Tony Camilli

Product [Manager, Designer, Developer]

Product Management

Innovation

Design Thinking

Business Model Development

UX & Design

Go-to-Market

Yahoo CEO Mayer Now Requiring Remote Employees to Not Be (Remote) - Kara Swisher - News - AllThingsD

According to numerous sources, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has instituted a HR plan today to require Yahoo employees who work remotely to relocate to company facilities. The move will apparently impact several hundred employees, who must either comply without exception or presumably quit.

I think this a major strike against broader adoption of teleworking.  Some publications like GigaOm would have you believe that teleworking is the norm, rather than the exception.  As a recent (3 years ago) and current job searcher (both times international relocations), I have literally looked at thousands of job postings and can easily count on one hand the number of teleworking jobs I have come across.  I think too much emphasis is placed on virtualizing actual presence (telepresence robots, video conferencing, etc.) and too little on measuring outcomes vs. working hours.

Some have rushed to Yahoo's defense, stating among other things that teleworking isn't for every company.  I agree with that whole heartedly.  However, there are some positions within a company (service reps, etc.) that don't benefit from water-cooler collaboration.  It's unfortunate that so many companies will send a job overseas before considering allowing someone to simply work from home.​