When Marissa Mayer, ex-Google wunderkind and computer science graduate from Stanford University, took the helm as president and CEO at Yahoo in 2012, she immediately made one sweeping change: recall all of Yahoo’s remote workers. Employees at Yahoo were given three months to either show up at the office or find another job.
Her rationale was that remote work simply wasn’t productive— that working remotely didn’t spur the teamwork and innovation that naturally occur when employees work together in the office. The memo sent out to the company’s remote workers read, “Some of the best decisions and insights come from hallway and cafeteria discussions, meeting new people, and impromptu team meetings.”