Wayfair CEO Niraj Shah encourages employees to work longer hours in year-end staff message

Wayfair CEO Niraj Shah sent a memo to employees praising performance, but warning of fierce competition and emphasizing hard work.

Shah recently sent out a memo to the salaried corporate employees of the company, as reported by Business Insider. In the memo, he commended the company's performance in the third quarter of 2023, but also cautioned that the competition was intense and urged employees to be more aggressive, pragmatic, frugal, agile, customer-oriented, and smart.

He also discredited some of the "Nirajisms," or sayings attributed to him about the company's culture, as either false, outdated, or out of context. One of them was the statement that he does not believe in working late.

Shah emphasized the importance of hard work and the need to blend and balance work and personal life. He stated that working long hours and being responsive are essential for success, and that laziness is not rewarded. He attributed the company's improved performance to market share growth, repeat customer rate, supplier relationships, and profitability.

Despite Shah's positive outlook, not everyone was pleased with his message. Many netizens expressed their displeasure and vowed to boycott Wayfair over its CEO's work ethic, with some even calling for the company to unionize its workers.

In response, Wayfair defended its CEO and its culture, stating that they are proud of their team and the values that have contributed to their success. However, some experts doubted that Shah's approach would work in the long run, suggesting that it could backfire and alienate employees.

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