I have been documenting for GSF the changes at Yahoo! which Marissa Mayer, the new CEO, has made. Most controversial is that she has put an end to the company’s long-time work-from-home policy, effective in June.
When Mayer came over from Google, her job wasn’t to tweak a strong operation or a healthy company. Her number-one task is to disrupt an ineffective culture that is part of a publicly-owned company. Yahoo has issues and these just didn’t sneak up on them. I also sense that many of the workers seem to think that their company is pretty safe from closure and layoffs.
Mayer found all this out by looking at the activity on your VPN (Virtual Private Network). She saw that for what people were being paid, the work simply wasn’t getting done. This is how you evaluate employee productivity. Are you able to do the work assigned to you in the time allotted? Mayer has concluded that for many of her employees, the answer is a resounding “No.”
Will this change put a strain on people used to booting up, verses driving up? Yes. Will households suddenly be burdened with costs such as daycare, lunches away from home, commuting costs and time spent away? Yes. Will this upset a corporation that has been through several earlier Messiah CEO’s? Yes. And to all the discontented Yahooagans, I say, “You have a job. Count your blessings!” You have a leader trying to preserve your company, so that 11,000 of you can provide for your families, have the life style to which you are accustomed and can provide for your future.
Like vitamins and vegetables, can’t you see that this could just be for your own good?
— wdl