The last couple of weeks haven’t been kind to telecommuters as companies try to pull themselves out of the red in this poor economy. First, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer told all of her employees that they must work on site full time. This resulted in quite an uproar by the Internet community with some people supporting the decision, and others decrying it a ridiculous requirement.
Now beleaguered retailer Best Buy is joining the fray. The Star Tribune reports that the retail chain has also enacted a policy requiring employees to drive into the office. Unlike Yahoo’s policy, managers still have the ability to accommodate the occasional employee wanting to work from home, which is important given Minnesota’s harsh winters, where driving to work can be a challenge. However, by and large, employees are expected to show up each day.
This new policy is part of the company's plan to return to profitability. Last week, Best Buy cut 400 employees from its corporate office. With the shuffle of outsourcing to Accenture and then insourcing the work back, a change like this could have negative impact to employee morale.
Now that two well-known companies have made this change, will other companies begin trending in the same direction – or are these nothing more than desperate acts by sinking ships?
Source: Star Tribune | Image via Best Buy
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