Forums
No More Telecommuting at Yahoo
General Forum
No More Telecommuting at Yahoo
Discuss workforce management, performance management, retention, communication, motivation, contributing to business results and other topics.
Yahoo just announced employees are no longer able to telecommute. A CNN Money article reports, "CEO Marissa Mayer has said she wants Yahoo to move more quickly, with teams focusing on collaboration an
0
Cat:Topic ForumsForum:ForumId53
Cat:Topic ForumsForum:ForumId53Discussion:6c221d6f-599e-4f4b-a0db-2c6c1b4c6e7d
Forums » Topic Forums » General Forum » No More Telecommuting at Yahoo
|
No More Telecommuting at Yahoo
posted at 2/25/2013 6:16 PM EST
on Workforce Management
|
Posts: 6
First: 12/21/2012 Last: 3/1/2013 |
Yahoo just announced employees are no longer able to telecommute. A CNN Money article reports, "CEO Marissa Mayer has said she wants Yahoo to move more quickly, with teams focusing on collaboration and communication. Clearly, Mayer thinks it's hard to make those connections when working remotely." Here's a link to the article: http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/25/technology/yahoo-work-from-home/index.html?hpt=hp_t1 At Workforce, we're curious to hear what our expert forum users think of this decision. Do you agree with it? Disagree? Indifferent? |
|
|
Re: No More Telecommuting at Yahoo
posted at 2/25/2013 7:31 PM EST
on Workforce Management
|
Posts: 215
First: 9/20/2011 Last: 5/14/2013 |
Max |
|
|
Re: No More Telecommuting at Yahoo
posted at 2/26/2013 10:18 AM EST
on Workforce Management
|
Posts: 40
First: 11/3/2011 Last: 4/26/2013 |
In Response to No More Telecommuting at Yahoo: Yahoo just announced employees are no longer able to telecommute. A CNN Money article reports, "CEO Marissa Mayer has said she wants Yahoo to move more quickly, with teams focusing on collaboration and communication. Clearly, Mayer thinks it's hard to make those connections when working remotely." Here's a link to the article: http://money.cnn.com/2013/02/25/technology/yahoo-work-from-home/index.html?hpt=hp_t1 At Workforce, we're curious to hear what our expert forum users think of this decision. Do you agree with it? Disagree? Indifferent? Posted by max.mihelich Lots of variables in telecommuting. Mainly the type of work, the employee, the manager, the technology available. We have a few P/T telecomuters in the corp office area, and others scattered in far flung rural areas. Productivity varries widely from one person to the next. part of that is the job they're doing and part is the individual. Those in the corporate offfice area who can come in when needed for meetings have a distinct advantge. We've found that web-conference technology is an aid to telecommuting, but not a replacement for a face-to-face meeting. My $0.02 - The best telecommuting jobs (but not the only ones) are ones in which a manager can monitor productivity and quality control remotely. |
|
|
Re: No More Telecommuting at Yahoo
posted at 2/26/2013 12:45 PM EST
on Workforce Management
|
Posts: 180
First: 9/21/2011 Last: 5/14/2013 |
We were talking about this on a non-HR/work forum and someone else stated it very well: "It is much easier to feel disconnected from the company when working independently at home without any colleagues. Even if you're doing great work and are productive, it's a lot easier to tune out the corporate stuff that's not directly related to your particular position " I work from home all but 3 days per quarter....This is the biggest negative that I have after 2 1/2 years of doing so. I can totally see how a company could lose its message/cohesiveness if too many employees work from home on a consistent basis. You are just not there to hear the office cooler talk or the spur of the moment brainstorming/meeting. Honestly, my coworkers tend to forget about me unless they need something! I've found collaboration and communication lacking at times. I love working from home (benefits: no commute time, closer to kids' schools if they need me, etc). Distractions don't seem to bother me since it is just me and the dog (who sleeps most of the day). That said, I am the only employee who telecommutes to this extent. And I do not directly manage anyone else. I can't think of any other position in our company where it would be possible. And honestly (except for the fact that my husband got transferred out of state), I would not be telecommuting as much. I did a day here or there while still in Texas. Also, I think there is a negative stereotype to those that telecommute on a sporadic basis (no schedule, no review, etc). I was lucky enough to bust that stereotype back in the days of plug-in modems. I was on bedrest with my twins (now 18 ack!) and on FMLA and wanted to still work to not burn through my FMLA prior to the girlies being born. I was allowed to telecommute for a month and proved that I could get the job done while on bedrest.... I also tend to be very productive. For my current job, I worked in the office for 4 1/2 years prior to telecommuting. again, relationship and trust is built. It also helps that some of my job duties would be noticable if I didn't get them completed (payroll, customer billing, tax reports, etc). Some of my other duties (HR side) might not be as noticable. I think another issue is that many employees have not had to prove themselves and start telecommuting when they are hired. This means that relationships are not formed, company culture is not established, etc. I think it takes a specific personality to be successful. And even then, it takes specific jobs that can be done outside the office. |
|
|
Re: No More Telecommuting at Yahoo
posted at 3/5/2013 11:47 AM EST
on Workforce Management
|
|
Posts: 3
First: 3/5/2013 Last: 5/1/2013 |
AWFUL decision from the new CEO and team. As someone who telecommutes 100%, I know that people who have this benefit, who are smart, creative, driven, productive, and innovative from their lounge chair, are going to be extremely angry, and rightly so. If someone did this to me, I would have already turned in my notice. First, nobody with half a brain likes to be dictated to. Why not go in, hold group meetings, on site or call in. Then tell people we need more innovation, we're getting beaten by Google, we're looking for solutions, we're thinking of bringing everyone back to the office, but we want input on this big change. This is a technology company. Someone said how well telecommuting works depends on the technology. If they need better technology, someone there can invent it for them, or will know where to get it. Regardless, LISTEN to people before you dictate to them. They'll probably send you much better ideas than this. If not, they at least will feel that they had input. How much have you tried to have a collaborative culture from home? How free do people feel to email, instant message, etc, to virtually create that "bumping into each other around the water cooler" feel? Do at-home people know the people they work with, what they do, where they might find help, who they might help? Want to see people's faces? Use Skype or better technology. Secondly, this sounds like a power grab by someone with control issues. Another really bad decision, hiding behind HR. You're the new CEO. You want to make a unilateral decision this big, contact your people directly. Don't ask someone else to do it, like it's a throwaway announcement for new cafeteria items. I would hate someone making this decision for me without any chance for me to try to persuade otherwise. I would doubly hate it if the boss doesn't even bother to contact me herself, like I'm not important to her. You want face to face communication? Where's your face? Jacqueline should have used her position to persuade the new boss that the boss' name should be on the communication announcing the policy change. And have encouraged better communication throughout so that collaboration could take place at home. Thirdly, as has been pointed out here and elsewhere, studies show overall that people who work at home are more productive. So implying that they are not is not being appreciative of the best qualities of most of these workers. Sure, when everyone works at home there will be some deadbeats. But there will also be some people who will not fit in at the office. A lot in a high-tech culture, would be my guess. You have treated everyone as if they are the worst at-home worker. You should have shown more respect. This is what you do to punish people for not working well at home. You don't punish everyone, pretending your mischaracterization of the at-home worker is true for all when there are studies that show it's not even true for most. In the information age, don't start out lying to people. You're caught. Fourthly, you can't treat everyone as one size fits all, especially when taking away a benefit. The ONLY way to make this work is to get to know every worker individually. Ask the deadbeats to come in, to see if that energizes them, or you won't miss them when they leave. Don't even think about asking your high performers to come in. In the middle, let them have their preference, especially if there are dependent or long commute issues; or ask them to come in on a trial basis, let them prove to you that they do better at home. As it is, asking a bunch of mavericks to fit into your cookie cutter mold? Recipe for disaster. Better change your mind quick, or it is bound to be goodbye, best employees! I surely would not invest in Yahoo stock right now. I've been sending this news to all my family and friends. We have been mocking it as a great example of how to be a lousy boss; or how some people get promoted to their level of incompetence, get stuck there, and proceed to make everyone else miserable. |
|
|
Re: No More Telecommuting at Yahoo
posted at 3/5/2013 12:26 PM EST
on Workforce Management
|
|
Posts: 14
First: 10/13/2011 Last: 5/14/2013 |
I suspect Mayer is trying to "clean house," using a passive-aggressive means. Some employees will react by voluntarily leaving. Others will start reporting to the office, where grounds can be accumulated and documented to separate them from their employment. As has been widely-reported, Mayer built an on-site nursery -- using her own funds -- to solve her childcare issue. Her employees won't have that same option, which is bound to cause further disatisfaction and morale problems. |
|
|
Re: No More Telecommuting at Yahoo
posted at 3/8/2013 11:09 AM EST
on Workforce Management
|
Posts: 44
First: 11/7/2011 Last: 5/6/2013 |
In Response to Re: No More Telecommuting at Yahoo: I suspect Mayer is trying to "clean house," using a passive-aggressive means. Some employees will react by voluntarily leaving. Others will start reporting to the office, where grounds can be accumulated and documented to separate them from their employment. As has been widely-reported, Mayer built an on-site nursery -- using her own funds -- to solve her childcare issue. Her employees won't have that same option, which is bound to cause further disatisfaction and morale problems. Posted by grannybunny Agree. This is becoming more and more likely a thinly-disguised strategy to avoid/reduce mandated layoffs. Mayer works hard to maintain her "I'm just the nice girly-girl next door" image and outright layoffs would spoil that. What the experts are saying about this being a housecleaning exercise rings true. |
|
|
Re: No More Telecommuting at Yahoo
posted at 3/8/2013 2:33 PM EST
on Workforce Management
|
|
Posts: 221
First: 9/29/2011 Last: 5/2/2013 |
I'm not so sure about all that. Yahoo was once the high flyer in web browsers and internet data analytics but has since lost that lead by a very large margin to Google. Clearly there were, and are, fundamental issues at Yahoo. I'm not there. I haven't seen the data, don't know what employee productivity actually is or, for that matter what the overall situation is or what strategies are being put in place to fix this organization. And until we see the results, it's hard to judge the methods. |
Forums » Topic Forums » General Forum » No More Telecommuting at Yahoo
