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Re: Telecommuting ( was: Do as I say, not as I do )
Subject:Re: Telecommuting ( was: Do as I say, not as I do ) From:Editor in Chief <editorialstandards -at- gmail -dot- com> To:"Janoff, Steven" <Steven -dot- Janoff -at- ga -dot- com> Date:Tue, 26 Feb 2013 15:38:56 -0500
Read again.
Singling out people who make ME listen to it...
And some variants of country music and folk music are not far behind.
Also, I can take only just so much of bagpipes. Two-point-three-one
minutes of skirling in the hills or parade ground per season is about it -
less if indoors.
Try though I might, I can't think of a TW-ishly redeeming twist to apply to
this little exchange. So any further on this offshoot should go off-list.
Thanks.
On Tue, Feb 26, 2013 at 12:56 PM, 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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