Forget the corner office. In 2013, the most coveted workspace is a worker's own kitchen table or home office.
Nearly a week after a leaked memo revealed that Yahoo employees with work-from-home arrangements would need to show up in the office every day starting in June, smaller tech companies are attempting to woo disgruntled telecommuters.
Earlier this week, Drew Anderson, CTO of digital media startup Hitlab USA, posted an ad on Craigslist with "Yahoo Telecommuters Welcome" in the title.
Within two days, Anderson received between 100 and 200 replies — up to 10 times his usual response rate. "A handful" of applicants, he said, were current Yahoo employees.
Anderson said his ad also was yielding a better caliber of job applicants. "The range of experience is wider and just the general response has been very good," he said. "I'm using the event as leverage... It's a great tool for me."
Shortly after the memo was leaked, some companies took to Twitter to invite Yahoo employees to come work for them.
Marc Garrett, CEO of software developer Intridea, touted his company's flexible arrangements:
Hey #Yahoos: if you're being forced to quit come work with us @intridea. We all work from home!
So did Sara Rosso, an employee of Automattic, which runs the popular WorldPress content management system:
Disappointed in @marissamayer's ban on working remotely ow.ly/hZOzn Yahoo peeps, come to @Automattic! :)