Are flexible work arrangements a discretionary perk or the backbone of a modern company? How should productivity be measured? And how should it be balanced against less tangible priorities such as innovation and collaboration?

These are just some of the issues bubbling to the surface in the wake of news that struggling media company Yahoo is eliminating its work-from-home policy.

First reported Friday by All Things D, the leaked internal memo emphasized the spontaneous interactions between employees that occur in an office and that that all remote workers will be required to report to an office. The new policy has sparked a vociferous debate about the importance of telecommuting and whether CEO Marissa Mayer made the right call.

But we'd like to hear your thoughts. How does your company handle flexible work arrangements? Is it more important to facilitate creativity and interaction or encourage productivity in whatever form it takes? How often do you work from home and what schedule would you prefer? Take our poll below and share your experience in the comments.

Do You Work From Home?
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After widespread criticism of Yahoo's decision to ban employees from working at home, the company has addressed the controversy in a vague statement.

"This isn't a broad industry view on working from home," it said. "This is about what is right for Yahoo right now."

A spokesperson for Yahoo declined to elaborate on the matter, telling the New York Times, "We don't discuss internal matters."

But several anonymous employees said Yahoo's move to abolish telecommuting indicates that Marissa Mayer, who became company CEO last July, is "in crisis mode." They told the Times that Mayer believes the policy is necessary rejuvenate Yahoo, which has seen a years-long decline.

An internal company-wide memo from Jackie Reses, Yahoo's head of human resources, said:

To become the absolute best place to work, communication and collaboration will be important, so we need to be working side-by-side. That is why it is critical that we are all present in our offices. Some of the best decisions and insights come from hallway and cafeteria discussions, meeting new people, and impromptu team meetings. Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home. We need to be one Yahoo!, and that starts with physically being together.

Work ethic at Yahoo has deteriorated over time, and the new policy allows management to better monitor and inspire people at the office, the employees revealed. What's more, it's seen as beneficial if less productive staff chose to leave because of the policy, they added. Indeed, some workers have abused the work-at-home option to the point that they've founded startups while being on Yahoo's payroll, the employees said.

All those currently working from home will be required to work at Yahoo's offices starting this June.

Yahoo did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Yahoo Mail-subscribing-households use 11% more electricity per year than Gmail households, a recent study by Opower found. That adds up to nearly a whole extra month of electricity, about an extra $110 per year.


“It’s as if, relative to the average Yahoo household, the average Gmailer is strictly hang-drying their laundry, forgoing high-definition TV, and hand-washing their dishes with cold water for a year,” Opower writes in its’ blog.


So what makes for this drastic disparity in energy usage? Opower — a research company that unpacks and analyzes energy data to present to everyday consumers in an actionable way — found that the problem is one of “correlation not causation.” Meaning that the email domains aren’t driving the issue of energy usage. Instead, discrepancies are related to the core demographics of each site’s users.

“Yahoo subscribers tend to live in suburbs, be in longterm relationships, have a family,” says Barry Fischer, a head writer and a research for Opower. “Those types of lifestyle characteristics carry with them greater energy needs compared to Gmail household. [Gmailers] are found more in urban areas, are younger and are single.”

Ultimately, Opower found that even though Yahoo users live in larger residences than Gmail users, Yahoo subscribers need more electricity per square foot than Gmail users.

Opower matched up 2011 electricity rates with more than 1.5 million email addresses over 23 states to draw their conclusions — focusing on Gmail and Yahoo specifically because they were the top two email service providers of those surveyed, Fischer told Mashable.

Though Opower only analyzed 2011 data, Fischer says he believes similar patterns of higher Yahoo energy usage would have been found in previous years.

But Yahoo users can’t simply cut down on electricity charges now by signing up for a Gmail account. It’s all about lifestyle adjustments to cut back on overall energy costs, Opower says.
See more about the differences in Yahoo and Gmail users’ energy spending in the infographics below. Tell us how you cut down on energy costs in your home in the comments:









































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