SAN FRANCISCO-In the Bay Area and beyond, the “office of the future” is a present-day reality, and part of this workplace transformation is the role of the virtual office. Globally, a new generation of workers, enabled by technology tools, is part of an inevitable trend, with more employees are setting up shop at home or at other remote locations. In fact, studies show that the number of mobile workers grew 66% from 2005 to 2010, and that trend is continuing.

Then along comes Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer, who shouts, “Whoa” and directs teleworkers back to the office. Her new policy has fueled headlines and blogs, some applauding Mayer, others blasting her. While the still-ensuing dialog has been healthy, let's put this debate in perspective: The answer to “Does working at home work for your company?” is not a simple yea or nay.

Let's not take Mayer's inferences about mobility at face value. Clearly, Mayer is concerned about the dynamics that have allowed a once-exciting work environment to lose its luster while the company loses in the innovation and talent wars against the likes of Google and Facebook. Ultimately, the message in Mayer's memo is that Yahoo! needs “all hands on deck,” and she wants employees to be accountable and interactive. Actually, Mayer may be onto something, because studies show that the strongest companies have the strongest cultures.