The company issued a statement to the New York Times in which it drew a line between the situation at Yahoo and flexible work policies in the rest of the economy: 
 
 “This isn’t a broad industry view on working from home," the statement said. “This is about what is right for Yahoo right now.” 
 
 A company spokeswoman declined to elaborate on the statement, saying, “We don’t discuss internal matters.” 
 
 But based on information from several Yahoo employees, what that statement means is that Marissa Mayer, Yahoo’s new chief executive, is in crisis mode, and she believes the policy is necessary to get Yahoo back into shape. The company also seems to be trying to distance itself from the broader national debate over workplace flexibility, and from criticism that the new policy is disruptive for employees who have family responsibilities outside work.
– Marissa Mayer's recently announced ban on telecommuting at Yahoo has caused quite a brouhaha; now, the company is responding. "This isn’t a broad industry view on working from home," the firm says in a statement issued yesterday, per the New York Times. "This is about what is right for Yahoo right now." That was essentially the extent of its comments, but the Times also spoke with Yahoo workers who say a number of employees are slacking. (Earlier reports noted that Mayer had grown frustrated with employees who trickled in and left right at 5pm.) Requiring them to show up at the office could restore some enthusiasm—and allow the company to monitor the situation. Indeed, some telecommuters have even started their own companies while working from home on Yahoo's dime, the workers say. Some employees might quit, but the company would prefer to lose the dead wood. Meanwhile, at Business Insider, Henry Blodget—who works part-time for Yahoo—comes to Mayer's defense. "For the past decade, Yahoo has been in desperate need of a CEO who is willing to set a high bar and make the tough, unpopular decisions necessary to whip the company back into shape," he writes. "Mayer has demonstrated that she is more than capable of doing that."