Spin only making Yahoo's bad new policy worse

Yahoo's latest move to try to shake itself out of the doldrums is an edict that bans telecommuting.  The new policy and the memo that dictates it to employees are both pretty bad.

The memo says, "Speed and quality are often sacrificed when we work from home."  The solution is not working smarter, harder, more efficiently or with better use of technology, but rather just being "physically together."  No data is provided as to how being "present in our offices" will solve anything.  No explanation of the pros and cons of telecommuting is given.  The memo is a superficial collection of flowery phrases offered up in the hope that they will be accepted as fact.

What's really needed in these situations is policy that recognizes the modern way in which global technology work gets done and finds the right balance among a wide variety of activities.  Technology company leaders should want to encourage people to put in the hours necessary to do great work, wherever they might be.  In-office or out-of-office is a secondary outcome.  In-office work can help in collaboration, team building and communication-related activities.  Out-of-office work, away from meetings and other office attractions (food, ping pong and friends), can facilitate efficient consideration of product strategy, long term planning and development of...well, better core human resources policies.

But where the "no working from home" policy goes from bad to just plain weird is some of the spin that has accompanied it.  One recent report provided extensive justifications on the new policy from someone close to the issue, presumably an insider.   This source suggests that the policy came about because some employees were poor performers and "not productive."  These people will theoretically quit rather than comply with the new policy, which would be a good thing for the organization.  So, the source suggests, CEO Marissa Mayer sees this as "a layoff that's not a layoff."

For this, the source suggests that Mayer "turned out to have a lot of courage.  She's dealing with problems no one wanted to deal with before."

This makes no sense.  Yahoo seems to be having a problem with productivity and with management.  If some remote employees are not productive and yet it takes a complete ban on remote work as the solution, then it's clear that those employees and their managers were poor performers.  What's more, there is nothing courageous about using a broad and rigid policy to achieve "a layoff that's not a layoff."  It's much more passive-aggressive than courageous.  And more passive-aggressive leadership is the last thing corporate America needs.

America’s Trickiest Laws, Vol. II – Contractor-Employee Classification

The use of contingent workers has become a key component of many companies' human capital management.  Independent contractors minimize headcount, maximize flexibility and often allow a company to use more specialists than its size would ordinarily permit.


But, the era of contingent staffing has created a tricky challenge.  Federal and state governments have taken a strong interest in the classification of workers as contractors versus employees.  In a nutshell, a contractor classification costs the government revenue.  And the misclassification of employees as contractors has reportedly cost the government billions of dollars.


Unfortunately for business, getting the classification right is no easy task. The 11 factor test of the IRS is helpful but it is neither clear cut nor weighted.  On top of this, the states have different, fluid standards of their own.  The costs of getting it wrong are significant, from fines to the possibility of personal criminal liability for company officers.


The good news is that as attention to classification issues increases, so have the resources for helping to address the challenges.  Experienced commentators have taken a renewed interest in the topic, publishing useful guides to dealing with contractor management.  Third party vendors have emerged that will provide objective contractor testing and employer of record services to insulate companies from many of the risks of using contractors.  One that I have personally used with great satisfaction is MBO Enterprise Solutions, which recently published a case study on its success at Levi Strauss.


Contingent staff have become a critical tool in achieving big goals in corporate America.  Being aware of the challenges that come with contractor classification is important to running a successful workforce solution.   

"Please just tell me I'm great."

This post was co-authored with human resources guru Lisa Youngdahl, SPHR, HCS.

The Atlantic recently published an interesting piece by psychotherapist Lori Gottlieb.  In it, she contends that the cult of self-esteem is dooming our kids to unhappy adulthoods.   The idea is that as parents we are trying so hard to make our kids feel happy and seem successful, regardless of the reality around them, that we are not preparing them for life’s ups and downs.  The Atlantic’s cover art summarizes the idea perfectly – a trophy adorned with a soccer player completely missing a kick with the tag “good try.”

This trend has been going on in corporate America as well.   Employees are sometimes so sensitive about feedback that we either sugar coat or just hold back key data to avoid hurting feelings.  The worry is that the employee might leave at an inconvenient time (“I must get this next release over the finish line before I talk to Sally”).  The informal office network is powerful and we wouldn't want to harm morale.

Management doesn’t necessarily fare any better.  The dying art of the exit interview is the proof in the pudding.   Companies will often throw out softball questions and lap up the pleasant answers from departing employees who don’t want to burn any bridges.  “I loved it here but just got a surprise opportunity that I didn’t feel I could pass up.”   Yawn.

It’s almost as if we all want to be lied to for the sake of keeping a smile on every face.  “Please just tell me I’m great.” 

How do we solve for this?  Valuable resources include Fournies' Coaching for Improved Work Performance and Patterson's Crucial Confrontations: Tools for Resolving Broken Promises, Violated Expectations and Bad Behavior.

Some refreshing honesty and self-awareness every once in a while probably wouldn’t hurt.  Take some time to be frank with yourself about strengths and weaknesses.  Strengthen your company’s exit interview process so that you’re asking hard, probing questions and reporting the blunt answers anonymously to management.  Tell a subordinate what they could have done better on the last assignment.  It doesn’t have to be cruel, rude or loud, but direct communication is ultimately…well, great therapy.