Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer's bans telecommuting

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a FT WOTH mom of 2 kids, I kind of hate her. I think that there are much more legitimate ways to get rid of unproductive employees that wouldn't affect those who telecommute and do a good job. I try to telecommute once a week and my office is pretty good about letting me do that. We maybe moving about 20 minutes farther away from my office in downtown DC than we live now (inside the beltway silver spring) and if that happens I plan to ask my boss if I can work remotely as the rule, and make my days in the office more the exception and if they say no I will look for work elsewhere. The idea of people all having to be in the office to be productive is so shorsighted and old fashioned, and for a new mom to come up with that policy just reeks of desperation.

Depends what kind of work you do. My work is client facing, so I couldn't WAH as the rule.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a FT WOTH mom of 2 kids, I kind of hate her. I think that there are much more legitimate ways to get rid of unproductive employees that wouldn't affect those who telecommute and do a good job. I try to telecommute once a week and my office is pretty good about letting me do that. We maybe moving about 20 minutes farther away from my office in downtown DC than we live now (inside the beltway silver spring) and if that happens I plan to ask my boss if I can work remotely as the rule, and make my days in the office more the exception and if they say no I will look for work elsewhere. The idea of people all having to be in the office to be productive is so shorsighted and old fashioned, and for a new mom to come up with that policy just reeks of desperation.

I totally agree with this. I think between her two week "maternity leave" and this, she is no friend to women in the workplace.

Um, what CEO is?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a FT WOTH mom of 2 kids, I kind of hate her. I think that there are much more legitimate ways to get rid of unproductive employees that wouldn't affect those who telecommute and do a good job. I try to telecommute once a week and my office is pretty good about letting me do that. We maybe moving about 20 minutes farther away from my office in downtown DC than we live now (inside the beltway silver spring) and if that happens I plan to ask my boss if I can work remotely as the rule, and make my days in the office more the exception and if they say no I will look for work elsewhere. The idea of people all having to be in the office to be productive is so shorsighted and old fashioned, and for a new mom to come up with that policy just reeks of desperation.

I totally agree with this. I think between her two week "maternity leave" and this, she is no friend to women in the workplace.

Um, what CEO is?

Some were, back in the days when unemployment was low and companies worried about finding good workers to fill positions. I used to look at those "best places to work" and "family friendly companies" lists. I even went to work at a company with one of those CEOs who touted work-life balance and all that jazz.

Last week, they cut the number of days we get for vacation and for sick leave. We need a note from the doctor to use sick leave and cannot use it to care for sick family members. In a different time I would stomp my feet as I bolted for a new job. Instead, I try to remember to be thankful to have a job, health insurance and a some paid leave. The CEOs know this and act accordingly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It is not about unproductive people, it about a culture change.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/26/technology/yahoo-orders-home-workers-back-to-the-office.html?_r=0

A memo explaining the policy change, from the company’s human resources department, says face-to-face interaction among employees fosters a more collaborative culture — a hallmark of Google’s approach to its business.

this is called PR, pp.

PR professional here... this "leaked" memo was just to save face and justify the move. Make no mistake: it is about laying people off without actually having to lay them off for all of the obvious reasons.

This is probably correct. I once worked at a company that ran into financial difficulties and announced a lot of layoffs. The CEO didn't want to say the real reason so he publicly said it was an effort to weed out slackers and the nonperformers. People were furious. A short time later, the CEO was sacked himself.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Apparently there are a lot of people who WFH there and are extremely unproductive. She is trying to make sure the productive people still have a company to pay them....

That is due to poor management, not because of telecommuting. It is possible to have productive employees who telecommute.

Sure. But a lot depends on the employee. Management can only do so much. A slacker office worker is going to be an even bigger slacker when telecommuting.

It still comes back to management: there's no one to blame if a manager chooses to keep an employee who is not producing. Why do you think you have performance goals?

I know someone who works in a output driven workplace. He says many coworkers learn to game the system and produce low quality work to make their quotas and kick back.

[Anonymous]

According to a report I heard on CNBC, there are numerous stories of employees who everyone assumed had left the company because they never ever showed up at the office, for teleconferences and the like - aka - they WERE NOT WORKING!!!!

Imagine the surprise when you suddenly realize that the employee you assumed left 5yrs ago has been telecommuting the whole time? dont even try to tell me they are getting any work done. they got lost in the shuffle, kept getting a paycheck and not working. Kinda like someone collecting the social security check of their dead aunt...who died 20yrs ago.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No more teleworking if you're in the US but if you're based in India or anywhere overseas that has cheaper labor, then it's totally fine.

What a great point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She's kidding right?

http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_22666067/yahoo-ceo-marissa-mayers-ban-telecommuting-sparks-firestorm?source=most_emailed

Wow, the irony.

Made me shake with anger.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I work from home 100%. There are lots of folks on our team not pulling their weight. I happen to live fairly close to our "designated meeting site" but because we are a remote team others live 60-90 miles away. If the WFH option was suddenly removed, I wouldn't have a problem with it. It is a nice perk and I absolutely work 60 hours/week but it is not a right, it's a privilege. I wish the people abusing the WFH privilege would get fired so we can get better skilled, more productive people on our team. Marissa Mayer was hired to turn around a company that is a complete mess. Tough decisions have to be made and I don't believe for a second that she hasn't thought through all of the consequences of her decision. I don't think I could work for her because she seems too driven for my taste and I'm not that kind of ambitious but you aren't a 37-yr old CEO of a Fortune 500 company without having some tiger lady qualities. Go Marissa!!!!!

Bullshit. Then why is ONLY she allowed to have a nursery built next to her office?????

[Anonymous]

Does her husband work (i.e., a real job with real hours)? I read that Carly Fiorini and maybe Meg Whitman had stay at home husbands.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work from home 100%. There are lots of folks on our team not pulling their weight. I happen to live fairly close to our "designated meeting site" but because we are a remote team others live 60-90 miles away. If the WFH option was suddenly removed, I wouldn't have a problem with it. It is a nice perk and I absolutely work 60 hours/week but it is not a right, it's a privilege. I wish the people abusing the WFH privilege would get fired so we can get better skilled, more productive people on our team. Marissa Mayer was hired to turn around a company that is a complete mess. Tough decisions have to be made and I don't believe for a second that she hasn't thought through all of the consequences of her decision. I don't think I could work for her because she seems too driven for my taste and I'm not that kind of ambitious but you aren't a 37-yr old CEO of a Fortune 500 company without having some tiger lady qualities. Go Marissa!!!!!

Bullshit. Then why is ONLY she allowed to have a nursery built next to her office?????

Because she's the CEO! She has a hugely stressful job, to turn around a failing company and make shareholders happy. When you're ready to take on that responsibility, then you too can build a nursery next to your office. So interesting how when she was first hired at Yahoo, all the DCUMers were singing her praises...so impressed by the fact that she took the job, THEN when on maternity leave....what a brave move....she was changing the direction for all women in the workplace!!! Now that she has turned the notion of WFH on it's ear, all you guys who have been taking this priveldge for granted - and you know who you are- I see you all over DC pretending to work while at Nordstrom shopping or getting your nails done - all of you feel suddenly insecure about what this means for your cushy ass job and future.

I used to work in Silicon Valley for what was at the time, in 1999-2000, the biggest and hottest tech company, and on Fridays that campus was like a ghost town. everyone was WFH on Fridays. yeah, no they weren't. They were in Napa or Half Moon Bay or Santa Cruz. Its been happening for a long time, and its about time someone called a spade a spade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:She's kidding right?

http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_22666067/yahoo-ceo-marissa-mayers-ban-telecommuting-sparks-firestorm?source=most_emailed

Wow, the irony.

Made me shake with anger.

Why?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I work from home 100%. There are lots of folks on our team not pulling their weight. I happen to live fairly close to our "designated meeting site" but because we are a remote team others live 60-90 miles away. If the WFH option was suddenly removed, I wouldn't have a problem with it. It is a nice perk and I absolutely work 60 hours/week but it is not a right, it's a privilege. I wish the people abusing the WFH privilege would get fired so we can get better skilled, more productive people on our team. Marissa Mayer was hired to turn around a company that is a complete mess. Tough decisions have to be made and I don't believe for a second that she hasn't thought through all of the consequences of her decision. I don't think I could work for her because she seems too driven for my taste and I'm not that kind of ambitious but you aren't a 37-yr old CEO of a Fortune 500 company without having some tiger lady qualities. Go Marissa!!!!!

Bullshit. Then why is ONLY she allowed to have a nursery built next to her office?????

Because she's the CEO! She has a hugely stressful job, to turn around a failing company and make shareholders happy. When you're ready to take on that responsibility, then you too can build a nursery next to your office. So interesting how when she was first hired at Yahoo, all the DCUMers were singing her praises...so impressed by the fact that she took the job, THEN when on maternity leave....what a brave move....she was changing the direction for all women in the workplace!!! Now that she has turned the notion of WFH on it's ear, all you guys who have been taking this priveldge for granted - and you know who you are- I see you all over DC pretending to work while at Nordstrom shopping or getting your nails done - all of you feel suddenly insecure about what this means for your cushy ass job and future.

I used to work in Silicon Valley for what was at the time, in 1999-2000, the biggest and hottest tech company, and on Fridays that campus was like a ghost town. everyone was WFH on Fridays. yeah, no they weren't. They were in Napa or Half Moon Bay or Santa Cruz. Its been happening for a long time, and its about time someone called a spade a spade.

Damn right

[Anonymous]

+1000 9:54. People at the top make many sacrifices to be there - lord knows I wouldn't want her job, even with the nursery next door.

Telecommuting is a privilege, abuse it and you will loose it. Unfortunately, for those that don't abuse it, the bad apple spoils the barrel, and we loose out too. I was one of those that lost the privilege as others were caught being slackers. They took away telecommuting for all of us, it was a huge pain.

How this all plays out will be interesting.

[Anonymous]

I think that she will be successful in turning yahoo around because she's unconventional, young, smart and got her training at Google. Its about time people start blazing a new trail on HOW work gets done today.