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AIBU?

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Original poster

To ask all MNetters to boycott yahoo ...

141 replies

theweekendisnear · 24/02/2013 20:59

... because newish mum and newish CEO, Marissa Meyer, has just told yahoo employees that they cannot work flexibly from home anymore?

I am going to move my more-or-less 20-year-old yahoo account to gmail because of this. I am furious with this woman.

OP posts:
CRbear · 26/02/2013 16:29

I aggree with the sentiment, it's a step backwards, but I don't think a boycott will make any difference. I am disappointed to see attitudes such as "I can't work flexibly so why should they" on this thread though!

Mumsyblouse · 26/02/2013 16:32

I agree that sole home working is not a good idea, I work about half in the office and half from home; office allows me to communicate with colleagues, focus on quick projects, get admin stuff done, home working is great for getting a longer task done. But I would find working at home all the time a little bit demotivating and I think it very much more depends on the personality of the person to keep up the momentum of full-days and I can imagine it being rather expensive to keep monitoring home-working fully enough to really see if everyone was working hard all the time.

fromparistoberlin · 26/02/2013 16:33

what worra said

and who gives a shit if she is a newish mum? she needs to focus on business not being seen as making things cosy for mummies

Mumsyblouse · 26/02/2013 16:38

It's a bit like students who work remotely from our university, sometimes they do really well if they are self-motivated, but if they work away a lot, then other issues, such as demotivation, lack of progress and so on can fester for a longer time and not get picked up. Plus, to some extent you need to create a collective sense of goals and responsibilities and it's harder to do that if you never see other colleagues.

I don't see this as regressive, if this group were becoming less productive and they are given the option of some office-time.

Mumsyblouse · 26/02/2013 16:39

And, what has being a mum got to do with this?

RedToothBrush · 26/02/2013 16:43

The way I've read the article isn't that it completely bans all home working. It just bans working from home ALL THE TIME and having no accountability and little proper contact with other people in the office. Which I actually think is a very good point.

I do know a couple of people who home work solely and I do believe they abuse the employers trust and the company doesn't get as much out of them as they would if they worked in the office a couple of days a week. And the fact that people have abused the system is the reason why its being revoked, not because its anti-parent in any way.

Flexibility has to be a compromise between the employer and employee.

Metalhead · 26/02/2013 16:48

I think people will be lazy if they can whether they're in an office or not. I used to work in an office full time and would occassionaly spend days doing nothing much productive at all. Now I work full time from home and still have days when I don't have much to do, the only difference being I don't have to pretend I'm working!

A lot of people say they wouldn't have the discipline to work from home when I tell them about my work, but at the end of the day if you've got a deadline it has to be met, one way or another - or else you'll get fired eventually, which seems to be what's happening with these Yahoo types...

NotYouNaanBread · 26/02/2013 16:49

YABU. If staff aren't pulling their weight, and it seems that a lot aren't, at least she is giving them the opportunity to keep their jobs, which is more than is happening with a lot of UK companies in the last year or two.

There are much bigger problems with US employment than this.

amothersplaceisinthewrong · 26/02/2013 16:52

Can't see what all the fuss is about OP. Most people have to come to the office at some time to do their work, unless they work for themselves.

Fillyjonk75 · 26/02/2013 16:55

It'd be a real arse to change my email address. So, no.

PolkadotCircus · 26/02/2013 17:12

My inaws work from home for Microsoft and take the piss from what I've heard to be frank.They have 2 kids and have never had childcare even in the hols.My dsis works from home 1 day a week and is so dedicated she still pays her nanny that day.Tis a whole different life,they would have an almighty shock in the real world.

Dp has worked in IT for several big companies and has ever been allowed to work from home even though he could get more done at home and all on a lap top.

Companies are trying to run a business,good on her if she thinks it's necessary.

spottyhankystripysocks · 26/02/2013 17:15

To be honest it depends what you are doing. I work with someone who works from home a lot and it can be really difficult. If you are looking at a presentation as a team/having a meeting/writing things on a white board (as we do. It is a challenge when you have someone on the other end of a phone. Having said that if you are reading something which needs complete concentration, it is useful to work at home. I hate to say it, but I do get the impression that a lot of working from home is not actually "working"

PolkadotCircus · 26/02/2013 17:18

Not keen on the because she's a woman she's being unreasonable stance.If she was a new dad nobody would give a shit but applaud his balls so to speak.

Pigsmummy · 26/02/2013 17:19

I do wonder where Yahoo will find all this office space from? I work from home, the vast majority of our company do and if we all tried to go into an office it just wouldn't work. Our company was in dire straits a few years back and turned around the situation by flogging our offices. As a work force working from home actually makes us more productive, we visit clients etc and often end up doing the admin/reporting out of hours or when most peope are doing the commute.

PolkadotCircus · 26/02/2013 17:21

Oh and dp has just been given a load of extra people in his team,a lot more than he signed up(and is paid) for.It's life.

chocolatemuffintop · 26/02/2013 17:23

Good!

I'm a PA and I don't have a choice. I have to be in the office.

I know for a fact that some people do not put in the same amount of work at home as they do in the office. A friend of mine used to work from home when she felt under the weather/just needed a break from the office. She said she didn't have to log a sick day then. Another friend (in sales) arranged for John Lewis to come round and measure up for curtains.

How bloody lovely for them whilst I'm working through my lunch hour to try to keep up with my joke of a workload...

PolkadotCircus · 26/02/2013 17:29

Also maybe Google has problems with project release dates(not read the thing as trying to stop my daily fail surfing)not coming in on time.Far easier to see if excuses are valid if said coders etc are under your nose.

As I said not read the article.

PolkadotCircus · 26/02/2013 17:31

Nope read the other link,several other valid reasons instead.

JaquelineHyde · 26/02/2013 17:35

theweekendisnear I suggest that you add BT to your boycot as they use Yahoo to host all of their email addresses.

hackmum · 26/02/2013 17:37

Curious idea that it's about saving money. BT has a big homeworking policy, and as a result they've been able to sell off a lot of their office space and also save money on energy costs. Their internal surveys have found that people are more productive at home.

Also, I'm assuming this relates to the US business. In the UK, employers have to consider an employee's request to work flexibly.

PolkadotCircus · 26/02/2013 17:37

Hmmmmm maybe they're hiring,could do with a couple of years in Silicon Valley(with some sun).

LayMizzRarb · 26/02/2013 17:38

Nope. Will stay with my yahoo address thanks. A company has the right to review and change working practices. I should imagine any changes made have been made in order to increase productivity or to save money.

If employees don't like the new working arrangements they can look for another job.

PolkadotCircus · 26/02/2013 17:40

And free food,the link said free food!!!

maisiejoe123 · 26/02/2013 18:08

I work for a large blue chip company with a home working policy. A few times over the years the company has looked at whether we need to be in the office some of the time and I have got to say that a number of mainly women spoil it for the rest of us by thinking that if they are working at home they can have their children at home and save on child care costs!

No you cannot, I had someone in my team who constantly did this claiming that childcare was too expensive. She was often on calls with customers and you could hear her children crying the background or on occasions picking up the phone.

If you want a flexible home working policy and you dont want to ruin it for others dont think that working at home allows you to have NO child care!

Taffeta · 26/02/2013 18:19

I work from home. I work part time, all of it from home. V small company, we are all based at home. We all work bloody hard. We all probably do more hours than if we were in an office.

I twiddled my thumbs far more working full time in an office than I ever have working from home.

For us, it works as its a small company. Give and take is equal and fair. This is nigh on impossible in a company the size of Yahoo.

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