Wayfair CEO Niraj Shah tells employees to 'work longer hours' in year-end email

Christmas cheer? Bah, humbug. Wayfair CEO Niraj Shah dished out some tough love in a year-end memo to employees of the Boston home goods company.

Employees should be prepared to work longer hours and not be afraid to let work impinge on their personal lives, Shah said in the email note, sent to them last week and first reported on by Business Insider and confirmed as accurate by USA TODAY and other outlets.

"Working long hours, being responsive, blending work and life, is not anything to shy away from," Shah said in the email. "There is not a lot of history of laziness being rewarded with success. Hard work is an essential ingredient in any recipe for success. I embrace this, and the most successful people I know do as well."

He sought to enlighten workers on the accuracy of "Nirajisms," some sayings about workplace culture attributed to the CEO but are either "not true, are old and no longer applicable, or are taken out of context," Shah said.

"The one I would reference here that I heard was 'Niraj said that he does not think that we should work late.' I would suggest that this is laughably false," the CEO wrote. "Hard work is essential for success, and a key part of getting things done. Everyone deserves to have a great personal life – everyone manages that in their own way – ambitious people find ways to blend and balance the two."

Christmas Eve 2023 store hours:Walmart, Target, Home Depot, Best Buy, TJ Maxx all open

Shah kicked off the note by saying Wayfair, which cut 5% of its workforce in 2022, had turned a corner. Last month, the company reported sales of $2.9 billion in the quarter ending Sept. 30, 2023, up 3.7% over the previous year. Its third-quarter net loss of $163 million, is 42% lower than the $283 million net loss in the same quarter in 2022.

"As we work our way through the holiday season it is really encouraging to see that we are back to winning. Winning feels good – and is a great reward for all of our efforts," Shah wrote. "Our market share is growing nicely, our repeat is increasing, our suppliers are leaning in, and we are profitable. This is something to be very proud of."

The note closed with Shah writing, "Together we can win much faster than we are winning now if we all row in this direction together. Let's be aggressive, pragmatic, frugal, agile, customer oriented, and smart. Thanks for being on the team!"

Wayfair CEO's year-end note falls flat for some

As word spread about the note, many online criticized the CEO's tenor. "I'm boycotting and not purchasing anything from this greedy company," posted a user named @Jose on X, formerly known as Twitter. A post from another user, @PortiaMcGonagal, echoed that sentiment: "A company I've purchased from and been satisfied by. My mom too. And now, I won't be buying from anymore."

"Hey @wayfair, I kinda liked you, but, alas, I will shop elsewhere now until such time as you change your (CEO"s) draconian work ethic," posted user debrameadow on the Threads social network.

"Sounds like Wayfair needs a union," posted @dannyoconnor1.

Wayfair responded to the backlash in a statement: “We are incredibly proud of our world-class team and culture of open communication. In his note, which was sent to our salaried corporate employees, Niraj was reinforcing some of the values that have contributed to Wayfair’s success, including questioning the status quo, being cost-efficient and working hard together to drive results.”

Regardless, this strategy could backfire for Shah, Stanford University economics professor Nicholas Bloom told CNN. “If Wayfair wants to run a business where people work 80 hours a week, he’s going to have to put up their salaries by 50% to pay them for it," he said. "I don’t see this as being successful for the typical employee, said Bloom, who suggested workers had ,” Bloom said, pointing out that workers have options amid a strong job market.

Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads: @mikesnider & mikegsnider.

What's everyone talking about? Sign up for our trending newsletter to get the latest news of the day