Yahoo Demands Telecommuters Report to Office, Bans Working From Home

Yahoo has banned its employees from working ‘remotely’ as all staff are told to relocate to Yahoo’s nearest office outpost by June, or quit.

Yahoo has told its employees they can no longer work remotely from home, according to a leaked internal memo. “To become the absolute best place to work, communication and collaboration will be important, so we need to be working side-by-side. That is why it is so critical that we are all present in our offices,” read the memo from Yahoo’s human resource chief Jackie Reses.

Yahoo has banned its employees from working ‘remotely’ as all staff are told to relocate to Yahoo’s nearest office outpost by June, or quit.

Yahoo has told its employees they can no longer work remotely from home, according to a leaked internal memo. “To become the absolute best place to work, communication and collaboration will be important, so we need to be working side-by-side. That is why it is so critical that we are all present in our offices,” read the memo from Yahoo’s human resource chief Jackie Reses.

“Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home,” Reses added. “We need to be one Yahoo!, and that starts with physically being together.”

The changes begin in June, according to the internal memo, and extend even to employees who telecommute only one or two days a week. After June, employees who do not report to a Yahoo office outpost will have to leave the organisation. One top manager was told that there would be little flexibility on the issue.

“Some of the best decisions and insights come from hallway and cafeteria discussions, meeting new people, and impromptu team meetings,” Yahoo reasoned.

Yahoo is not the first firm to clamp down on remote working. Last year, Bank of America was said to have restricted its flexible-work programme by asking staff to come into the office more often, a change that it said would help boost collaboration.

But such a policy could very well hurt Yahoo’s chances at recruiting talented young developers, engineers and executives who may not be willing to relocate or live near a Yahoo office.

Impacted employees were understandably frustrated as they had joined the company with the assumption that they could work more flexibly. “Even if that was what was previously agreed to with managers and HR, or was a part of the package to take a position, tough … It’s outrageous and a morale killer,” said one impacted Yahoo employee.

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According to Telework Research Center’s analysis of U.S. census data, telecommuting increased 73 percent from 2005 to 2011, with an estimated 20 million to 30 million Americans work from home at least one day a week.

Kate Lister, president of Telework, said:

[quote] What’s really troubling about this is that a technology company can’t figure out how to collaborate remotely. [This decision] runs counter to worldwide trends toward more remote work. [/quote]

Yahoo’s decision to suspend employees’ ability to work from home has met with significant backlash on Twitter, and now that criticism is heating up.

On Monday, British business magnate Richard Branson criticised the struggling tech company’s change in management policy. Branson, founder and chairman of Virgin Group, said he was ‘perplexed’ by Yahoo’s decision.

“This seems a backwards step in an age when remote working is easier and more effective than ever. If you provide the right technology to keep in touch, maintain regular communication and get the right balance between remote and office working, people will be motivated to work responsibly, quickly and with high quality,” Branson said.

“Yours truly has never worked out of an office, and never will,” he added. 

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