Re: Telecommuting ( was: Do as I say, not as I do )

Subject: Re: Telecommuting ( was: Do as I say, not as I do )
From: Kathleen MacDowell <kathleen -dot- eamd -at- gmail -dot- com>
To: "Janoff, Steven" <Steven -dot- Janoff -at- ga -dot- com>
Date: Tue, 26 Feb 2013 12:08:45 -0600

I wonder if the hoorah about the new policy is people's sense that implied
or stated benefits are being cut or taken away. In other words, the company
is changing the employment agreement. There are those who "must" work from
home or remotely, but otherwise it seems to me to be a tradeoff--there are
pros and cons.

The more telling issue (for me) would be whether other benefit changes are
in the offing.

Yep, life isn't fair, the world ain't all sunshine and rainbows, business
is business, and in other news retirees have lost their benefits or had
them cut, and the economy is still shaky.

No argument about any of that. But shouldn't we be able to discuss the
issues :-)

Kathleen




On Tue, Feb 26, 2013 at 11:56 AM, Janoff, Steven <Steven -dot- Janoff -at- ga -dot- com>wrote:

> There seems to be this blanket suggestion on the list that the primary
> business reason for instituting the no-more-telecommuting policy was to
> impose a silent layoff of sorts.
>
> In today's world companies don't have to be underhanded about this. There
> are plenty of open, publicly known RIFs. Especially among publicly traded
> companies.
>
> She doesn't have to impose this policy just to cut staff. There's got to
> be a business reason behind it other than an HR one.
>
> Probably it's to mobilize the team and get people working together to move
> the company forward. It sounds very difficult to turn a company around.
> Other CEOs have tried and failed.
>
> For me it's a question of, let's see how she does. Results tell you
> everything you need to know. If the company turns around, well then, it
> was a good thing to do (likely). If not, well then, the company had
> problems that could not be surmounted by bringing people together.
>
> But just to lambast Yahoo for shutting down telecommuting doesn't make
> sense to me. Again, let's see what happens. We're all adults, this is
> life. You adapt. The people affected will have to adjust. We all do.
> The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows, as Rocky said.
>
> If it does work, you can bet other companies will be doing it too. So
> just hang on to your hat. You might need it. :)
>
> And if you don't like it, you can always start your own company. I can
> tell you that being a CEO is a lot tougher than being a tech writer, not
> from personal experience but from the experiences of friends who have been
> in this role.
>
> Steve
>
> PS - I'm not picking on you, Anne, it's just that you were the most recent
> one who suggested this, although you do point out at the beginning that
> there are good reasons for bringing people together on one site.
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: On Behalf Of Anne Robotti
> Sent: Tuesday, February 26, 2013 4:53 AM
> To: TECHWR-L
> Subject: Re: Telecommuting ( was: Do as I say, not as I do )
>
> The thing is, there's no sense denying that there's a synergy when
> employees are together in one room that isn't present when they're dialed
> in - unless everyone is dialed in. But in every company I've been at, if
> there's a meeting where there's a group in the room and individuals dialed
> in from remote locations, the only people you really hear from are those in
> the room.
>
> Unless one of the individuals is very senior to those in the room, in
> which case the room is a morgue.
>
> I think what people on the thread are talking about is the fact that
> synergy and innovation are probably not the reasons for the sweeping
> changes at Yahoo, and it's disingenuous to pretend to believe their HR
> press release. But HR can't really put out a press release that says, "Hey,
> we're trying to get people to leave in droves - could those of you who we
> don't pry out of your seats with this move please send a list of other
> perks that we can start cutting? That would make this so much easier."
>
> Anne
>
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--
Kathleen MacDowell
kathleen -dot- eamd -at- gmail -dot- com
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
EPUB Webinar: Join STC Vice President Nicky Bleiel as she discusses tips for creating EPUB, the file format used for e-readers, tablets, smartphones, and more.

Learn more: http://bit.ly/12LyN2z

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Follow-Ups:

References:
RE: Telecommuting ( was: Do as I say, not as I do ): From: Brian.Henderson
Re: Telecommuting ( was: Do as I say, not as I do ): From: Gene Kim-Eng
Re: Telecommuting ( was: Do as I say, not as I do ): From: William Sherman
Re: Telecommuting ( was: Do as I say, not as I do ): From: Gene Kim-Eng
Re: Telecommuting ( was: Do as I say, not as I do ): From: Bill Swallow
RE: Telecommuting ( was: Do as I say, not as I do ): From: Cardimon, Craig
Re: Telecommuting ( was: Do as I say, not as I do ): From: Anne Robotti
RE: Telecommuting ( was: Do as I say, not as I do ): From: Cardimon, Craig
RE: Telecommuting ( was: Do as I say, not as I do ): From: McLauchlan, Kevin
RE: Telecommuting ( was: Do as I say, not as I do ): From: Cardimon, Craig
Re: Telecommuting ( was: Do as I say, not as I do ): From: Gene Kim-Eng
RE: Telecommuting ( was: Do as I say, not as I do ): From: Cardimon, Craig
Re: Telecommuting ( was: Do as I say, not as I do ): From: Suzette Leeming
RE: Telecommuting ( was: Do as I say, not as I do ): From: Cardimon, Craig
Re: Telecommuting ( was: Do as I say, not as I do ): From: Kathleen MacDowell
Re: Telecommuting ( was: Do as I say, not as I do ): From: John Allred
Re: Telecommuting ( was: Do as I say, not as I do ): From: reshma pendse
Re: Telecommuting ( was: Do as I say, not as I do ): From: Anne Robotti
RE: Telecommuting ( was: Do as I say, not as I do ): From: Janoff, Steven

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