Wayfair CEO suggests employees work ‘longer hours’ and blend ‘work and life’ in email

Wayfair had to cut 5 per cent of its workforce in 2022, but has since rebounded

The CEO of Wayfair offered his employees a heartfelt Christmas message in a recent email.

Work harder.

That was the gist of the email, which advocated for "blending work and life" and spending "long hours" toiling for the furniture company.

“Winning requires hard work. I believe that most of us, being ambitious individuals, find fulfilment in the joy of seeing our efforts materialize into tangible results,” the company's CEO, Niraj Shah, wrote to employees earlier this month in an email celebrating the company’s performance. “Working long hours, being responsive, blending work and life, is not anything to shy away from. There is not a lot of history of laziness being rewarded with success.”

A spokesperson for the company confirmed the email was sent to employees, CNN reports.

"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," Mr Shah wrote.

In addition to suggesting employees blend their lives into their work more often, he also recommended that employees treat company expenditures as though it was their own personal money.

“Would you spend money on that, would you spend that much money for that thing, does that price seem reasonable, and lastly — have you negotiated the price?” the letter said, according to Business Insider, which first obtained the memo.

Wayfair employs approximately 15,000 employees as of December 2022. The company saw a significant uptick in business during the pandemic when many found themselves suddenly working remotely and in need of office furniture and home goods.

That success waned in 2022 after workers began returning to the office, resulting in the company scaling back its workforce by 5 per cent.

The company has since rebounded, reporting $2.9bn in sales in the quarter ending 30 September, which was a 3.7 per cent increase over the previous year.