#morale

Some of the best folks I’ve worked with over the years are leaving Schwab on their own because they’re tired of guessing what’s next. It’s depressing to watch talent drain like this.

Thinking about Dan’s fireside chat on Friday I’ve come to the conclusion it boils down to whether people will trust him or not and if they believe him or not.

Let’s be honest he’s not big on details…so it feels like a leap of faith right now and can people move on from 15000 layoffs and that effectively the same people are in charge as a year ago

Now that they forced everyone back in, the stress levels are rising fast. People are exhausted from commuting again, and half the office is talking about looking elsewhere. Add the constant layoffs into the mix, and you have a recipe for a disaster. It feels like leadership learned nothing from the last few years.

Right after the layoffs wrapped up, my LinkedIn turned into a wall of inspirational posts, most from managers who said nothing to their own teams. To say the timing is tone-deaf is an understatement. How can you post cr-p like that when so many people under you are suddenly jobless?

Watching people who gave years get escorted out with barely a goodbye so many times in the last several years just crushed morale. Most of us now feel that dedication does not matter when decisions are made behind closed doors with no humanity. Not many are bothering to do more than bare minimum anymore. You can't do something like this repeatedly and expect things to remain the same.

If this wasn't so serious and affected so many employees livelihoods, it would be funny. Why are this bunch of clowns still at the controls? I afraid it's now too late to do anything about this. The plane is too close to the mountain to take evasive action.
I'm lucky, I managed to jump ship in 2024 after 36.5 years and don't regret it one bit. I met so many good people at Xerox in that time and can remember when the staff were seen as the most highly prized asset the company had. To hear the CEO now suggesting the lack of success is down to those same employees and that they need to prioritise the company over their own well-being, clearly shows he has no idea of what it meant to be a Xeroid. The bulk of those he has insulted would have previously, (I've no doubt) worked unpaid hours to fix a customer machine or pulled out all stops to make sure equipment is delivered and installed before month/quarter/year-end. They would have been to ones working at weekends, putting their customer and the company before their families. So how have the suddenly become a lot of work-shy slackers? The answer, Steve B, is that they haven't, they have not been lead by a competent SLT for years. To all my ex-colleagues I say, I hope you have as good a Christmas as you can and that 2026 is kind to you. To Steve B I say, you had the golden goose and you and your fellow clowns have fu---d it up. I hope you have trouble sleeping at night.

People skills matter! My new manager was great in his old role, but he was also an a--hole with zero people skills. Now he's our manager. He knows the technical side, but working with people is a complete mystery to him. Scattered communication, yelling, giving mixed messages, all of it has become normal. We're basically coaching the person who's supposed to guide us, and it's getting tiring pretending everything is fine.

They watched the company being burned to the ground and really didn't care.

They watched the arrogance about a superior network permeate almost the entire company, to the detriment of sales.

They really could give a sh$$ about the employees. They just want their bod fees and options.

They'll do anything for a short term stock pump, even if it means sacrificing people and destroying lives. Here's a clue, less revenue, less customers, less support, less of everything, including the stock price.

They really don't know anything about the actual business, but they're bringing in somebody who's been watching this burn for 7 years and because he was at virgin mobile and is tied in with the AI world he'll know what to do.

Hatchet a$$ can tell jokes, act like he's some cowboy, talk b.s. about how this was needed (he's responsible) and really not care about how many lives he's absolutely destroyed, all he cares about is the millions he continues to make.

They okayed mass layoffs on conference calls, they okayed destroying entire organizations, they talk about customer service but let key people be thrown away, I'm sure those customers are really happy about it (they're not.)

Some people being forced out thank the company for blah, blah, blah, heck to that, F$$$ the board, F$$$ hatchet, and F$$$ anybody who's talking about so-called survivor's guilt; that's a bunch of b.s. and shows what a huge hypocrite and a$$hole you really are, you still have a job (for now.)

F$$$ the board, hatchet, and all those mo--n's who think this is a good thing, it's really not.

Stank keeps talking about being a “market-based company,” but the market has already delivered its verdict, and it is absolutely brutal.

Just look at the scoreboard.

AT&T’s market cap today is around $180B.
Netflix, a company AT&T once thought it could compete with through the WarnerMedia empire, is sitting around $430B+. Netflix is worth more than double AT&T. That alone tells you everything about which company the market believes in.

And when you look at how we got here, it’s even worse.

AT&T bought Time Warner for roughly $85B, swallowed billions more in debt, tried to play Hollywood, mismanaged the integration, then spun it off in 2022 into Warner Bros Discovery wiping out over 50 of billion in value.
WBD stock fell as low as $7.50, and even now AT&T stock at roughly $25.46 is trading below WBD’s $25.80.
An $85B asset turned into a fraction of its worth, and now WBD is being shopped to Netflix for double compared to the sale and divestiture price.

Billions burned.

A strategic failure so large business schools literally teach it.
And the company has spent the last five years trying to claw its way back to where it was BEFORE all these “visionary decisions.”

So when Stankey and the leadership team brag about “market-based” strategy, it’s a joke the actual market doesn’t find funny. Wall Street sees right through it. Investors have no confidence. Employees have no confidence. The stock has gone nowhere during his tenure, and the company’s major bets have been disasters.

If AT&T truly wants to operate like a modern, market-led company, then start acting like one beginning with ending his latest “visionary decision” - the outdated RTO obsession that adds cost, crushes morale, pushes out top talent, and delivers zero measurable business benefit. Wait too long and you’ll never recover from that too.

Real market-based companies reduce overhead, increase flexibility, retain talent, and innovate.
AT&T is doing the opposite and the market has priced that in loud and clear.

Leadership can keep talking about culture, presence, and “the plan,” but the numbers don’t lie.
The strategy isn’t working.
And the market knows it.
And so do we.

what do you all think of a store manager who hands out certain invitations to attend an (out of the store) xmas party to certain people (in front of everyone in store) and excludes certain people? should belk fire her for that?

Where PIPs lurk in the halls… waiting to swipe your livelihood.

With all the uncertainty, my productivity was lower than ever. It wasn't even intentional, I just couldn't concentrate on work.

What happened to going back to basics? Our cars are filthy, skeleton staff to run locations, declining market share but hey lets explore autonomous vehicles and be known more for selling cars. Almost 2 years into Gilly Wi--y Westy’s tenure and the flywheel continues to turn in the wrong direction. I can’t believe this is what became of my Hertz!

Hearing him make jokes at the time when so many have lost their livelihood and the rest of us are still uncertain if we'll have a job in a month or two completely disillusioned me. That shows how much he truly "cares" for employees.

How does a company the size of AT&T completely fu-k up the final compensation checks for the employees they just laid off? Overpayment, underpayment, it is complete chaos & they simply don't give a sh-t. It's the holiday season. Mortgage still has to get paid.

I received four separate pay stubs and none of them match my direct deposits.

Plus, my supervisor had no clue on process so I am getting requests to complete tasks that should have been done before they walked me out the door.

AT&T can't get anything right.

Well. That’s it. Ford guy from way back. Sick of BS here. People su-k. Product su-ks. Done. Used to dream about ford. Fairlane, mustang, galaxy, comet….. so many name brands. Destroyed. Can’t take it. Ford blue. No more. Sorry !

I see nothing has changed at the Great Blue Monster. Check in here occasionally to find out how many lives they are wrecking this year.

Was caught up in 2022 layoff at PEP after 15 years when my department was offshored.

The last 3.5 years are the best I've had since before I started at PEP.

Feel for those still stuck at that soul crushing company. Much better companies out there to work for.

Wishing you all health, wealth, and happiness.

Morale is worst I’ve ever seen, and I’ve lived through the data breach and Target Canada. I’m trying to think through what would change my attitude and I’ve got:

1. Replace all senior leaders with competent, caring individuals that act and speak like real human beings rather than corporate robots.
2. A 10% raise
3. More thoughtful RTO rules based on job type/duties and level.
4. Move Product Manager roles back to the US, and just generally stop moving every gd role over to TII.

I realize none of this is ever going to happen, but it’s nice to dream.

After being with the company for 10plus years State Farm decided to find an “issue” with a coverage we offer and then say we weren’t offering it correctly but still have to offer it. Got a whole team cut right before thanksgiving. The company is going downhill 1000%. All of our long time customers receiving NO notice or anything about this change. Just left in the dark with no clue what is going on.

Tough to watch the culture crash like this. It wasn’t great before but the extra stress and unrealistic expectations are causing way more tension than usual.

Dan telling jokes and stxpid stories - in the ALL hands - while we are all freaking out of the future and so many lives being impacted. This is so unwelcomed.

Dude - you as a board were s failure - VZ leaders are just clowns - following the board and now you keep a while company to do a seinfeld sequel clown show 🤬

Reposting this comment someone posed it. Right on! Such a clown that hatchet man

“Things are great!”
“Intel is winning!”
“No more raises.”
“Nvidia is investing!”
“LBT’s golf buddy is your new boss!”
“Stocks are doing great!”
“You’re never getting those benefits back.”
“Holiday party!”

What is Dan even talking about in this all hands?? He seems so unprepared and is just talking in circles... he hasn't said one useful thing and is just patting the useless execs on their backs.

It is Q4. It is the end of the year. Where are the SLT and a rallying cry for end of year business ??????? It appears they are stuck behind their spreadsheets and 40 page slide decks - no communication with sales, no customer visits, no “how can I help you win business in next 20 days”. Even our new Chief Revenue Officer and our new CMO who normally are on the final push can’t be bothered anymore. And then when the results are terrible it will be the peeps fault and nothing to do with them.

Will be the last straw for most at HP. Good luck everyone. It’s going to be a bloodbath.

I am interested in whether people are thinking of joining up.

My thoughts are that the company doesn’t feel very stable, the morale is low and I’m not really sure if growing the company is the real long term plan of our leadership. I still believe that we will be broken up and sold off.

So, I was wondering if I’m an outlier here and if others are feeling more optimistic about Solventum’s future.

I got let go last month and it still feels unreal. All the mistakes are made at the top, but it’s us who always get hit. Meanwhile, senior management keeps doing their thing and takes zero responsibility. Hard work counts for nothing until they need someone else to blame.

Genuinely curious to know how its going after cutting down entire members of many important teams.

The more I hear who got riffed the more it seems some locations took a much bigger hit…like Tulsa. Feel sorry for those that work there as they must be wondering what’s next

As an homage to all FiServants who are sl@ving away this holiday season I wrote y'all a poem:

A FiServant drags through the halls where joy becomes “out of scope,”
Holiday cheer gets audited, repackaged, and shipped out with no hope.
The tree looks like it’s begging for someone to pull the plug, too,
Even the ornaments whisper, “You deserve someplace new.”

Happy Holidays and remember you are more than this job...

That’s the uk offshore workforce been hit with 10% reduction from our poor offshore dayrate.
The following day my boss is telling me to stay vigilant at the well site despite the cut!
For me it’s do the bare minimum to get by.

Last month, the Nike Training / Running Studio that I go to abruptly closed for two days of "maintenance". During that time, they got rid of all in-studio staff except the trainers, instituted self-check in and set up a new central phone number and e-mail support system for all studios.

Except that no one answers the phones or responds to e-mail. It took me going to the studio and asking the trainer to escalate an account issue to get a response to my e-mails and voicemails. And then they made a mistake in implementing my request. Three weeks later, still no non-response to any e-mails (except auto-zendesk responses) and voicemails. At the studio, I talked to other members who said they and their friends were considering quitting the studio because they cut class times to a point that memberships are not worth it for them.

As someone who was laid off from Nike HQ last year, I know that things are rough at Nike right now but this seems extreme in terms of poor implementation and customer service. My fellow members and I agree that the trainers are amazing and we'd like to continue going to their classes. But these changes make it seem like Nike is trying to get rid of us? Why not just shut down the studios altogether? If there are lease considerations, then at least answer the phone / respond to e-mails to retain existing members.

That's right, when you worked hard all year and you find out the execs made great bonuses and you got less that the cost of living increase. And that's IF you got anything at all.
So nice to work for a company where every year you stay with them, you fall further behind in your pay.
Not interested in the bleeding hearts that parrot the execs saying you can always leave if you don't like it, because the truth is many can't find other jobs in their areas of the country.
So, may God help birds cr-p on all the execs who don't stand up for their employees.

I work in new team, we deliver "nothing" because PO talk like he is on dr-gs changing his mind every second week. Moreover he is micromanaging us not to do stuff, it feels like he don`t want us to deliver this and prove idea was ....

I was bored last sprint so I did more than a task which would my high school kid do to experiment. As a result I got to listen to a "talk" for "doing wrong stuff". At same time we have a guy in team which delivers ZERO and its fine.

I am starting to hate software dev as I am not even allowed to do anything any more. Like I wanted to be engineer to build things, have solutions to help some with something, not to sit 50% of my day on meetings and deal with architects which cant even write hello world and their git is totally EMPTY, but they can say AI AI AI... and agentic AI.

I did not receive a single valuable training in the "research" field we are doing, but my training backlog is full of useless trainings about nothing like that AI joke we got inspire shout out recently :D.

I am starting to think to quit without other job, because most I hate in my career is when I can't do work because it make others look bad.

Welcome to BNY Mellon, where corporate communication is less about informing employees and more about testing their tolerance for absurdity. Think of it as a daily improv show where the punchline is always the same: we don’t believe you.

At the top of this spectacle sits Robin Vince, delivering pronouncements with the solemnity of a statesman and the substance of a clown balloon. His memos promise transformation, transparency, and trust, but associates know these are just corporate Mad Libs—insert buzzword, ignore reality. If they say “transformation,” translate it to “chaos.” If they say “transparency,” read it as “fog machine.” The safest approach is to laugh first, then check if your department still exists.

HR, Public Relations and James L. serve as the Ministry of Spin, ensuring every announcement glows with positivity so artificial even Eliza would blush. “BNY Mellon is thriving!” they declare, while associates quietly check their workloads and wonder if thriving means "dodging HR land mines" or “running on fumes.” Employees now treat official communications like parody scripts, reading them aloud in dramatic voices for comic relief.

Then there are the Directors and wannabees who rush to LinkedIn to applaud these corporate fairy tales. Their posts are the digital equivalent of clapping at a bad magic trick like a trained harbor seal: “Amazing leadership!” they gush, while everyone else mutters, “You do realize the rabbit was stuffed in the hat the whole time, right?” These cheerleaders don’t inspire confidence; they inspire memes.

Inside the company, two realities coexist like parallel universes. In one, associates slog through toxic culture, opaque decision-making, and a daily grind that feels less like a Fortune 500 firm and more like a reality TV show where no one wins. In the other, leaders announce breakthroughs, cultural transformations, and “authentic transparency” with the confidence of actors who forgot the audience already read the spoilers. The result is cognitive dissonance so bad and so intense employees could qualify for dual citizenship: one in the land of lived experience, the other in the fantasy realm of executive spin.

Distrust has become so pervasive that employees now play a game called “Spot the Lie.” Every new communication is dissected for euphemisms and omissions. “Restructuring” means layoffs. “Efficiency” means budget cuts. “Innovation” means someone discovered Teams has GIFs. The prize for winning? A sense of smug validation and the knowledge that you’re not crazy—the memo is.

BNY Mellon’s leaders may believe they’re shaping perception, but in reality they’ve cultivated a culture where disbelief is the default setting. Credibility isn’t just low; it’s subterranean. Employees don’t ask, “Is this true?” They ask, “How false is it, and how quickly will it collapse under scrutiny?” Cynicism has become the lingua franca, the coping mechanism, and the unofficial brand identity.

In the end, BNY Mellon has achieved something remarkable: it has turned corporate communication into performance art, a theater of the absurd where every announcement is greeted not with applause but with laughter, sighs, and sarcastic memes. The Executive Committee may think they’re leading a financial institution with great vision, alignment and execution, but associates know the truth: they’re trapped in a long-running satire, and the punchline never changes—we don’t believe you.

Our team just went through another round of layoffs recently and it has become routine at this point. Every few weeks a new team gets hit. These days, people spend more time wondering who is next than focusing on the work. I have been trying to stay calm, but the nonstop churn takes a toll. If I could, I would leave on my own.

My team lost 2 people today

This must feel terrible for the ones recently let go due to ERP or layoffs.