The topic of working from home is one that is hotly debated both in the context of the modern workforce, and more specifically in my own workplace. The head of my department is loathe to allow anyone to work from home, as he believes people are much less productive when working from home than when they are in the office. He also values the face-to-face interactions that are commonplace in a traditional workplace, and believes that remaining in personal contact with coworkers is necessary to resolve issues quickly and maintain a positive attitude in the workplace. He has been at the head of the department for many years, and has very firm beliefs about the way a workplace should operate, which some would find to be quite “traditional”. He does not read or write his own emails, doesn’t like using his cell phone, and would much prefer to fly out to remote offices to meet clients in person than use even the most state-of-the-art teleconferencing equipment. The CEO of Yahoo!, Marissa Mayer, shares in this belief that people should not be working from home, and went as far as to get rid of Yahoo!’s work-from-home policy entirely (Miller, Rampell, 2013). She believes people require face-to-face interaction to be able to work effectively. Interestingly, a 2013 study showed that working from home actually increased employee productivity overall, and employees working from home ended up taking fewer breaks and sick days (Bloom, Liang, Roberts, & Ying).
My own direct manager has a much different approach to working from home. He is closer in age to the employees he manages directly, and has more in common with them. He enjoys using technology and is an avid Apple fan. He follows tech blogs, and is always up-to-date on the latest news in the world of electronics, gadgets, and even video games. He takes off work when he feels it is necessary, and is in charge of his own time and work schedule, and wants to afford us the same privileges that he receives for his position. Overall, his approach to the workplace structure shows his willingness to adapt to change, and he welcomes new approaches to old problems. In this way, he is also very willing to allow us to work from home, and connect to our coworkers through the use of technology.
This relates to path-goal theory because the main objective of this theory is to “enhance employee performance and satisfaction by focusing on employee motivation” (Northouse, 2013). He shows many aspects of the participative leadership style, as he seeks our opinions about how we want to work and manage our time, and allows us to choose how work and time management should be approached as a whole team. He values a high level of autonomy among his direct reports, and believes that we should be permitted to get the job done in any way we see fit, even if it involves shaking up established ideas about how a workplace should operate. He believes that we will be more motivated to do our jobs when we understand what is expected of us, and when we are allowed to complete our goals in the method of our choosing, whether that be in the office or from our home office. My manager sees working from home as a kind of reward for showing that you can accomplish your work goals with little managerial supervision, although anyone on my team who wants to work from home is allowed to do so. He has stated that if it is not working for a specific person, he may take away the privilege on an individual basis as he sees fit. Ultimately, he believes that when people are allowed to choose how they want to work and when they want to work, they will be more motivated to produce a higher quality of work, and will be more productive overall. This type of leadership works well for us, because we work in an environment that is highly ambiguous, where our work and goals are not completely clearly defined, and may change from day to day. As his subordinates, we are also well matched to his participative approach to leadership because we show an internal locus of control, where we want to “be in charge of the events that occur in our [work] life” (Northouse, 2013). This control allows us to feel motivated, because we have the most say in how we accomplish our work, especially when our work does not have clearly defined “goals”. Our manager helps to define those goals, and is especially specific about how much work he expects we should be accomplishing while at home and how it can be measured quantifiably, and we are involved in this process. We are treated by our manager with the same respect and privileges that would be provided to other managers. Finally, path-goal theory includes aspects of expectancy theory as the source of motivation for subordinates. This means that a person will choose to follow a certain set of steps towards completing their goal because they expect this path will lead them to a positive outcome. We apply these same principles when choosing to work from home as our primary method of completing our work.
In my own experience, there are some aspects of my work that suffer due to working from home. For example, you cannot interact as easily with coworkers through technology as can be done in person. When your other coworkers are still together in the office having a meeting, you can join the meeting, listen in, and even participate through a virtual conference room, but it feels like you are secondary to the interactions taking place in person. Therefore my voice may not be completely heard, both figuratively and literally, and I may not get to have the same level of involvement and input. There is also some intangible enjoyment that comes from the interpersonal interactions with coworkers, from joking and sharing stories, to talking about new ideas for projects. Some aspect of this interaction is lost when done through email or a chat window, as a person’s message can be misstated, misinterpreted, or just be ignored. I find that working from home also requires a large amount of discipline, as there can be many distractions at home that are not found in the workplace. I also find that interacting with my manager is more difficult, because he is not always in his office or at his computer. When in the office, I can find where he is and meet him at any point during the day, but it is difficult to achieve the same level of attention without being in the same physical location. The autonomy means that I am also not being supervised, so I need to manage my own time well enough to get everything done, knowing that no one will notice what has or has not been completed until the next time I am in the office. I would be interested to hear about your reactions to working from home, and if you prefer it to working in the office, or if your boss opposes it entirely.
Bloom, N., Liang, J., Roberts, J., & Ying, Z. J. (2013). DOES WORKING FROM HOME WORK? EVIDENCE FROM A CHINESE EXPERIMENT. National Bureau of Economic Research, M1. Retrieved October 5, 2014, from http://www.nber.org/papers/w18871
Miller, C., & Rampell, C. (2013, February 25). Yahoo Orders Home Workers Back to the Office. The New York Times. Retrieved October 6, 2014, from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/technology/yahoo-orders-home-workers-back-to-the-office.html
Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: theory and practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage.
I work in the supply chain and logistics industry, where historically, men held most of the leadership positions. This is an industry, which up until just a few years ago, was mostly learned through experience versus formal training or an education. For many, learning logistics meant physically handling shipments on a dock, and on the steamship and airline side, it meant operating heavy machinery such as forklifts and cranes. The type of work performed in this area attracted men, and as such, they grew their careers, with many developing into the leaders that we have in place today.
Women began to assume entry and mid-management positions within the logistics ranks when supply chain and transportation management became formalized within the college environment, and for many, it was not an easy transition. Men were accustomed to answering to men and not taking instruction from women, and if there ever was a group that believed that women did not belong in their workplace, let alone managing it, it was the dockworker or warehouseman that grew up in the business.
Today’s landscape is much differnt. It is commonplace for women to hold key management positions, up to and including the CEO. As the profession has evolved, so to has the acceptance of women in the workplace, whether as a peer on the dock or as a leader of a corporation. As an industry, we are not close to being gender neutral at the leadershp level, yet with many companies promoting diversity and inclusion, that time is not too far off in the distant future.
As a leader myself in our industry, I welcome having female peers and I have no problems being in a subordinate role to a person of the opposite gender. My judgement of leadership comes in the form of experience, capability, and yes, leadership, and at no time does it include whether a person dresses in pants or a skirt. Its time for us all to evolve.
It sounds like your company has exceled in using new technology that changes the workplace environment. I am personally conflicted on how I feel about technology in the workplace. New forms of technology allow employees to work away from the office, while still having connection with the office. I think that technology is great, but it does have its down side. Technology is allowing the employees at your company to work on their own time, wherever they would like.
On the other hand, like you said in your post, communication through technology can make an individual not heard or misunderstood. In my own opinion, I think that working at home can sometimes over work an employee because their work can be measured by productivity and not time spent in the office. Employees who do work at home can find themselves in out-groups which can also make them feel unconnected to their co-workers (Northouse, 2013).
I think that working at home sounds like a fantastic idea, especially for those who have children and other responsibilities. I would also say that it is extremely difficult at times because you have to be disciplined. I am typically a very hard working, and organized person, but I still find that it is much easier to get my school work accomplished in the library rather than at home. For myself, there are way too many distractions and other responsibilities that I need to take care of at home. For those who can manage to work at home, I do think that it is a great opportunity.
Your boss sounds like he incorporates a delegating approach to his leadership style (Northouse, 2013). It sounds like he gives control to his employees to work how they would like, when it is convenient for them. He offers little structure and support and relies on the individual to take responsibility for their own work to achieve their goals. It sounds like the delegating style has been working for the company and the employees.
Reference
Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: theory and practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage