After Yahoo, Best Buy to relook telecommunting

07 Mar 2013

Even as a report released this week showed more American employees were working from home at least one day a week, a number of high-profile companies have begun to either push back on the flexibilty or are asking whether the practice has been really worthwhile.

After Yahoo, it is electronics retailer Best Buy making headlines regarding its company policy towards telecommuting.

According to the electronics retailer, based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, it was not eliminating telecommuting for its corporate employees outright. According to Minnesota Public Radio, the company was ending its "results-oriented work environment policy." The company said it only wanted employees to discuss with their managers whether the at-home arrangement needed to be continued.

"Our new policy is not about whether an employee can work from home or not. It's about whether that decision can be made by them alone, or in consultation with their managers," said Jeff Shelman, spokesman for Best Buy, in a statement.

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer, last month sparked a controversy with The Wall Street Journal's All Things D reporting Yahoo instructed remote employees to return to company offices.

The New York Times reported that, a memo from Yahoo's human resources department said in-person employee interaction fostered a collaborative culture.