Ridiculous!  "Working from home" "Telecommuting" whatever you want to call it for me works better.  Sure we all need to be in the office from time to time and some things are easier than working from home.  As a techy, there is nothing I can't do from home that I can do in the office, I have Skype so meetings are sorted, my VPN sometimes feels quicker than the office LAN .  Perhaps the biggest win "working from home" brings is flexibility, I can be logged on between 7am and 8 am, finish working at 6pm and still be "home" before I would be working in the office.  I also get fewer interruptions so it can also very productive.

Some idiot @ Yahoo! needs to rethink this decision.

Can't say why they did it but I've had varied results working from home over the last couple of years. As Chris McG stated before, I've also been far more productive when working from home in terms of flexibility (ie. starting early and finish late and then jump back on after the little'n is in bed) and being able to crack on with work without the distractions you get in the office.

The downsides I found were trying to get a hold of people when you need them. If you're in the office you can see if a person is there at their desk or busy in a meeting. I've often found myself ringing 3-4 different people to find out if a particular person is available cos I can't get a hold of them, or indeed the 2-3 people I try. What I have also found is the reluctance for people to ring you if you're working from home. I've had some people actually think I was on holiday/unavailable that day just because I wasn't in the office. I suppose that last point is an issue about communication......

Skype etc is great for meetings but rubbish for impromptu design sessions or meetings where people scribble a load of diagrams on the whiteboards. This is difficult sometimes to add input into.

All in all I like a mix. I couldn't work from home 5days a week, I'd miss the office banter etc but certainly it has worked for me previously.

Doesn't answer ur question though John

Chris

The alternative perspective courtesy of Penelope Trunk

Perhaps the biggest win "working from home" brings is flexibility, I can be logged on between 7am and 8 am, finish working at 6pm and still be "home" before I would be working in the office. 

Absolutely agree on this one. Commuting is just wasted time, particularly in the Big Smoke (that's London for the international audience ). Sure I try to make good use of the time by reading/listening to podcasts etc. but those who have been on the tube during rush hour will attest to the fact that you're lucky if you have room to breath let alone concentrate/focus on something productive.