Yahoo Backpedals on Work-at-Home Stance

Working from home is OK with Yahoo -- just not while working at Yahoo. Understand?

One of the original tech titans, Yahoo is now seen as a cumbersome, sluggish, lumbering behemoth, and new CEO Marissa Mayer is looking for ways to shake things up. And shake it up she did, when her company issued new instructions last week informing employees who work remotely to start showing up at the office -- or look for a new job.

The decree has since touched off a "firestorm" of protest, with workers within the industry -- which is used to flexibility, as all one needs to work is a computer and an Internet connection -- blasting Mayer for inflexibility, according to the San Jose Mercury News.

A Yahoo spokesperson said that the order is not a "broad industry view," just "what is right for Yahoo right now," the newspaper reported. Mayer herself has not offered comment.

Many industries beyond the Silicon Valley computer world allow employees to do work from places other than the office, but experts appear not necessarily in agreement that an office or remotely is the best forum from which to squeeze the most from employees.