#culture

Do you feel Verizon shifted in a better direction under the new leadership? Do you feel valued? Are you being listened to and counted? Are you being fairly compensated? Are your leaders "in it with you" or using the "Do as I say" motto? I'm just wondering?

I often find myself thinking back to the stories of what Ford used to be—a place where we didn't just build cars, we built a community. There was a time when the company played to its greatest strength: the people on the floor and in the offices who poured their hearts into products they actually believed in. We had a brief moment of that magic again in the late 2000s, where it felt like we were finally back on track, but looking back, that feels more like a lucky spark than a sustained flame.

It’s heartbreaking to see how far we’ve drifted from that 'people-first' spirit. A company is only as strong as the folks who show up every day to keep it running, yet lately, it feels like management has forgotten that we are their biggest asset. Instead of lean, common-sense leadership that trusts our expertise, we’re seeing a culture that treats people as line items rather than the heartbeat of the brand.

We’ve traded our identity for a series of pivots that don't seem to lead anywhere, and you have to wonder: what is there to show for it? If the goal of this new direction was to make us better or more efficient, it’s hard to see that reflected in the morale of the people around me. Management’s primary job is to steer the ship and protect the crew, but right now, it feels like they’re just letting the engine stall while we lose the very culture that made Ford great in the first place.

Bill, Jim, just stop, things aren't getting better.

VZ employees have “no leverage” after years of water cooler “shuck-n-jive” talk about the game and where the “free food” is it’s over. DEI is dying and those of you who hide behind the veil of color are “suspect at this time”.

congrats India, you won

you came in, started small, then grew

took over groups, director level and down, maybe 1 local US dude

then, took over VP roles

that's when it really went down the tubes

now....you got it all, you fired all the local long term local workers, literally all of them

hiring spree in ITC

while US workers wonder what hit them, wondering why

it's disgusting

it's anti american

but you won, congratulations, you won the over GT at the swoosh

but you also turned it into the massive unproductive and cost over run disaster

so you won, but you also lost

now you have it, what are going to do with it

pressure is on

you took it away, now what

we all know the answer

pendulum swings

the clock is ticking

we'll be back, and strong, and you will be gone

The Culture Architects
“RV builds the narrative. You become the headcount reduction that funds it.

Check it out:

https://imgur.com/a/batman-robin-eKZocZp

Shout out to the anonymous posters who give us warnings on internal decisions made by our management teams. I know that there are some trolls who try to dilute the quality posts, but when I identify the well meaning posts, I take them to heart and apply them at work, which has helped me avoid pitfalls. I hope I can do the same if I learn anything key that can help you, my fellow Wells Fargo anons!

You guys are hilarious!
Depressed when the stock is down. Depressed when the stock is up.
Depressed when there are layoffs.
Depressed when there are no layoffs.

To all Castrol colleagues, especially folks in Digital Technology, how are you guys feeling about the ringfence situation and the fact that you are being forced to move out of BP.

Do you feel positive about the future or are you polishing your CVs? What do you think about RD as leader and the org structure he shared recently?

Are you being scheduled:

Excessively early morning or late evening shifts?

Back to back closing and opening shifts ?

More than 5 day stretches?

Longer than 8 hour workdays?

Split shifts ?

Having hours cut suddenly to zero or almost no hours?

Asked to work while your on a vacation? (Salary)

Asked to go without a meal break?

Asked to take a two hour meal break to save payroll hours?

Asked to come in excessively on a scheduled day off?

Cutting certain associates hours, and giving those hours to a “favorite “ ??

Mike Loughlin or Mandy Norton!! Times were better for us!!!

Every round of cuts here goes after the people who keep things running. The ones who know the systems, who have the relationships, who fix problems before anyone notices them. The dead weight somehow always survives. They are not cutting fat. They are cutting muscle.

Instead I'm spending my evenings learning everything I can AI-related and working on a new certification. I don't know when hiring will pick back up, but I want to have my resume ready and my skills updated when it does. That's about all I can do as we all wait to be laid off.

Has anyone heard of what happened?
https://x.com/i/status/2049952933144563840

I thought moon lighting was against the bofa politics.

Bring back the wolves!

The sheep in place have ki-led this company. All yes people focused on managing up, not results.

The “first of many” associate all-hands left a bad taste in my mouth, for more reasons than I can fully articulate. The shift to the Harbor Point studio was the first jarring departure from the cozy, informal town halls we had grown used to before this latest regime change. The broadcast felt more like a morning news segment than a company conversation - cold, staged, and impersonal. One thing was abundantly clear: the C-suite is not part of “us.” They operate separately, and we’re meant to feel that distance.

What followed were prewritten speeches, read from teleprompters, filled with buzzwords but lacking substance. The central message seemed to be that TRP is poised to capitalize on the next economic opportunity - but what that opportunity actually is remains unclear. And apparently, we’re not meant to ask. If the goal was to model an “AI-first” approach by delivering generated, impersonal messaging, then mission accomplished.

The most disheartening realization, however, was the unmistakable confirmation that the legacy TRP “people-first” culture is gone. I’ve watched this erosion over the past decade, but never has leadership been so transparent in its lack of consideration for employees and clients alike.

We sat through an hour of “new strategy” with barely any discussion about improving outcomes for clients or associates. The AI-focused approach, poorly thought through, centers on doing the same work with fewer people, relying on efficiency gains that feel more aspirational than realistic. Questions raised in Meeting Pulse about costs, risks, and whether our existing infrastructure can even support this strategy were noticeably ignored.

Most striking, though, were the repeated references to our “thriving culture.” The disconnect was hard to miss. The culture is speaking loudly - through Meeting Pulse, through forums like The Layoff - and the message is clear: employees are struggling. We’re dealing with internal friction, outdated technology, and a lack of focus after years of layoffs and reorganizations. Incentives to perform have eroded.

Compensation cycles have been consistently disappointing, with market conditions and outflows cited as justification, even as executive compensation continues to rise. Investments are being funneled into a new headquarters and high-profile marketing partnerships, while associates are quietly laid off and replaced with offshore labor. This isn’t “doing more with less” it’s being asked to do less, with less, and somehow maintain the same standards of quality.

At this point, our ability to deliver meaningful work is being undermined, and the prevailing message from leadership seems to be that we should feel fortunate just to be employed.

Today’s all-hands felt disingenuous and, at times, insulting. But more importantly, it made one thing clear: what leadership values is not aligned with the people doing the work. The culture is speaking, but it stands in direct opposition to the narrative coming from the TRP ivory tower.

The career progression is like this: You work to improve yourself over 25 years in semiconductors. You will become an expert who can resolve all special taks. save money, improve yield and make projects successfull. Everybody is happy, but.....the salary increases over years......Finally they will lay you off because your salary is too high, higher than graduate´s salary. Managment does not understand that what moves the company forward is the technical experties and speed. It is not important anymore, what only matters are cheap incompetent graduates who are asap hired mainly from none technical fields because they are cheaper than graduates from technicial fields. All slows down, projects slow downs or crash, problems remain unresloved, yield is terrible, customers lots..... Well seniors are fired and youner ones cannot cope with it.... Solution? They repeat the same mistakes over and over.....Perhaps the company shall be renamed to "Inferno Hindmalay Semiconductors Technologies GmbH".

They just want the board to be pleased. No one wants AI, we don’t use it except for occasional copilot. NONE of the products use AI in true fashion. It’s all fake

Friday May 1st - Workers International Day - On Strike! Shut down the planet! Get stoned! Peace out!

A recent blog post highlighted the practice of "ghostworking." This involves employees doing the bare minimum required for their jobs. Layoff anxiety and burnout are increasing among American workers. This environment makes ghostworking more appealing to disengaged employees. Empathetic leadership and strong company culture can help counter this trend.

https://hrexecutive.com/is-ghostworking-about-to-reemerge-amid-layoffs/

If you look, you can see what’s going on. Management not really enforcing 5 day RTO. Snacks/eggs not being restocked. Soda/coffee/water machines taking days to refill.
The company is feeling the cost squeeze of offering those things now that they have to save for the new .
So they look away on you coming in 2-3 days, and you look away on all these amenities they lured you back with.

This year’s Great Place to Work survey used a restricted participant list. In my memory, in the last a few years, everyone around me anticipated the survey. Is management trying to avoid honest results? Or the company is trying to save money by reducing the survey sample size?

Why didn't JF use this global event to give DF a proper send off this morning?

I and all of Model e and Skunkworks are disappointed DF wasn't properly recognized. In fact, the only mention of DF was in the chat. Missed opportunity indeed.

I can’t even begin to tell you the amount of people that tell me that they don’t wear Nikes because they run to slim. And each time I just nod my head and say I agree. I do wonder how much more business we’d campfire by making a simple change like making our sizing more inclusive. My own family doesn’t even use my discount because they all have wide shoes and Nike doesn’t fit them😂

There’s low hanging fruit to be had all around, yet we overlook it to try to make these big statements that seemly haven’t landed in recent years.

This regards the very much worries have I about my manager’s manager. My address and phone number the manager has access to. But he must be called out. Never will change. He must go. I do not have the trust for human resources. They will certainty side with him. Please advise.

Can we make actually replying to peers in email or teams a fu--ing job requirement?? What a loser company, I have been here 6m and never seen anything like this at my other companies

…after completing the GES, employees cannot go back and look at the results from previous years surveys. In fact, only Managers can access it…but only after requesting permission to do so.

Story by agoh@businessinsider.com

(1) Skims cofounder Emma Grede says the downsides of working from home don't get enough attention.

(2) She said it's "so crazy" not to draw a link between remote work and growing social issues such as loneliness.

(3) "The key to a long and happy life is your close relationships," she said.

Emma Grede, a founding partner of Skims, says the real cost of working from home isn't being talked about enough.

Speaking on the "Leaders with Francine Lacqua" podcast episode released on Monday, Grede, 43, said that remote work could have broader social consequences that people are overlooking.

"Working from home is career su----e. And we only talk about the upside of working from home," Grede told podcast host Francine Lacqua.

The downsides aren't what people want to hear, but Grede says she believes the effects are already visible in everyday life.

"Think about what's happening in the world. Declining birth rates, declining marriage rates, and the loneliness epidemic. And we think that none of that is linked to the number of people that like, don't see people because they're doing Zoom calls from the living room?" Grede said.

Grede, who is also the CEO of Good American and the first Black female investor to appear on "Shark Tank," said that it's "so crazy" not to make that correlation.

"The key to a long and happy life is your close relationships," she added.

For Grede, being in the room matters from the very start of a career.

"Listen, I did a lot of unpaid internships and I did it while being somebody that didn't have a lot of money. And that was a real struggle for me," Grede said.

Despite that, she said she saw the value of those opportunities.

"It was a huge unlock for me, the ability to go into an organization and get under the hood without having any qualifications or right to really be there. I think that there have to be certain protections on it, but I'd like to lift the lid because there's so much to be learned," she said.

It's not the first time Grede has taken a hard line on workplace expectations. In May 2025, she said she considers it a red flag when job candidates ask about work-life balance during the interview process.

"Work-life balance is your problem. It isn't your employer's responsibility," Grede said.

In an April interview with The Wall Street Journal, Grede also sparked an online debate after describing herself as a "max three-hour mum" on weekends focused on creating "high-impact, core memories" with her kids.

Grede is part of a growing number of CEOs pushing back on remote work.

In May 2023, Elon Musk said he views remote work as "morally wrong," saying it's unfair for some workers to stay home while others must be physically present to do their jobs.

"It's like, really, you're going to work from home and you're going to make everyone else who made your car come work in the factory?" Musk said.

In March, JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon said that working from home simply "doesn't work" for many younger employees, who will benefit from in-person guidance from their colleagues.

"They learn by going on a sales call with you," Dimon said. "They learn by seeing you make a mistake. They learn by how you deal with the mistake."

Since mid-2025, several major companies, including JPMorgan, Amazon, and Google, have implemented return-to-office policies.

;)

I have a dream that one day we will be judged not by a badge swipe, not by a line in a presence report, but by the work we actually do.

I have a dream that we stop pretending five days in an office equals productivity, when we’ve already proven that great work happens from anywhere. That we stop forcing people into seats just to be seen, and start trusting them to deliver.

I have a dream that effort, integrity, and contribution matter more than location. That someone doing exceptional work from home is valued more than someone simply occupying a desk.

I have a dream that we end the illusion that RTO creates culture. Because culture isn’t built by commuting, by sitting in traffic, or by joining video calls from a cubicle. Culture is built by trust, respect, and giving people the flexibility to do their best work.

I have a dream that we recognize what’s actually happening. That people are burned out, that morale is down, and that forcing five days in-office isn’t fixing it, it’s causing it.

I have a dream that we stop measuring presence and start measuring performance. That we reward results, not routines.

I have a dream that the best people aren’t pushed out because they want flexibility, and that we stop pretending five-day RTO is normal when most of the world has already moved on.

Because right now, we’re clinging to a model that’s outdated, expensive, and ineffective.

So I have a dream that we move forward. That we embrace hybrid, embrace remote work, and build a company around outcomes, not optics.

Because work isn’t a place.

And the sooner we accept that, the better off everyone will be.

Like the title says. The current crop is useless. We all love to complain. So who would you want to be leading various businesses and tech? Either internal or external. For internal use the current internal role instead of their names.
IDK what this would do ... I am just dreaming here.

Have medicine for everything imaginable BUT not one cure for anything.....and sell cigarettes nonstop. Purely sad...actually beyond sad. Hmmmmm all about the money much. And still can't survive.

Seems to be no rhyme or reason for who was placed where and the decisions that were made. What the Fu*k?

GN&T has too many incompetent and wasteful people in leadership positions. I don’t think Accenture has the know how or the perseverance to sort this situation out. More than likely, they’ll end up throwing out the baby with the bath water!

I know we are the lowest in the IT hierarchy but maybe there are people working as L1/L2 and would like to share experience? Because honestly it is my first user-facing job where users are the LEAST of the problems lol!

Why are we letting leadership make unilateral decisions without pushback? The push for full-time office work feels unreasonable and out of touch with what many of us actually need to do our jobs well.

It seems like a culture of fear has been created where people don’t feel comfortable speaking up, so whatever is decided just goes unchallenged. Is there a way for us to collectively raise concerns or push back in a constructive way

Former Consultants who strictly consulted and advised on digital transformation are hired into SVP, VP, and SR DR roles (as well as our favorite EVP AK). They know how to suggest but not lead and execute.

No accountability exists from these people, they don’t know how to lead, because they’ve never had to. Repeat this hiring cycle 100x bc consultants love hiring other consultants, and we are now in this state of being industry laggards!!!!!!

Saw someone on LinkedIn posted the best message I’ve seen. No s-b story, no anger, no how bad it’s going to be without them, etc. Instead a message on helping pick others up, laugh, smile, etc. Reflection wasn’t self promoting of all their accomplishments but instead centered around being touched personally by those who reached out.

Can’t remember their name because not a contact but the most real and human way to navigate. The self promoting, company bashing, or s-b story posts are all too common.

This is very different than another tech person post who basically said “I’m so amazing don’t even ask me to waste time writing my achievements on a resume. I’ll just tell them to you if you want to talk.”

So you mean to tell me this dude with a degree mill degree all the way in India cares about US patients and US healthcare?

Most companies say they value their people. Yet fail to create cultures where people actually feel valued.

But here's what actually makes people stay:

✅ Paid Well – Compensation reflects their worth
✅ Heard – Their voice actually matters
✅ Respected – Not just for what they do, but who they are
✅ Challenged – Growth is encouraged, not stifled
✅ Trusted – Micromanagement doesn’t exist
✅ Supported – Through wins and setbacks
✅ Recognized – Effort is seen, not overlooked
✅ Included – A real part of the bigger picture
✅ Developed – Opportunities to learn and grow
✅ Appreciated – Beyond performance metrics
✅ Empowered – Given autonomy, not just tasks
✅ Promoted – Hard work leads somewhere

Retention isn't a strategy. It's an outcome of how you treat people every day.

Ask your team: “What’s one thing we could do better to show we value you?” Then listen.

What’s one thing you’ve done (or seen) that made people choose to stay longer?