IBM (NYSE:$IBM) has boasted its policy that allows employees to work from home as one of the biggest reasons why the tech company has experienced years of success. Backed by numbers and company performance, it is no wonder that IBM attribute its accomplishments to this one policy.
Since 1994, the long-time running tech company has not had a single unprofitable year. In fact, ever since IBM pioneered tools — email, groupware, web conferencing, etc. — that made it possible for people to work from home via the internet, its financial performance has steadily improved. In 2016 alone, IBM filed more patents than Google (NASDAQ:$GOOGL), Apple (NASDAQ:$AAPL), and Microsoft (NASDAQ:$MSFT) combined.
Compared to current giant tech companies, one of the main differences that set IBM apart from the rest is definitely its allowance for employees to work from home. As such, one would think that the company’s executives would make the connection that its financial success and innovation is largely due to the fact that about 40% of its employees work from home. However, this does not seem to be the case.
Just recently, IBM is getting rid of its work from home policy by forcing its employees back to regional offices — stating that those who don’t comply will be fired. IBM addressed the change, explaining that, “In many fields, such as software development and digital marketing, the nature of work is changing, which requires new ways of working. We are bringing small, self-directed, agile teams in these fields together.”
The explanation has since then been under a lot of fire, with many industry professionals arguing against it. While meetings and discussions are essential in software development, a large part of the work is done by developers alone — in testing and writing code. As such, a home environment is usually preferred as testing and writing good code typically requires high levels of concentration and focus. When it comes to digital marketing, the whole point of such developments is the fact that people don’t need to be in the same place in order to connect.
IBM seems to think that bringing people together could yield better results, but it doesn’t seem likely — especially in tech spaces where the majority of the work is done alone or where the focus is on connecting individuals who are not in the same space. The change also seems to go against IBM’s business model that it has followed for decades: the idea that when people all around the world work together, big goals can be achieved.
Even if small teams mean success for other companies, a large demographic of IBM employees are non-millennials who aren’t used to such a work environment. As a result, it is very unlikely that an office environment like Google or Facebook (NASDAQ:$FB) will work as well at companies like IBM.
Shareholders should be concerned, if Yahoo’s (NASDAQ:$AABA) fall after it changed its policies is any indication for the future of IBM. Below are just some of the detrimental things that could happen, should IBM stick with its plan to rid itself of the work from home policy:
1. Top employees will most likely leave
While IBM has said that the majority of its employees that worked from home has agreed to shifting their work in the office, it is very possible that some unhappy workers have already left. This is particularly true for top-performing employees — they know they have the skills to work elsewhere, and if they aren’t happy with their work environment they will most likely leave.
2. Employees forced to make the switch will be resentful
Many would agree that threatening to fire its employees is not a good way to begin any major change, especially if no one really asked for the change in the first place. According to multiple studies, IBM employees cited privacy and flexibility as two of the best perks when it comes to working at the company — two perks that IBM has effectively killed by forcing its workers to work in regional offices. As a result, many employees are probably unhappy with the new change, and unhappy employees usually mean a drop in productivity and company loyalty.
3. Open plan office points to disaster
Unlike millennials who are used to open office plans, many of IBM’s employees will have to adjust from the quiet comfort of their own homes to the noise and chaos that typically comes with open plan offices. As well, employees will have to get used to not having the same privacy as they once did when they worked from home.
4. Productivity will slow down
With an open plan office and IBM’s reason for bringing its employees back to their offices, it seems that meetings between employees will increase. As a result, productivity might slow down as much of the work — especially in software engineering — is done by individuals and not from team meetings.
5. Micro-management will inevitably take its toll
Another big change for employees that work from home will experience in an open plan office is that they will be under constant supervision. While constant supervision by managers may up productivity in some cases, it can also decrease it. In addition, micro-management could also add on to the resentment and anger that employees feel towards the change.
6. IBM financials will fall
With many of the the effects felt by IBM’s change in work policies pointing to a drop in productivity, IBM’s financials will most likely decline as a result.
IBM is one of the oldest tech companies that has yet to largely succumb to new tech breakthroughs and developments produced by younger companies like Google and Apple. However, with this effort to create a work environment that is similar to younger tech companies, IBM could — very ironically — finally decline and disappear.
Featured Image: Depositphotos/© claudiodivizia
