Like Yahoo!, Best Buy Ends Work-From-Home Program, Too

Is this a sign of things to come?

Marissa Mayer may have started a trend. Last week, the Yahoo! CEO announced that the company's employees would no longer be able to work from home. Now Best Buy has followed her lead in putting an end to its own flexible work program. However, unlike Yahoo's blanket policy, Best Buy's 4,000 non-store employees will still be able to telecommute or set flexible schedules -- but, unlike before, those decisions now need to be made with a manager. Best Buy's now-terminated program, called Results Only Work Environment (ROWE), was enacted in 2005 and drew great praise, even garnering a BusinessWeek cover story the following year. But the company has since changed its tune. Spokesman Dave Furman said, "In the context of a business transformation, it makes sense to consider not just what the results are but how the work gets done. It's 'all hands on deck' at Best Buy, and that means having employees in the office as much as possible to collaborate and connect on ways to improve our business." (CNN)

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