Can CEO work from home?
I would like to know if a CEO can work from home. The question is weird, but I would just like to know the answer.
When there were company board meetings, he needs to attend and that is OK. He needs to track the progress of the employees, and several aspects going inside the company. I ain't completely saying that he entirely works from home without stepping into the company at all, but may be steps in once or twice a month.
If interacting with the people is the only thing, can't he do it via the Cisco WebEx?
Kindly, reply me.
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What kind of company? How many employees? How many offices does the company have? Do many of the other employees work from home as well? It just depends, there is no right answer to just "Can CEO work from home?" – Ekoostik Martin 11 years ago
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A startup with 5-10 employees, a single office, no other employees doesn't work from home. – Java Technical 11 years ago
4 Answers
He can, because it's technically possible, but he shouldn't because he's the boss and his presence should be felt by his employees. Being absent is the best way to have the team lose trust, contest his authority and plot against him. The head must always remain on the body.
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Also, I am curious to know how it would be when the company is at starting stage? By the way, I like the last sentence `The head must always remain on the body` :) – Java Technical 11 years ago
It all depends about your product .... Of course if you are in company which needs you present all the time ... you can't, if your product is somethin' digital then maybeyou can stay home . But for startup's you really need to get your hands dirty!
Edit :As user answers, indeed if your presence is needed (90% of the cases), you can't stay home, your employee's need to be inspired by your presence (intimidated in some cases ... that's another history...)
I think the simple answer is no.
As the leader of the organisation, the CEO needs to be intimately aware of the well-being of all of her employees. Remote conference calls, whilst practical from a functional perspective, lack that personal contact, which is crucial to understanding employees and how to best help them do their job.
Furthermore, CEOs need to be seen; leading by example is, from my experience, one of the most powerful motivators. So even if employees don't always get to spend face-time with their CEO, they're still aware of her presence, and the idea that she is just down the passage, working just as hard, is warmly reassuring.
The only time I'd condone the CEO working from home is when the entire team can work from home, but even then, it is up to the CEO to make extra effort to spend quality face-to-face time with her employees as often as is practically possible, otherwise you risk losing touch with what's going on in your employees' personal lives.
It is this lack of awareness that you need to avoid, as it can lead to nasty surprises that will ultimately impact your bottom line.
Of cours, a CEO working from home is possible. Better questtion would be "is it desirable? " This depends heavily on the type of company/industry he is working for. In general, bigger the company is, more important is the presence on site of the CEO. The CEO of Ford or Accenture will hardly work from home. But a CEO of some small startup? Why not? There are several companies that even don't have their own offices. They just rent meeting rooms for negotiation with clients or the periodical team meetings but otherwise... No matter of where they work! From home, from cafés,...
It's a new era today. Everything is possible and the old rules break one by one. It's the case also for the "rules" about office work - even for managers. It must be taken case by case. Just look at the best solution for every specific case.
