Actually, Marissa Mayer Didn't Ban Yahoos From Working At Home

After having read an angry post on BlogHer I was ready to wax poetic on how awful this new Yahoo policy was for Yahoos and telecommuters everywhere.  The more I read about how Mrs. Mayer has a nursery in her office and yet was forcing her telecommuters to “come home” as it were the more upset I became.  The more I thought about the policy, Mrs. Mayer’s setup and the Yahoos working at home I had a feeling deep down that there was something to this story that I was missing.

As expected I came upon this article that confirmed basically the abuse of a few has ruined it for the masses.  Not only at Yahoo but for Best Buy as well.  When I worked for a medical products company an International Sales Rep was hired to take over the International division from my boss so he could focus on other things.  She lived in Australia and showed a lot of promise.  In the end, since I was her assistant and accountable to be at work and perform my duties every day I did most of her work.  She traveled very little, sold nothing, but made all the commissions from sales I made.  She was there less than a year before getting fired.  When the time came for me to have my first child, even though I was a reliable employee, my boss refused to allow me to work from home so my work relationship had to end.

There has to be better ways to manage employees working at home that allow for people who need jobs and have families to care for can do both.  It could be weekly meetings – either face to face or via Skype.  Deliverables required on projects on a schedule.  Basically, if you don’t deliver you don’t work.  It is incredibly unfair on the part of the individuals who started side businesses while they were supposed to be working for Yahoo! Granted, owning your own business and working at home is the American Dream, but it shouldn’t be pursued at the expense of your employer and coworkers.