Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) has apparently decided that even though it’s one of the leading Internet companies in the world, its employees aren’t allowed to use the web to commute to work any longer.
The search engine giant has rolled out several sweeping changes recently, like the new interactive home page it unveiled last week.
The new policy only affects a few hundred workers at Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO). All Things D reports that the memo announcing the change said the company as a whole will function better if employees are “working side-by-side,” which makes it “critical that we are all present in our offices.
Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO) CEO Marissa Mayer has said that she wants the company to move faster and its teams to collaborate and communicate better. Some of the company’s employees do work long distance, which means they could have to either relocate or resign their positions because they don’t live near a Yahoo office.
While many of Yahoo’s employees are full time, the memo even seems to be geared toward those who work at home occasionally. It tells employees who feel they must stay home and work once in a while to “use your best judgment.” The ban on working from home is to go into effect in June.
Some speculate that the ban will limit the company’s ability to recruit the nation’s top engineers and executives. Google Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG), Mayer’s former employer, sees it as a productivity killer, and there are research studies to back up that view. It’s also extremely ironic, given the company’s efforts to tout its mobile services.
