Yelp shuts some offices doubling down on remote; CEO calls hybrid "hell"

[mahatmakanejeeves]

TECH AT WORK

Yelp shuts some offices doubling down on remote; CEO calls hybrid “hell”

CEO Jeremy Stoppelman calls hybrid offices “the worst of both worlds" as he doubles down on remote work

By Danielle Abril
Updated June 23, 2022 at 2:43 p.m. EDT | Published June 22, 2022 at 1:00 p.m. EDT

Yelp, an app that recommends local restaurants and services to users using location-based services, is closing its offices in New York, Chicago and Washington, D.C., as part of a move to double down on remote work.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Yelp co-founder and CEO Jeremy Stoppelman called hybrid offices “the worst of both worlds” and noted that two things have become increasingly clear following the pandemic: Workers want to do their jobs remotely and the company benefits from meeting the demand. Stoppelman acknowledged the growing popularity of hybrid policies — in which employees work from the office part time — but called them “the hell of half measures.”

“It’s the worst of three options,” he said.

Yelp is also reducing its Phoenix office space. All closures and reductions of offices, which Yelp says are the most consistently underutilized, will be effective July 29, he said.

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By Danielle Abril
Danielle Abril covers technology and its impact on workers across industries for The Washington Post. Twitter https://twitter.com/DanielleDigest

[bucolic_frolic]

1. Incredibly big news with ripple effects if applicable outside Yelp

[dutch777]

2. Saves money, employees happier and easier to recruit new hires

My wife's software company went remote as an option before the pandemic as their headquarters were in a very pricey area of CA. They did it as many potential hires walked away from job offers, even with generous relocation packages, because of the local cost of living. Now recruiting is no longer a problem and company overhead costs with less office space and HR relocation packages is leaner.