We all go through tough times at certain times in our lives and that’s one of the reason why I am a big supporter of R U Ok? Day. This day has grown since 2009 and is no longer just about one day, but ongoing conversations with those in your personal or work lives to make sure they are ok, by asking that simple question. R U Ok? has partnered with AHRI to acknowledge the best organisation that embraced this message in 2012. I am delighted to share that Mercy Health, one of our clients was recognised as a finalist.

After Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer’s decision to ban staff from working from home, the reality for organisations to change their flexible working arrangements becomes clearly evident. In case you missed it, Yahoo has had a long history of supporting their staff to work from home. In fact, x employees regularly work at home and from June 2013, they must return back to the office. Being in HR for many years, I can certainly acknowledge the challenges of a flexible workforce. However, if the goal is collaboration, water-cooler talk and face time, then this has me concerned if online giant Yahoo can’t make it work. The success of working from home comes down to the outputs of remote workers. You would assume that if Yahoo is going down the path of retracting this arrangement, that they are not happy with the output. This is a common working from home issue and I wonder how will this benefit Yahoo where a person is working? One must ask are these workers being adequately managed?