Thursday, February 28, 2013

Telecommuting Policy Change

This week there is a big hullabaloo about Yahoo!'s CEO, Marissa Mayer, calling back into the office all of the people who have been telecommuting.  There are people on both sides of this decision.  Some think it way to draconian and a take-away from the benefits that people have earned at Yahoo!.  Others, myself included, understand the decision and expect that this is a season that the company will go through and if the goals are met, then working from home could be restored.  There are many schools of thought as to why Mayer made this decision.  I suspect that in the turnaround mode the company is now in and the fact that Yahoo! long ago lost the edge in innovation that she is bringing people back together to find some sparks and see what can happen if ideas begin to flow more quickly and fluidly across Yahoo!'s employees.  I also think that when new in the CEO seat that one attempts to establish a work ethic, performance standard and achievement bar.  It may well be that she will sort the wheat from the chaff just by seeing who decides to comply and who decides to leave.  Lastly, I do think there will be turnover from the decision and for Yahoo! that is probably okay. Voluntary attrition is always better than forced layoffs and if they were already considering having to pare the workforce, this is a good way to do so.  It will be a big decision for many people.  Good news for the telecommuters who can't change is that the employment market is hot and there are plenty of other companies who need skilled talent that could care less where or when you work, as long as the job gets done.