Do I need to smell you to be successful?

Two stories in the New York Times last week presented two looks at the same issue.  Do we need to be in the same physical space with others to be successful?

It’s natural there was a brouhaha over Marissa Mayer’s email to Yahoo employees putting an end to the open telecommuting approach the company had allowed employees to take advantage it.  And boy have they!  According to one account, 200 Yahoo employees don’t come to work...ever.  And at least some of them may not actually be producing work at all, as the account cited cases where employees are abusing the work-from-home policies by ignoring the Yahoo work part and starting side ventures during work time.

While neither Mayers nor Yahoo were willing to go on the record to further explain the directive, other unnamed sources explained that Yahoo’s lack-luster corporate culture and poor workplace reputation were directly impacted by what seems to be an apathetic and uninspired home workforce.  As the company stated in a follow-up – this is what Yahoo needs and is not an indictment on the concept of telecommuting. 

Now that cooler minds consider her action, it looks like the Mayer’s decision is less about telecommuting and more about the lethargy that has plagued Yahoo for years.  But for Mayer, being a woman – and a rich new mom with a nursery next to her office – this decision appeared to turn back the clock on feminism and the benefits (long proven by many businesses and organizations) that telecommuting brings to job productivity (telecommuters tend to work longer hours and create more work product) and  company loyalty.  In fact, the Yahoo decision really appears to be a sensible reaction to a policy gone awry and the need to regroup and rebuild a new culture in a company at a critical crossroads – face to face.  Perhaps the tone of the email wasn't inspirational, but the need for it is evident in Yahoo's current performance.

Another side of the 'in person' debate was presented by NYT contributor Thomas Friedman in his piece on the evolution of learning.  MOOCs (massive online open courses ) are beginning to draw millions of online participants, many learning from some of the most esteemed educators in the world, for free and in the comfort of their home, car, office, you name it. At a time when college loan debt has reached a staggering $1 trillion in the US and with college tuitions rising over the past two decades at three times the rate of inflation, MOOCs have got to be one of the biggest black clouds hanging over the head of the middle-of-the-road private colleges whose reputation and draw can't rival the Ivy's, but with tuitions that are double those of state universities. 

These colleges are in most cases hunkering down and making the case for face-to-face classroom time.  They are stressing the incomparable value of real-time interaction with professors as the rationale to continue to pay a king's ransom, and for many to in fact ransom future financial security, for traditional college courses on campus. Can the raison d’etre of a college be purely the in-person experience?  This in an age when technology is making the virtual experience easier, better and cheaper?

I don’t believe the action by Yahoo (and now Best Buy, another company with issues) signals the end of telecommuting. The success stories outweigh the downsides.  Companies are smart enough to know that happy employees with flexible work arrangements bring their "A game".  They are investing in the technology that allows all of use to answer emails and work on presentations from our phones, tablets and laptops at all hours of the day.  And with increased globalization, how can a 9 to 5 workday begin to make sense for everyone, all the time, as we cross time zones with colleagues and customers?

No doubt the physical college campus will also stay around.  But the fast growing MOOCs are a signal that college administrators must take heed.  The world is evolving.  Student debt is becoming a political issue and the means exist for students to take a new and different road to education.  As Friedman writes, "We’re moving to a more competency-based world where there will be less interest in how you ac­quired the competency and more demand to prove that you mastered the competency."  Colleges need to create experiences for students that go far beyond the classroom and provide hands-on interaction and experiences that cannot be replicated online.

At the end of the day managers, CEOs, students and educators need to figure out when we need to be able to smell each other to be successful.

Strike a Bose

I always thought the guys on the planes with their private sets of headsets were music junkies -- the ones who have 10,000 songs on their mp3 players from the many CDs and even albums they have accumulated over time.

A couple of months ago a colleague let me in on the secret. The earphones are noise reducers, aimed at making air travel quieter and thus more restful. By using the Bose you feel less stressed by the travel and land feeling far more refreshed. All for $300!

I struggled with justifying the expense and then one Saturday morning the Bose appeared on QVC. Six monthly payments and no interest. It seemed a heavenly sign.

When they were delivered to my home I showed them to my family with great fanfare! I charged them and we each tried them on. Frankly, I could not tell a difference between on and off. Still I put on my game face and my family pretended they did hear a difference (the power of peer persuasion). I decided the real test would not take place in my dining room, it would take place on a plane.

Yesterday I had my chance. I quick trip to Munich meant an eight hour flight. I got on the plane, situated myself and like a pro, unzipped the Bose case and tried my 300 series on. The results were incredible! The loud hum of the airplane engines was suddening dulled -- by at least 50%.

Did I sleep on the flight becuase of the Bose? No, but I can never sleep on overseas flights. Did I arrive feeling more fleet footed? Not really. It was 1:30 a.m. at home and I was facing a brand new day in Bavaria. That being said, they made a huge difference and as I pay for the them over the next four months, I will not regret the purchase. They will not go the way of my home exercise equipment and travel pilates bands (unused and getting dusty). I am commited to striking a pose withe my Bose on all future flights, domestic and international.

A Mom, on the road...again!

Welcome to the Globe Hopping Mom blog! I created this blog to share tips, tricks and war stories from moms like me -- the traveling kind. If you know which terminal at the Philly airport sells the best cheese steaks, how to travel cross country and avoid O'Hare, which frequent stay programs offer the best rewards and which hotels the best workout rooms, how to convert US dollars to Kronas without asking and how to bring home gifts for the kids that don't look like they came from the airport gift shop (even if they have!) then this blog is for you!

I work for a global company. That means I am expected to travel - a lot. This weekend I am heading to Munich -- four days of travel for an 8-hour meeting. (Somehow video conferencing sounds great but it doesn't build relationships like a trip to the Beirgarten!). My company is based in Sweden, I am based in Philadelphia but actually live in upstate NY -- long story. So while I can work from home sometimes, my office is in Philly and I am there several times per month.

My biggest gripe? If you travel for work you've lived it...the awful state of the air travel industry today. The lines at security, the endless corridors (in high heels) to the gates -- mine is always at the very end of the row, the late planes, the small planes, the planes with overhead bins that barely hold my purse let alone my overnight bag. I can deal with the crying babies, the rude staff and the lack of food and drink, just get me to the church on time!

Every time I creep out of the house at 5:30 a.m. to catch a flight I leave behind my two children, 13 and 11 and my husband. Do I feel guilty, yes. But I am also proud that they have figrured out how to eat, sleep and bathe without my constant supervision. I hope I am helping them to become more self-sufficient and confident. But that might just be me trying to make myself feel better.

From now on I wil post my own experiences as a traveling mom. I hope you will respond and share your own, you know, like when the 6pm flight has been delayed to 8:05 and you can't face another email! Until then, bon voyage!