How Best Buy Has Changed Its Tune on Flexible Work

Telecommuters may want to dust off those old suits. After Yahoo decided to end its work-from-home program, setting off a wave of debate and criticism, Best Buy said Monday that it will cease its flexible work program, called “Results-Only Work Environment” (referred to simply as “ROWE”), for corporate employees. ROWE was groundbreaking when it launched in 2005. Soon after, though, the company found itself struggling financially as online competitors gained ground. Management, in pulling back from this radical flexible work system, is looking to shake things up again as it faces extreme competitive stress.

Best Buy says it will still accommodate employee needs for work-life balance, but rather than working wherever, whenever, they will now have to seek permission from managers. The goal: to improve leadership, collaboration, and efficiency by having people together in the office. Sure, there will be instances when people will work remotely, but it’s a complete reversal from the enthusiasm the company expressed for ROWE in a 2006 Bloomberg Businessweek cover story. Here’s a comparison of what the company said to us then and what it’s saying now:

Then: ROWE aims to judge performance on output instead of hours, and demolish business dogma that equates physical presence with productivity.
Now: ROWE is “fundamentally flawed from a leadership standpoint” as it assumed the only acceptable way to lead is by delegating, Hubert Joly, Best Buy’s chief executive, said in February.