14 DAY TRIAL // Yahoo recently decided to ban working from home and to force employees to come to the office every single day, but many people have actually criticized the company for its new strategy.
Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates is one of those who believe that workers should be provided with more flexibility, suggesting that such a decision is very counterproductive.
A Microsoft commissioned study revealed that 70 percent of employees believe they can work more and better even if they’re out of the office, while 38 percent of them say they can be more creative thanks to flexible working.
On the other hand, 73 percent of the respondents said there’s a lack of trust within their organization when it comes to working from home, while 30 percent of them revealed they sometimes feel guilty about not being in the office.
“People don’t need to be shackled to their desks to be productive or to collaborate with their colleagues. Work should be a thing you do not a place you go,” Dave Coplin, chief envisaging officer at Microsoft commented.
“Flexible working is more about choosing a location that best suits your requirements to get the job done. This can mean working from a variety of locations during the day, be that on the move, a shared knowledge hub, a coffee shop, a remote office or at home if need be.”
In case you’re wondering, 92 percent of those who participated in the survey said they have no concerns about getting distracted when working from home, even though it has been proved that most people are less productive when away from the office.
Microsoft, however, is betting big on a very flexible working strategy, as Bill Gates thinks that the existing technologies, such as Skype, have what it takes to enable every single company out there to keep track of employees even when they’re not in the office.