Marissa Mayer, Who Just Banned Working From Home, Paid To Have A Nursery Built At Her Office

Business Insider ^ | Feb. 25, 2013 | Nicholas Carlson

[Squawk 8888]

In my line of work, I’ve found that the ideal is to work from home two days a week. That allows me to work uninterrupted while still maintaining contact with colleagues.

[tanknetter]

That’s actually a very dangerous position for a company to take. Both legally and ethically.

If someone dies trying to get into work, or get home, under such circumstance (major blizzard) because the company mandates they do so, then the company can be held liable.

[morphing libertarian]

Going to an office five days a week when the work could be done remotely is wasteful and indicative of ignorance, laziness, or managers who cannot judge employees by results.

[Myrddin]

I heard the "end of working at home" announcement a few days ago. I did that successfully from 1983 through 2008. I only visited the office when it was necessary to have face to face meetings to make work go faster or do a presentation. I was forced out of the work at home mode when Obama took office. My only work choices required being physically on site and 900 miles from home. Now the company has to pay rent for an office, phone and networking costs that I shouldered at my expense for all those years.

[ctdonath2]

FYI: when she was hired as Yahoo CEO she then admitted she was pregnant.

[Myrddin]

The down side of working from home is...you're always at the office. People have no respect for "office hours". I would get calls starting at 7 AM and running until midnight. I worked with people all around the globe, so it was hard to put limits on "hours". My productivity was far better than at the office. The computer hardware I purchased for myself far exceeded anything the company was willing to supply. I paid for my own internet connectivity so there was no danger of being accused of misappropriation of company resources. Having a zero length commute translated to more productive hours each day.

I have another down side. My basement is still filled with specialized hardware from my railroad work. The contract ended in Dec 2008 and the customer never appropriated money to repatriate the "stuff". I really want it gone. Since it was a government contract, I have to maintain a careful inventory and track the return of every little bit.

[Talisker]

Of course she had a nursery built into her office. She wants her kids to watch Mommy finish augering a major company right into the ground.

Yep - that's what her mission from Google is! I'm amazed people don't see this. Her job is to take over and destroy Yahoo from within for Google - she's Yahoo's Obama. Whether by bankruptcy and collapse or a takeover scenario by Google or a Google ally, that's what Mayer is there to do.

At which point Google will welcome her back as president of Google.

[JimRed]

Don’t Yahoo or Facebook. They’ll turn over your info to the regime without a warrant.

[CityCenter]

None of the above.

I cared at the time because of the ruckus she created for everyone she worked with and that included me.

Wendy, is that you?

[jwsea55]

You clearly are a low-paid widget-maker or just a drone...You are one tiny-minded, jealous, control freak!

freedumb, you make a nice point about people who work independently like yourself...not sure how CityCenter deserves the rest of the comment. CityCenter just seems to be offering a different perspective based on his view of the world.

[Myrddin]

My company has a fairly comprehensive telecommuting contract. It specifies office hours, equipment provided and not provided, expenses covered and not covered. Office space must be maintained in a fashion that would meet OSHA safety standards. Meeting your commitments with respect to being available during "official" office hours is easy. Getting others to not stomp all over those limits is more difficult. The advent of the cell phone has made it even more difficult. Everyone is expected to have a cell phone (personally financed) and be available to take a call 7x24.

[ScottinVA]

I tried the working from home thing, couldn’t stand it, I need to get out of the house.

Ditto here. I find myself too easily distracted at home.

[SENTINEL]

"You clearly are a low-paid widget-maker or just a drone. You have no idea how the real world of technology works. I am measured on what I do, not where or even when. As long as I meet the deadlines and deliverables who cares if I did it at midnight while watching cartoons in my living room?"

I care. I would fire your butt in heartbeat for that kind of attitude. Beat it troll.

[BrandtMichaels]

ping

[pepperdog]

While I am retired I fully support the working from home movement. In fact I think the government ought to give some sort of tax credit to companies who move a percentage of their operations to employee homes. It saves on gasoline, congestion, utilities and has numerous other attributes. I know it is not a good fit for all jobs, but those companies that have positions that can be worked from the home should be encouraged to do so. To me the daily trip to the office to sit in front of a computer doing work that could be done at home is a stupid expense and indicates poor management methods and measures.

[St_Thomas_Aquinas]

To me the daily trip to the office to sit in front of a computer doing work that could be done at home is a stupid expense and indicates poor management methods and measures.

I'm with you. It's a waste of at least two hours a day. That's an enormous waste of resources.

[Cyber Liberty]

So, you’re one of those managers who don’t like the idea that an employee may be doing the work he’s contracted for while watching cartoons at midnight? Don’t you put deadlines and deliverables first? Glad I don’t work for someone who’d fire a person because of that.

[EQAndyBuzz]

My wife and I worked from home for almost 2 years. Our pact was simple.

We are both working. There is no judgement, no honey do’s and no comments about what either of us are doing. Unless there are calls, from 12-1 is lunch.

Worked pretty well. On the flip side, I am now in the office. I couldn’t do this job if I worked from home. Too much going on.

[SoCal Pubbie]

I dunno, it’s probably always a good idea to be rash, judgmental, and mean when accusing others of being tiny-minded, jealous, and a control freak.

[ThomasThomas]

I have a friend co-worker who when they closed the office he worked in was forced to work from home and sometimes in the field. He was worked with us for years and knows many of us as friends. Though mergers and divesting are jobs have become more specialized. All he does now is remotely configures routers. He spends his summers at his cabin on Lake Tahoe. He sits on his deck that over looks the lake in his shorts and tank top wears a silly looking floppy hat. When we had a site that a wrong VLAN or something we call him to make the changes. He is good at his job and quickly helps us all the time. He has sent a pictures to his friends show us his cabin. He is also a go to person for problem solving. I think he put the silly looking hat on for the picture to taunt us.