Automattic — the company behind WordPress — has a fantastic teleworking policy that lets workers chose whether to come into offices in Portland, MN, Capetown, South Africa, and San Francisco, or to spend up to $250/month on a co-working space near them, or to work at any coffee shop with a stipend to pay for the coffee.
It's worked so well that almost none of the company's San Francisco-area employees ever show up at the 15,000 square foot offices in the city, despite its games-tables, kitchen, library, and gorgeous decor. So they've put the space on the market.
While Automattic fervently embraces remote working, other companies have gotten cold feet. In 2013, Marissa Mayer, then the CEO of Yahoo, famously ended the company telecommuting policy, telling employees in a memo from HR that for the best results “we need to be working side-by-side.”More recently, IBM—a pioneer of remote working—told thousands of US employees they’ll need to begin working in offices. The goal is to make the company’s workforce more nimble and, similar to Yahoo’s aim, to foster creativity through working “shoulder-to-shoulder.” But to employees who have built a life around working from home, IBM’s still-theoretical productivity gains come as small consolation.
The company behind WordPress is closing its gorgeous San Francisco office because its employees never show up
[Oliver Staley/Quartz]
(via /.)
