26 http://www.business-spotlight.de 2/2014accommodating entgegenkommend
[E(kQmEdeItIN]
advance [Ed(vA:ns] Fortschritt
caring commitments pflegerische Auf-
[(keErIN kE)mItmEnts] gaben
childcare [(tSaI&ldkeE] Kinderbetreuung
competing konkurrierend, in
[kEm(pi:tIN] Konflikt stehend
deputy[(depjUti] stellvertrende(r)
design sth. [di(zaIn] etw. entwerfen,
planen
encounter [In(kaUntE] Begegnung
face-to-face persönlich, direkt
[)feIs tE (feIs]
hallway[(hO:lweI] Gang, Korridor
hive [haIv] Bienenstock; hier:
Hort
impromptu spontan
[Im(prQmptju:]
insight [(InsaIt] Erkenntnis
remote working Telearbeit
[ri(mEUt )w§:kIN]
(remote entfernt)
restrict sth.[ri(strIkt] etw. beschränken
workforce [(w§:kfO:s] Belegschaftplanned collaborations”. Pixar has
been a hiveof creativity and is huge-
ly successful.
Business leaders must be allowed to
choose what works best for their
company. Managers should, of course,
be open to requests for remote work-
ing or flexible hours and should be
as accommodatingas possible, but
they have many competingneeds to
balance. Not all jobs can be done re-
motely, and it is not always possible
to manage large teams with staff
working different hours. Flexibility
works both ways. Employers must be
flexible with their staff, but employ-
ees must, in turn, realize that not ev-
ery request can be met.B
usinesses have been open to
flexible working for some
time. As long ago as 2008, 86
per cent of members of the In-
stitute of Directors, who run firms of
all sizes across the UK, said their or-
ganizations had flexible policies.
Such policies can bring benefits to
both employers and workers. They
can help employees to fit childcareor
caring commitments, home repairs
and other activities into their working
day. And they can provide employers
with a more motivated workforce.
It is no wonder, therefore, that
when Marissa Mayer, the new head
of Yahoo, announced in February
2013 that she was calling all her staff
back into the office and dramatically
restrictingopportunities to work at
home, many people thought it was a
backward step. This seemed to ignore
the technological advancesthat have
made remote workingso much easi-
er than it used to be.
It also seemed a particularly strange
move for one of the tech giants that
has helped to make remote workingIst es eine gute Entscheidung, Mitarbeiter weniger oft von zu Hause aus arbeiten zu
lassen? VICKISUSSENShat sich Argumente dafür und dagegen angehört. mediumGLOBAL BUSINESS HEAD-TO-HEADIs it OK to restrict teleworking?
possible. The debate since then has
concentrated on whether or not staff
who work at home are productive.
But it’s worth studying the logic be-
hind Mayer’s decision. “Some of the
best decisions and insightscome from
hallwayand cafeteria discussions,
meeting new people and impromptu
team meetings,” she said.
Technology may have made us con-
nected in more ways than ever before,
but Yahoo’s management clearly
feels that spontaneous, face-to-face
encounterscreate opportunities and
spread information in a way that can-
not be achieved if everyone is in dif-
ferent places.
Yahoo isn’t the only company to
think this. Nor is it a new idea. Steve
Jobs, one of the most innovative and
forward-thinking businessmen the
world has ever seen, also placed huge
importance on physical interaction
among his staff.
When designingPixar Animation
Studio’s offices in 1999, he insisted
on a huge central atrium that would
create the opportunity for “un-Alexander Ehmannis the deputydirector of pol-
icy at the Institute of Directors in Britain. He is
a specialist in employment regulation.Ye s!
“Business leaders
must choose what
is best for them”
Alexander Ehmann26-27 Head2head 2_14 14.01.14 13:45 Seite 26