‘It’s Like A Hallmark Card!’ CNN Anchors Roast Retail CEO’s Pro-‘Long Hours’ Anti-‘Laziness’ Holiday Message

CNN skewered Wayfair’s CEO Niraj Shah for his end-of-year memo to employees warning of “laziness” and suggesting they work “long hours.”

The memo obtained by CNN read, “Working long hours, being responsive, lending work and life, it’s not something to shy away from. There is not a lot of history of laziness being rewarded with success.”

“Such a nice holiday message!” said Jim Acosta, adding, “It’s like a Hallmark card!”

“The Wayfair CEO is taking a stand against ‘quiet quitting,'” said reporter Nathaniel Meyersohn. “He’s basically saying, ‘Screw work-life balance! We need you guys to be working longer and harder in the new year.'”

“Kind of an interesting moment for the Wayfair CEO to be releasing this,” Meyersohn said, continuing:

The company has been on a rollercoaster ride the last couple of years. Early in the pandemic when people were stuck at home buying new couches and furniture, the company’s stock boomed.

But, as people have returned to stores, and maybe switched:  they have the new couch already, they’re going back to Taylor Swift concerts, are going to see Barbie. They don’t need that anymore, so the stock has tumbled. The company has really struggled. It’s had a couple rounds of layoffs.

Morale is a little bit low right now at Wayfair, but an interesting way to try to boost it.

Meyersohn said the CEO is trying to motivate employees, but workers really want an improved company culture, increases in pay and benefits, and measures to improve employee well-being.

“These are all perhaps better ways to motivate employees than tough emails right before Christmas,” Meyersohn said.

Wayfair’s website says it’s one of the world’s largest home retailers with $12 billion in net revenue over the past year.

Watch the clip above via CNN.