Hot on the heels of this week’s report exposing sexual inequality within British public life – in the same week that a BBC tribunal probes claims of discrimination against a pregnant employee – comes an interesting development from Yahoo. The US internet company’s chief executive Marissa Mayer has issued an edict banning employees from working at home, with her 11,500 staff instructed to start working in one of the firm’s offices by June – or quit.

There are several issues at work here, many of them hotly debated. Chief among Mayer’s thoughts must be the idea that innovation comes from the tacit sharing of knowledge between workers – often through “water-cooler” moments, or during lunches – and the benefits of bringing workers together to bounce ideas off each another. In addition, an office environment can create more of a team spirit and increase productivity.

However, the reverse can often be true. Morale is highly unlikely to be boosted if employees are only present under duress. Plus, commuting often wastes time that could be better spent working. Finally, and most crucially, the practice is bound to end up being discriminatory against those with childcare responsibilities… usually women. Yahoo may become a company that women will not want to work for – so Mayer’s move could restrict access for 50% of employees.

It may seem perverse, but Mayer may well have weighed up the risks and decided to gamble. She will have to hope that the innovation gain achieved by their staff in the new office setup would not be offset by the loss of employees who could potentially contribute to that innovation. Significantly, the company has lost 2,600 staff since the end of 2011: it is clearly not performing well under its current regime, having lost ground to Google, Bing and Facebook, so Mayer is putting her reputation on the line by choosing this means of changing the company’s course.

The results of her experiment will surely be closely monitored by the managers of similar firms.

Yahoo Times Square logo image courtesy of SeanPavonePhoto / Shutterstock.com