Yahoo employees eying the exit door?
Several employees tell The Wall Street Journal that poor morale and attractive offers from outside the online giant are making them rethink their employment at Yahoo.
As Yahoo's board and executive team consider a growing number of acquisition bids, the company's employees are considering other opportunities, a new report claims.
Speaking to The Wall Street Journal in a story published today, several unnamed Yahoo employees say that morale is on the decline at the company, causing many folks to think seriously about going elsewhere.
"If you're not growing, if you're not giving people challenging things to work on, if you're not holding out the promise of creating some personal wealth during one of the frothiest technology markets in modern history, and if your people don't ultimately believe in your ability to deliver across that whole spectrum, you're toast," former Yahoo employee Greg Cohn told the Journal in an interview.
However, as the Journal points out, few employees have been leaving recently and there is a strong possibility they won't in the next month. That said, the publication's sources say that after Yahoo hands out bonuses towards the beginning of next year, a mass exodus could follow.
Yahoo finds itself in an exceedingly difficult position. After the board fired former CEO Carol Bartz in September over poor financial and stock performance, interim CEO Tim Morse was brought in to weather the storm. Meanwhile, potential suitors, including Silver Lake Partners, Microsoft, and Alibaba Group, among a slew of others, have been circling with hopes of getting a good deal for all or part of the online giant. Yahoo's uncertain future hasn't exactly instilled confidence in its employees.
But Yahoo is trying to make things right, the Journal's sources say. The company recently started offering employees dinner on Tuesday nights after they complained that they didn't see any reason to work late, since the cafeteria was closed. Yahoo co-founder David Filo has also been working closer with employees to mentor them on projects, the Journal's sources say.
Yahoo's reported employee troubles aren't unique. Last month, the New York Times reported that many Zynga employees were displeased with their work environment and planned to leave after they could cash out shares following the company's IPO. The Times claimed employees "work long hours, are held to performance metrics that their CEO obsesses over, and are in fear of being demoted or terminated if they don't do a good job."
Yahoo did not immediately respond to CNET's request for comment on The Wall Street Journal report.