But will bosses get the memo? Or are home-bound workers at the end of their ropes? A new study from Microsoft and a new book on innovative workplaces are full of warnings.
Yes! I also was stunned by that piece from Cathy Merrill of the Washingtonian. One item that struck me is the idea that she has the power to demote some employee to contractor on executive whim. Unless you are Uber or Lyft and can afford to spend beaucoup millions on bespoke laws, this isn't the case. States look at employee to contractor conversions rather dimly, since it usually involves evading employer-paid taxes, and also runs afoul of IRS regulations (so, you just decided someone who was an employee and meets the IRS definition of an employee isn't one, to punish them, and stopped paying your share of social security taxes?). I'd put the Washingtonian high on my audit list if I was a taxing authority.
Great point! There's a joke going around Twitter that the Post's editors deliberately ran that piece to make a competitor look bad, but that assumes that the editors of the Post don't share Merrill's views. My only regret with the post is that I should have made clear that not everyone working in America today has the opportunity to work from home (though according to Pew something like 55% of employed adults reported working from home last fall).
All I can add is that I've worked from home since 2008 and never looked back.. I loved the description of innovation theater from the book you mention and post it notes!
"the rampant use of Post-It Notes ("the lack of real goal-setting and meeting structure when these tools are put into people's hands can make people feel like they've done something when in fact they haven't");"
Yes! I also was stunned by that piece from Cathy Merrill of the Washingtonian. One item that struck me is the idea that she has the power to demote some employee to contractor on executive whim. Unless you are Uber or Lyft and can afford to spend beaucoup millions on bespoke laws, this isn't the case. States look at employee to contractor conversions rather dimly, since it usually involves evading employer-paid taxes, and also runs afoul of IRS regulations (so, you just decided someone who was an employee and meets the IRS definition of an employee isn't one, to punish them, and stopped paying your share of social security taxes?). I'd put the Washingtonian high on my audit list if I was a taxing authority.
Great point! There's a joke going around Twitter that the Post's editors deliberately ran that piece to make a competitor look bad, but that assumes that the editors of the Post don't share Merrill's views. My only regret with the post is that I should have made clear that not everyone working in America today has the opportunity to work from home (though according to Pew something like 55% of employed adults reported working from home last fall).
All I can add is that I've worked from home since 2008 and never looked back.. I loved the description of innovation theater from the book you mention and post it notes!
"the rampant use of Post-It Notes ("the lack of real goal-setting and meeting structure when these tools are put into people's hands can make people feel like they've done something when in fact they haven't");"
I want to write a parody of PostItism someday. It's clearly a religious cult sponsored by 3M.