the Workforce
both within and outside of their current
career paths. They are open to considering
changing jobs not only for better pay, but
also for better benefits, new opportunities,
and personal fulfillment, all of which help
workers to achieve balance between their
work and their personal lives.
One factor that contributes to a better
work/life balance for many employees is
the ability to work remotely. Among the
respondents to the KGWI study, 29% work
remotely for at least part of the work week.
Significantly more APAC workers (12%)
spend one work day at home than workers
in the Americas (5%) and EMEA (7%). More
younger workers telecommute than older
generations, and significantly more (11%)
Professional/Technical workers spend one
day working from home versus only 4% of
non-Professional/Technical workers. In IT
jobs, 15% of workers work remotely one day
per week.
Studies show that the number of employers
offering remote work options grows every
year, so the assumption is that employees
value this flexibility. These recent reversals
in telecommuting policies are surprising,
but may not be indicating an overall shift in
the general outlook. There are positives and
negatives associated with every company
policy, but remote work is firmly entrenched
in our global economy, and it’s here to stay.
29%work remotely for
at least part of
the work week.

5. 5 | remote work under the microscope
Advantages and Disadvantages
of Working Remotely
The advantages of remote work are
indisputable for both sides of the issue. For
employers, numerous studies have found
that telecommuting can increase productivity
and lower costs for companies. A study
co-sponsored by Stanford University and
Beijing University found that remote
workers for a Chinese call center worked
more efficiently and took fewer breaks.
IBM estimates it has cut real estate expenses
by $50 million by offering remote work
options, and Nortel estimates a savings of
$100,000 per employee in relocation costs.
For employees, the biggest advantage in
remote working (noted in the KGWI by
69% of US respondents, 69% of EMEA
workers, and 63% of APAC respondents)
was the fact that not having to go to
an office every day minimizes the time
and money they spend commuting.
An advantage of fewer interruptions was
recognized by 49% of remote workers in the
Americas, 48% of EMEA remote workers, and
44% of APAC remote workers. An average of
45% of all remote workers globally said that
working at home gives them greater flexibility
to deal with unexpected personal incidents.
The challenges of managing a family,
particularly for parents of young children, can
be lessened by one or both parents being
able to work from home.
On the disadvantages side of the issue,
some employers believe that remote work
interferes with the flashes of insight and
innovation that happen spontaneously in
unplanned meetings in hallways and break
rooms. Results from the KGWI indicate that
many workers share similar concerns, with
54% of respondents in the Americas (55%
in the EMEA and 57% in the APAC) saying
they lose opportunities for collaboration
and networking by not being in an
office with other employees. Difficulty
in establishing boundaries to separate
their work life from their personal life was
noted as a disadvantage by 32% of remote
workers in the Americas (39% of both EMEA
and APAC workers). Nearly as many (37%
Americas, 32% EMEA, and 40% APAC) said
that working remotely reduces their access
to company information and involvement in
team activities.
All parties involved in a remote work
arrangement will realize their own advantages
and disadvantages that result from it. These
recent policy changes by major companies
have surely stirred up a lot of discussion
and people are watching closely. But
cutting out remote work may have a negative
effect on morale, hiring, and retention.
It remains to be seen whether there will
be enough benefits in terms of increased
innovation and collaboration to outweigh
the costs in terms of employee loyalty and
job referrals.

6. 6 | remote work under the microscope
The Importance of a
Strong Employer Brand
With the proliferation of social networking
in recent years, employees have a global
forum for telling job candidates exactly
what they can expect by working for
a particular company. Social media has
become an important platform for job
seekers to receive referrals from friends about
open positions. These personal referrals are
often accompanied by opinions about the
company and its employer brand, including
how interesting or challenging the work is,
how flexible their work schedule is, and what
options are available for telecommuting.
According to the KGWI, 22% of workers
are likely to recommend their employer to
a friend or colleague as an employment
opportunity, and 65% of workers are
interested in receiving job referrals from
friends in their social media network. Nearly
one-fifth of full-time Professional/Technical
workers responding to the KGWI secured
a new job opportunity that originated via a
social media or networking site.
A positive company culture can present
an attractive employer brand to a world
of job seekers, but a negative company
culture can destroy a company from within.
In fact, that was one of the cited factors that
contributed to Yahoo! ending remote working
options. The company was struggling in the
face of online competition from nimble rivals,
and motivation and morale were decreasing.
This change to remote work policies is a
response designed to foster innovation,
reinvigorate morale, and revitalize the
company culture by bringing the workforce
back into the office. The CEO is expecting
the resulting positive energy to work its way
outward to the brand that Yahoo! portrays as
an employer.
The new remote work policy is the first
unpopular decision Mayer has made since
taking over. Workers have applauded other
changes, such as introducing free cafeteria
food and having Friday idea-swapping
meetings for all employees. The boost to
Yahoo!’s employer brand was evidenced
by the arrival of resumes from employees
at Google®
and Facebook®
, which rarely
happened in the past. A recent internal
survey of employees found that nearly all are
optimistic about Yahoo!’s future, an increase
of 32% from the previous survey. But it
remains to be seen whether this optimism will
translate to employees being happy in spite
of their remote work arrangements ending.
Employees who have the flexibility to work
at home at least part of the time are more
satisfied with their jobs and more fulfilled
in their personal lives, and in today’s fast-
paced business arena, work/life balance is
more important than ever. The KGWI survey
showed that work/life balance was the most
important factor for 38% of all workers in
deciding whether or not to accept a position.
Workers who are offered a job can afford
to consider information they have picked
up from social media about what type of
employer a company is and how the job will
affect their ability to balance their jobs with
the demands of their lives. And remote work
is a big part of that.

7. 7 | remote work under the microscope
conclusion.
References:
“Costs and Benefits: Advantages of Telecommuting for Companies.” Telework Research
Network. http://www.teleworkresearchnetwork.com/resources/costs-benefits
Kim, Susanna. “Best Buy Follows Yahoo!’s Lead, Takes a Look at Employees
Working from Home.” ABC News, March 6, 2013.
Laskowski, Amy. “Abolishing Work-at-Home Policies.” Boston University Today, March 12, 2013.
Miller, Claire Cain. “Yahoo! Says New Policy is Meant to Raise Morale.” The New York Times, March 5, 2013.
Companies across all industries are watching to see how the policy changes by Yahoo! and Best Buy
will play out in the end for both employers and employees. None of us knows what kind of general
impact this is going to have, if there even is one, and it may take many years to find out. Employers
have to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of remote work within their organization, and decide
for themselves what the proper balance is for their own company. In the meantime companies should
continue to get input from employees about what they want from an employer so they can develop an
attractive employer brand. If offering remote work strengthens that brand, attracts top talent, satisfies
workers, and increases productivity and efficiency as a result, then everyone wins.

8. EXIT
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About Kelly Services®
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About the Author
Linda Stuit is Vice President, Global Solutions for Kelly Services, Inc. In her
current role, Ms. Stuit is responsible for leading the High Tech Vertical team
on identifying and creating workforce solutions for many of the world’s largest
organizations. With more than 20 years of experience working directly with
complex global accounts, Ms. Stuit specializes in assessing the talent and human
capital strategy of an organization and determining how their talent supply will
impact their overall objectives. She creates solutions and coordinates resources that drive the
bottom-line results by ensuring qualified, cost-effective talent supply chains. Ms. Stuit is certified
as a Human Capital Strategist by the Human Capital Institute (HCI) and holds a bachelor’s degree
from Michigan State University.