Bank of America has sent out a new, tighter set of guidelines for its popular work-at-home program, known as "My Work," after reviewing how it's gone.
Last week, the Observer reported that the bank was finalizing changes meant to restrict the breadth of the program and letting employees know if they would be affected. The new slate of recommendations and restrictions isn't necessarily surprising.
Some company-wide restrictions include limiting work-at-home to employees in good standing in performance evaluations and current on training, according to a document obtained by the Observer. Bank of America will also indeed ask workers who spend a good deal of time working from home but maintain an office to enroll in "My Work" and give up the space.
Working from Starbucks or the like might not be OK. "Employees are to work from a quiet, safe, and ergonomic location -- free from distraction," according to the document, listing a home office, "My Work" center or bank flexible space as acceptable workplaces.
Managers will still have latitude to determine which job roles are suitable for "My Work" and which are not.
Other suggestions and requirements:
- New employees should work from an office "whenever possible."
- Employees will have to attend local company events and meetings in person.
- People in "My Work" will regularly talk with their managers about their in-person expectations.
The changes could affect several thousand employees in Charlotte.
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27 comments:
Does anyone really work at Starbucks? I thought that died off along with the 457 "My Quirky Friends & I Are Hanging Out Drinking Coffee" TV sitcoms.
I certainly wouldn't go to a restaurant or other place and do work with an insecure internet connection, whether I was working for myself or the biggest company in the world.
I still don't get why this is anybody's business, other than the folks that work at BofA.
why is the newsworthy?????
Andrew Dunn should not be allowed to write articles for CO. His High School level reporting on bad mouthing BOA is a poor attempt to beat a dead horse in the ground.
I would think it would be newsworthy only if it was going to result in a big increase in the number of employees who must work at the home office (the one thing this article doesn't tell us). In that case, we could all expect rush hour traffic to be that much worse. Otherwise, why do I care?
As a bank employee who is not allowed to work from home...I am glad they implemented this..Too many people were so called working from home...and they really were not...Some would be at the mall, hairdresser, or etc.
All the B of A commenters on here upset about the spotlight is understandable.
Who wants their employer to really start thinking about if lounging in pajamas, not showering 'til noon and watching Price is Right/soap operas/the View from the couch while "working" is really ideal and productive?
agree with the "why is this newsworthy" comments.. a bunch of adults are going to have to iron their khakis and leave the house to go to work... like all other grownups in the US have done for the last hundred years.. welcome to life ... now set your alarm
I work from home, in my Pjs, and I get MUCH more work done, in less time, than I do in my office. It just fits my style better. If I had an office at Bank of America, with a door I could close, it might be different. but I only had a cube, so I'm much more productive at home
I lead an entire virtual team located around the country. I don't care if they're naked or wearing tuxedos. I encourage them to take breaks during the day to go out to lunch or go to the hairdresser or grocery store because it's important to get away from your home when your office is there. Otherwise they'd sit there 12 hours a day. And there's no such thing as a sick day for them unless they're on their death bed or having a an organ removed. So before the ignorant comment, including the bank employee above, they should think the big picture. My motivated employees have never missed a deadline and work their butts off because they are treated with respect and trust.
Wow would love to have you as my boss..but unfortunately I work a job where they dont allow you to work from home.....1 hr. for lunch..thats it...I wish could leave and go the hairdresser or grocery store and not come back until I felt like it.
Incredible journalism. Timely and relevant. Gripping.
It's Cathy Bassant and a bunch of sorry managers with too much time on their damn hands. She is known for being hellish and a tyrant. Just another way the bank is trying to screw with good people. Cathy Bassant will split hell wide open one day.
They are everywhere: Micromanagers who live to make other peoples lives as miserable as possible. The bank adopted this program and it has been successful, yet the sorry managers just want to keep sticking it to the employees in every way they can.
People who work for the bank are sick of this. And I agree, Cathy Bassant can go straight to hell for this.
What exactly changed? If you are doing a bad job, they always revoked your work at home status because you need to be actively managed. duh
This wasn't news the first time the observer mentioned it
SPOT ON WITH ANONYMOUS AT 1:36pm
To the comment above at 4:16: You don't know what in the living hell you are talking about.
A lot is changing. People in this program are just as productive now as they were 10 years ago. Managers who are worth a damn can do so without physically hovering over you in an office.
I don't know the situation at BofA specifically, but I work from home a fair amount of the time for a different company and it seems to work pretty well. I'm not spending 2-3 hours/day in traffic (I used to work in Washington, DC and still work for a DC based company), when I could actually be working, the company doesn't have to provide me space in their facility (very few companies seem to realize how much real estate and it's accoutrements end up costing them) and I am still very effective according to everyone I work with. However, there are some things that are non-negotiable if you want to work from home - for me, I answer ALL phone calls immediately, IM's in seconds, and e-mails in minutes. When I used to work in an office, one of the most annoying things I used to deal with was people who worked offsite who weren't available immediately and I definitely DON'T do that.
I think this is just more and more interesting of the growing trend in this country to punish the successful and allow egomaniac managers or government overseers to exert control due to some personality disorder.
1:17 is the perfect example that no one should have any special privileges. All must be made to suffer. Can you imagine where this world and society would be if Albert Einstein or Thomas Edison were having to work in an environment like 1:17 wants.
Anyone who THINKS remote workers are lounging around has never actually worked with people who work remotely.
Any anyone who thinks the connections at Starbucks aren't secure doesn't understand technology. (Hint: Google "VPN")
I too manage a virtual team and they are incredible. You have to hire the right people, but they put in more than twelve hours a day, collaborate well, and are innovative. Working from home brings work into your home and it's hard. It's easy to overwork from home. West Coast employees are up early when we meet at 8 EST. They even work late as well.
It's a privilege to work from home.
For the people who've commented that the work from home employees can do as they please- that's not the case.
When my wife worked at BOA she was able to work from home. She had to be logged into the IM or messaging tool. If she got "pinged", she was expected to respond right away.
Also- working from home requires you to work at night and on the weekends sometimes.
It's not a 8-5 job when you work from home.
And if you don't like how some people have this opportunity, maybe you should try and find a career where you aren't so cynical or bitter.
Yet another interesting, motivational article by none other than the Observer. One would continue to try to fathom the conference meetings or article approvals a journalist must go through at the CO. Given the intent of most major newspapers typically support and publish articles that do not start rather mundane posts that typically create a divide, most celebrate their City and provide articles that the citizens of their city can relish in what their city offers not produce articles that get people stressed or divided over a company's potential decision process, why is this news?
Maybe I should have simply asked that.
AP Report: Your article sucked.
More people are working from home than ever before and certainly there will have to be rules to govern that work. But it is the wave of the future and most people are far more productive working from a home office where they have have flexibility. There is no time to drive for work or vast wardrobe requirements. It also beats working from a cubicle. Companies realize they can save money this way and workers are happy so it's a win-win.
Many People want to Work In Bank and oppurtunities are becoming more but you need to work hard on your skills.
Update: Which job functions/roles ended up losing the ability to telecommute?
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