Julianne Pepitone, writing for CNNMoney about Best Buy's recent change to its work-from-home program:
Unlike Yahoo's blanket policy, Best Buy (BBY, Fortune 500) said some of the 4,000 non-store employees who took advantage of its work-from home program still may be able to telecommute or set flexible schedules. But as of Monday they'll no longer have the freedom to make those decisions without a manager, as they had in the past.
Yahoo made a serious misstep in how it handled the change to its work-from-home program. The now infamous internal memo detailing the change reeks of condescension, and CEO Marissa Mayer didn't do much to avoid criticism by building a nursery in her office (thus leaving her open to claims of being a hypocrite).
Best Buy, in contrast, made a smart move. It isn't eliminating the work-from-home program, but instead is restoring checks and balances to the program. It boggles the mind that employees were able to make the work-from-home decision without input from their manager. Now, at the very least, the decision will be made after a conversation with the employee's manager.
Kudos to Best Buy for making a dramatic change without stumbling over itself (as Yahoo did).