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Wayfair CEO Niraj Shah tells employees to 'work longer hours' in year-end email (www.usatoday.com)

submitted 10 months ago by L4s@lemmy.world to c/technology@lemmy.world

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Wayfair CEO Niraj Shah tells employees to 'work longer hours' in year-end email::Wayfair CEO Niraj Shah sent a year-end note to employees, suggesting they work longer hours and do better at mixing work with their personal lives.

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[–] EmergMemeHologram@startrek.website 98 points 10 months ago (3 children)

I'm going to be honest. I've met quite a few ex Wayfair employes. Working longer isn't going to solve their problems.

Wayfare throws so much fucking inventory into the trash, just ask anyone who's ordered from them. Seriously, everyone who has ordered from Wayfare has a "they fucked up and then sent me 3 couches for free" story.
The decision making at Wayfare is stupid. I've met quite a few ex wayfare or current workers looking to leave, some stuff sounds cool but it's never really helping the business get better.

Wayfare's reputation at this point is "shittier than IKEA, and you'll get the wrong thing"

[–] Veedem@lemmy.world 46 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

Last two times I’ve ordered from them, I’ve wound up with extra stuff. I ordered a set of 8 patio cushions and received 12. Ordered a patio set and coffee table and received a whole extra coffee table.

Quality, as you said, isn’t great. IKEA can be a pain to get to (for me), but you know their stuff is designed well.

[–] minibyte@sh.itjust.works 40 points 10 months ago (2 children)

When my order is correct but there’s extra – I assume the person packing it knew exactly what they were doing, just didn’t get a raise or bonus this year.

[–] meco03211@lemmy.world 24 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I often wonder how much loss companies suffer due to disgruntled employees doing stuff like that.

[–] ArchAengelus@lemmy.dbzer0.com 19 points 10 months ago (1 children)

It’s a lot. General “disappearance” of goods from any source is referred to as “shrinkage” or just shrink. It’s fairly easy to look up once you know the name.

Off the top of my head, shrinkage typically ranges from 3-10% of inventory. Feel free to find sources and correct me.

[–] Synthuir@lemmy.ml 10 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Yes, but I’d be willing to bet that most shrinkage isn’t due to disgruntled employees; it also covers non-employee theft, accidental spoilage, non-malicious misplacement, etc. It also varies wildly by industry.

[–] eclectic_electron@sh.itjust.works 6 points 10 months ago

I think there's some ability to distinguish as anything intentionally discarded due to spillage or damage should be accounted for directly, as opposed to only showing up at inventory

Obviously it is impossible to separate out honest mistakes, intentional theft, and disgruntled employee semi-intentional shrink. If you ask the company, 500% of shrink is theft by organized crime rings and the general public should definitely be spending taxpayer dollars on police enforcement and jail time for pretty thieves. So I would assume most of it is actually accidental check out mistakes and employees "accidentally" checking things out wrong.

[–] TheBat@lemmy.world 13 points 10 months ago

"I'm not getting paid enough to count."

[–] bostonbananarama@lemmy.world 24 points 10 months ago (2 children)

My favorite Wayfair story is when I ordered an entertainment cabinet. The majority was brown, but the doors were white. One box comes in, packed tightly, it's obvious that nothing is missing from the box, but I have no white pieces. Missing the doors plus all the hardware to put it together.

Contact customer service explain the problem, that I think there's supposed to be a second box. OK, we'll send another. Same thing, one box, packed tightly, same pieces missing. Call again, explain again, they send out the same thing a third time. Finally I just cancelled my order and threw all three "Box A's" into the dumpster.

[–] speff@disc.0x-ia.moe 17 points 10 months ago

My soul died a bit thinking of that wasted MDF

[–] dubyakay@lemmy.ca 1 points 10 months ago

Could have painted it with IKEA furniture paint!

[–] BrianTheeBiscuiteer@lemmy.world 3 points 10 months ago

It's the Amazon of furniture, although I rarely have as many issues with the cheap Chinese crap from Amazon. Several times I've gotten furniture with missing pieces and then the item was out of stock or discontinued so I had like 90% of a bedframe but it was just enough that it wasn't safe to use so I had to spend an hour breaking it down to take to a dumpster and then spend another hour finding a replacement.

[–] gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works 54 points 10 months ago (1 children)

As a software engineer myself, I am pretty confident that this is not going to have the effect that Shah thinks it will

[–] bajabound@lemmy.world 0 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Work harder work faster!

[–] gravitas_deficiency@sh.itjust.works -1 points 10 months ago

Work deez nutz

[–] EnderMB@lemmy.world 54 points 10 months ago (2 children)

Even if you take the cuntish language away, if I were a shareholder I would be spooked by a leak like this.

Anyone, even VC's and middle-management types that share memes on LinkedIn can tell you that "working smarter" is better than putting in long hours. The latter is a desperation move, usually kept for when goals aren't being met, or when you want to mask the problem of poor planning, over-promising, or under-delivering.

If the CEO is coming out with rhetoric like this, it shows that things aren't going well, and that any plans to correct course are probably misguided. It also likely points to future dissent in the ranks, as any good VP or SVP that isn't in their position through ass-kissing would likely laugh this off and do their job properly, against the CEO's direct call - the kind of person the shareholders would actively want in the main leadership role.

Sadly, COVID and a weakened economy have pointed out just how poorly many top companies are run. Whether it's continuous layoffs, misguided RTO demands, calls to "do more work" from employees, or belittling your own IC's, it's probably a sign that the "old ways" of management are showing their flaws in a modern economy, and that new ideas will likely be what rules the market for the next 10+ years.

[–] uriel238@lemmy.blahaj.zone 13 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Sadly, COVID and a weakened economy have pointed out just how poorly many top companies are run.

I'm going to take a shot in the dark here and clarify the sad part is that our top companies are poorly run (often showing us that the capitalism doesn't work the way it's supposed to as per ideology). And it's sad that it took a tragedy like the COVID-19 epidemic to put it in sharp bas relief.

It's not sad that high-level mismanagement of companies became visible, except maybe to those managers are going to see consequences for failures they couldn't have prevented.

[–] EnderMB@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago (1 children)

I'm no fan of capitalism, but it is kinda working. These companies aren't seeing extended growth, so they are suffering. Sadly, that is being put on the workers instead of the leaders, and managers at a certain level are avoiding all blame and consequences. Internally, if you were to look at most of the tech companies that have made huge job cuts, you'll see dozens, if not hundreds of executives that were drafted from failing arms of the business to a new area entirely, days to weeks before layoffs. At both Google and Amazon, it's now basically an exodus sign for many when a VP moves from, let's say YouTube, over to Search.

It's why I really wish that the tech industry in particular was smart enough to unionize. The problem that tech faces is that many view it as a meritocracy, and they're happy to see widespread decline...as long as it doesn't affect them.

[–] funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works 4 points 10 months ago

I enjoy the schadenfreude and I'm happy to play the game. Having worked in door-to-door sales, phone sales, warehouses, as a barista, bartender, gigging actor, musician, dancer, comedian, supply teacher, retail, children's birthday party magician... my office job is the least hard work I've ever done but one where I have to play the part as if it's incredibly difficult and taxing. And then go into meetings where I say, "hmmm... well if we're going to market this product... we have to really think about the market we're bringing it to." And everyone nods sagely. h If capitalism is a machine that sucks up money to the top by pretending CEOs are working hard, it's perfectly fine for me to suck money out the side by pretending being a senior manager is working hard.

I can and do work hard when I have to, but also, American culture is so fucked that people genuinely think it's better to seem like you're doing something than actually doing something

[–] andrewrgross@slrpnk.net 8 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago) (1 children)

100%. It's not a good sign even if judged from a totally heartless position, but like you said, CEOs like this are backed by investors who think similarly.

It's such a myth that these attitudes are "just business". It's become so obvious that many investors and executives will go to war against the people who generate wealth for them out of habit and ideology even when every business school lesson tells them that they're gonna kill a golden goose. Oh well.

[–] EnderMB@lemmy.world 2 points 10 months ago

Fully agreed, it's almost a textbook indication of how established businesses harm themselves from short-term plays, except both sides actively want the harm because they can just push the damage onto the employees.

With luck, the golden goose moment isn't too far away, although with tech in particular, it's been sad to see that over the last decade most people dream not of creating "the next Google", but to land a cushy FAANG job and to rest and vest.

[–] glowie@h4x0r.host 33 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Yea nah

[–] andrewrgross@slrpnk.net 5 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Hold on: this might look bad, but consider the importance of the mission.

This is Wayfair we're talking about! People jump at the chance to change the world by going to work for Wayfair!

I know that if I worked there, I'd wake up every day knowing that people are counting on me. Counting on me to buy brik-a-brak that they may not remember ordering when it arrives. Counting on me to buy a kids desk that they find is actually smaller than they realized, and then throw out. Counting on me to buy a wedding gift that will get sold for $10 on Craigslist unopened.

That's the kind of purpose that everyone goes to Wayfair with, right? In a world of runaway climate change and empires in decline, who wouldn't work longer hours for THE Wayfair?? /S

[–] jjjalljs@ttrpg.network 31 points 10 months ago

I would consider working longer hours if I had a shit load of equity. Consider it. No promises. Otherwise, nah. There's only ever going to be one 12/22/2023 5:00pm, and I'd rather spend that hanging out with family than making money for someone else.

[–] breakfastmtn@lemmy.ca 30 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Uh oh, Shah. This is a textbook 3 ghosts scenario.

[–] veni_vedi_veni@lemmy.world 30 points 10 months ago (9 children)

this is why i save money and spend less, so i can amass wealth until I have "fuck you" money where I can just dip if they start this shit on me.

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[–] FrankTheHealer@lemmy.world 27 points 10 months ago* (last edited 10 months ago)

Employees: lol no (opens new tab, starts looking for a new job)

[–] KingThrillgore@lemmy.ml 23 points 10 months ago

Reminder that Wayfair supplied beds to ICE and harassed and fired employees who protested.

[–] YurkshireLad@lemmy.ca 21 points 10 months ago

We ordered a bookcase and it was trashed, because the seller didn't package it properly. Never bought from them again. Another company that raced to the bottom.

[–] ThePrivacyPolicy@lemmy.ca 17 points 10 months ago

Part of my employers year end message was that they're giving us even more time off starting next year so we can disconnect more! Sure glad I got a good one compared to this tool. (we all get 5 weeks now)

[–] csm10495@sh.itjust.works 16 points 10 months ago (1 children)

This guy comes off like a jerk. Terrible sounding person.

[–] Eigerloft@lemmy.world 8 points 10 months ago (1 children)

You don't get to be CEO without being a fucking psychopath.

[–] Tire@lemmy.ml 4 points 10 months ago

Normal respectable humans stop acquiring money when they have enough. Only people with undiagnosed mental disorders strive to become billionaires.

[–] Lophostemon@aussie.zone 16 points 10 months ago

Sounds a wee bit out of touch with reality. Sure, HE can spend as many hours as he wishes because it basically becomes almost a hobby to ‘work’ at whatever insane amount he gets paid. There’s really no incentive at the lower levels of any company unless there’s true equity and a return on someone’s sweat and diligence.

[–] XenGi@lemmy.chaos.berlin 13 points 10 months ago

The more my employer asks me to do more then my contract says, the more I will stick exactly to what my contract says and eventually just leave.

[–] QuadratureSurfer@lemmy.world 13 points 10 months ago

I'm a little dissappointed that stories like this are upvoted so much in /c/Technology

I want tech news, not news about companies that happen to have a website and sell furniture...

[–] ____@infosec.pub 11 points 10 months ago

LOL fuck you.

If the company isn’t viable without squeezing unacceptable amounts of work out of individuals, it’s not viable full stop.

This is not a startup or small passion project. It’s a large ship, and a sinking one as well.

[–] alansuspect@aussie.zone 8 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Nirajisms

Ew.

[–] andrewrgross@slrpnk.net 1 points 10 months ago

Big Michael Scott vibes

[–] r00ty@kbin.life 8 points 10 months ago

How about freaking nooo.

[–] JamesStallion@sh.itjust.works 4 points 10 months ago (1 children)

Are there no prisons! Are there no workhouses!

[–] Kellamity@sh.itjust.works 4 points 10 months ago

If they'd rather die then they'd better do it, and decrease the surplus population!

[–] Supermariofan67@programming.dev 3 points 10 months ago

How is this relevant to the technology community?

[–] davetansley@lemmy.world 1 points 10 months ago

Clowns who think like this need to fuck all the way off... and, honestly, it's up to older folk like me to make that clear. Younger folks are going to be fooled or scared into thinking like this and be unable or unwilling to speak up. We who have less pressing concerns need to have their backs.

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