Journal of Organizational Behavior Education 7: 65-78. 2014 NeilsonJournals Publishing. Author Version Yahoo!: A Female CEO and New Mother Forbids Working from Home Ryan Heatherman and James S. O’Rourke University of Notre Dame, USA Abstract. Marissa Mayer’s decision to end Yahoo’s work from home program sparks a firestorm of media scrutiny. Yahoo, whose business it is to connect people over the Internet, finds itself at the center of a nationwide debate on workplace flexibility – even though Mayer never intended to make a broad industry statement about working from home. This case examines communication efforts to contain the conflict, and it may spark lively debate over where and when worker productivity and creativity are most likely to occur. Keywords: employee communication, reputation management, flexible work rules, work from home, corporate turnaround, working mothers. 1. Introduction On September 24, 2012, Yahoo’s General Counsel Ron Bell warned, “It’s never OK to share information in an internal memo…we will fire employees who leak company confidential information and we will avail ourselves of all other legal remedies to protect those confidences.” Ironically, Karen Swisher of All Things Digital posted Bell’s confidential warning hours later on her popular technology website, www.allthingsd.com. In her column, Swisher suggested that Bell’s efforts were futile, quipping “Memo to Ron Bell: Humans like to talk and they like to share, especially at a media company.” 1 Not long after that, Swisher received another “confidential” Yahoo memo. She cited a “plethora of irked Yahoo employees” as her source for the latest leak: a memo announcing that Yahoo was ending its long-standing “work-from-home” policy. According to the memo, all Yahoo employees working remotely had a few short months to begin daily commutes to Yahoo offices. The “confidential” news circulated quickly and widely throughout the media. 2 1. Swisher, K. (2012), “Yahoo’s Top Lawyer Says Leaked Memos Are ‘Uncool’” (According to Oops - A Cool Leaked Internal Memo). AllThingsD. Published 9/24/2012. Retrieved 4/12/ 2013, from <http://allthingsd.com/20120924/yahoos-top-lawyer-says-leaked-internal-memos- are-uncool-according-to-oops-a- cool-leaked-internal-memo/> 2. Swisher, K. (2013), “‘Physically Together’: Here’s the Internal Yahoo No-Work-From-Home Memo for Remote Workers and Maybe More”. AllThingsD. Published 2/22/2013. Retrieved 4/12/2013, 2013, from <http://allthingsd.com/20130222/physically-together-heres-the- internal-yahoo-no-work-from-home-memo-which- extends-beyond-remote-workers/> NeilsonJournals Publishing has been granted a licence to publish this case study in JOBE in print and online. Subscribers are granted a licence to make 1 copy of the paper for inspection use only. For multiple copy orders and reprint permissions contact Eugene D. Fanning Center for Business Communication. A copy of the Teaching Note is available by contacting pneilson@neilsonjournals.com