#morale

Absolutely nothing will change, except many of us will be jobless and replaced by cheaper offshore hires. At this point, I’m starting to think those who got kicked out first might be the luckiest. I can’t imagine enduring more months of this mess, only to land in a gutted team with heavier workloads and an even worse company culture.

Buried at the bottom of leadership moves happening with Wealth is the news that Mona Vernon is coming over to Wealth to "focus on customer and product offerings." This is happening in mid-December.

Will the replacement be internal or external? Will they be able to boost moral?

The constant sprinkling of RTO letters and little groups of layoffs paired with zero information is exhausting.

They should just do it and get it over with. All this game playing just motivates workers to stay out of fear of the job market or out of spite to get all the money they’re owed.

I was “fortunate “to land a position. Whole team has been impacted and I have no clarity on my role nor does my boss. No one can tell me when the move to Houston will be. It says if my planning and life doesn’t matter at all. I can find out that I will have to move in a month with no previous notice. I am supposed to give my all to this company which I do because I have a work ethic, but where is their work ethic?

It is any wonder why TD is struggling to sell when it likens to famous personalities. It lacks the creativity of TV designer Linda even when trying to dress up the truth. Lacks the elegance and humbleness of Sue on a tennis court. It's more likened to the selling skills of Albert Arkwright (Ronnie) in Open All Hours and determined to bag it's own drums like drummers Jay and Nicholas. Just barking up the wrong tree!

The whole problem with this company is the lack of visibility beyond line managers. I have no idea who my manager’s manager is, I’ve never met them, and I’ve never received a single message from them. Above that, there are another four layers of management who nobody ever hears from ever! And then we have the top brass who take all the profits and issue orders. No wonder the company is such a mess. By the time any direction filters down the message has changed completely, or just totally lost and forgotten.

At JPMC people talk behind others people back, gossip, gaslight, berate a novice for asking questions then huff and puff about being bothered if asked. I'm sure that it happens at Wells Fargo, Citi, MS, Goldman, TD, but I am in shocked at the scale that it happens here. I'm been here only 2 weeks. The only positive thing I have seen here is people talking back to people who are like that. The worse I've seen which is subjective to me is asking them what have they done in the last 10 years outside of work after loving to work 10 hour days. They can't name anything except drinking.

Since I'm new, how do I navigate this when keeping my head low is not working? They are coming up to me to see if I am part of the fraternity or like they say in the streets "size me up".

By Mattias Bergstrom, Former Forbes Councils Member.

As software technology leaders, we face the same challenges as leaders in other engineering industries, but there are differences.

One of our biggest challenges is employee churn. This is where software companies suffer more than others, especially when losing engineers—because it is not just a resource being lost but training, insight and morale that will take time to replace and can disrupt production. The cost of employee churn is higher than we think. Studies have shown that the average cost to replace a highly skilled employee is 213% of their annual salary.

PayScale found that in 2018, companies like Google and Amazon with above-normal salaries and desirable employee perks still suffered from a median employee tenure of just about 1 year.

We need to start looking to cause and effect analysis and stop looking at statistics. As Mark Twain is often credited with saying, “Lies, damned lies, and statistics.”

After trying to use statistics to work out what is going wrong, we have to accept that the statistics used are not helping. So, what is really going wrong? Well, when we look at software engineering versus other types of engineering, we quickly notice differences in management. In other engineering fields, most managers are engineers themselves. So, the processes and deliverables systems have been developed by engineers, for engineers, for a long time, even since the pyramids were built.

The need for software engineering became huge in the 1980s and '90s. The value of an engineer was too high to have them in management, so leads, project managers and department heads were recruited from the business sector to keep projects “on track.” As business-educated leaders typically have no education in engineering processes, they needed ways to “measure” and manage the engineers without a full understanding of what they do or how they do them.

So, all kinds of ridiculous KPI measurements were invented. The most famous in software engineering is probably the “lines of code,” in which the performance of an engineer is measured by the amount of code they write. Ways to game this include simply extending the comments in your code, having the team agree on a fixed amount of code or, as I have personally seen, checking in garbage lines of code at the end of the day and deleting them the next.

There are a bunch of examples of KPI systems still used today that all engineers know how to game—to mention a few: story point projections, change coupling, commit count and Google DORA. They can all be gamed and are so obviously developed by business-focused non-engineers who have no clue how engineering works. What is most funny is how these KPI systems all see the engineers as measurable menial workers, not as the highly educated, valuable assets that companies need to function and generate profits.

Around these business-developed and managed KPI measurement systems, development methodologies have been created, mostly to keep up with fictional business goals and for the engineers to keep up with the KPIs. Kanban, Scrum and Agile do nothing to optimize the engineering work happening; they only provide an arbitrary way for managers to feel in control.

Question for the folks that are in the factories. Are you guys leadership team dysfunctional or is it just ours. Seems the left hand don’t or won’t talk to the right hand. Nobody knows what’s going on. Always running out of things. Just curious if it’s isolated or wide spread.

Another pep talk from JR!🤢🤮

Everybody getting ready for the annual October layoffs? Not sure if it will be as big this year or not. Seems like they're gradually laying off people throughout the year versus a big October round, but maybe I'm wrong.

It's like sitting in a warzone, with stress all around you and knowing that a bo-b will drop on someone, hopefully it's not you. What a total moral ki-ler.

A survey of 1,500 US managers found that 25% of C-suite leaders admitted using return-to-office (RTO) mandates to prompt resignations, while 20% of HR professionals said their policies were intended to make staff leave. Nearly 40% of managers said layoffs still followed because not enough workers quit.

Amazon has faced some of the strongest backlash, with 30,000 employees signing a petition, 1,800 pledging walkouts, and many “rage applying” to new jobs.

Data showed 99% of companies with RTO mandates reported lower engagement, almost half saw higher-than-expected attrition, and 29% faced recruitment difficulties.

Leadership week is a joke. Norlin speaking to us about being a leader when he doesn’t do anything but monitor dashboards and fail at executing a go to market strategy is pure comedy. He needs to be the first one fired if this company has a chance.

Now that (hopefully) the emotions have started to settle after the layoffs at HCSC, maybe we can pivot the energy to something carthartic?

Let’s crowdsource ideas for harmless, policy-accurate compliance. The kind of thing you can do at any company that’s made it clear ethical or moral leadership is... no longer a priority.

We’re talking about doing exactly what’s required, nothing more, nothing less. No sabotage. No risking jobs. Just subtle disengagement that lets you sleep a little better at night, while giving the company exactly what they’ve earned, the bare minimum.

Basically - no team spirit :)

Examples to get us started (some were shared in an earlier post):

Employee surveys? 0’s across the board (except for the 1 question concerning direct manager - mine will always get a 5 - they're amazing). No other comments. No free consulting.

Stop “going the extra mile.” If it’s not in the job description or the SLA, it’s not happening.

“I followed the policy.” (Exactly. To. The. Letter.)

No more “I’ll just handle it real quick” after hours. We’re clocking in and out by the minute (unless it's an expected part of your jd).

Meeting runs past time? “Sorry, I have a hard stop.” Click.

The Rules:

No one here wants to lose their job. These ideas should be safe and policy-compliant.

This is FUN. A release valve.

No “Black on Monday” or anything traceable. Keep it anonymous and professional on the surface.

If you’re here to cape for the company with “But we should think about what’s best for the company,” this thread is not for you. Just scoff and scroll on by.

So... Harmless but satisfying disengagement?

35+ years in the industry, across several banks. I’ve seen it all. What’s happening now feels like the complete dismantling of banking as a business, a service, and an institution. Working in this industry has never been worse: more stressful, less rewarding, and utterly demoralizing. I doubt it’s any better at other banks. I’m close to retirement, so I no longer care much. But for younger folks, here’s my advice: don’t expect a career, don’t invest yourself too deeply, and don’t think hard work and skills will pay off. If you still have time, change lanes.

…

Silence

I have been having trouble sleeping and waking up at 3am every morning in with severe anxiety. Is anyone else struggling with this work order?

I’m not sure if it’s the imminent disruption to my daily life, having to find and pay for before/after school childcare and someone to let my elderly dogs outside daily, having to buy a 2nd car so my husband can also get to his office, spending a bunch of money (that nobody has) on a work wardrobe, having to sit at the office alone all day with no team or if it’s just the blatant disregard this company has for their employees. How can this be legal? How can shareholder support a company that operates like this?

I feel like with the pressure and struggles that everyone is feeling in today’s political and financial climate, companies like this are losing the respect and support of the people. The pressure cooker is on high and the lid is rumbling.

long time reader, first time poster

i simply must know ~~

how is life in ABU IT after the layoffs? it was pretty bad before the event. what is it like now? did they keep some good leaders and people?

It's so sad to see people working so hard, doing the work of 2+ people every day, and seeing the light drain from their eyes and faces. Everyone seems to have the same "ugh" dejected and defeated look. Pure exhaustion!

I love how fake the PGL's are these days. They look at you with a fake blank look on their faces knowing what is about to happen. Everyday when I arrive at work, I have the feeling that it is my last day. Someone in security let out that they have an assignment in a couple weeks at the JRC. Gee, what could that be. Why are layoffs so taboo, what not prepare the employees now, so they can look for a job. Instead of dumping them on the spot without notice.

My challenge to the leadership at JRC, stop hiding behind your tailored suits. Stop giving us your fake smile and hand shake. Go to your employees within your group and tell them what's to come.

Its quite regrettable and didn't need to happen.

Anyone else here feeling exhausted? And I mean really exhausted? Anyone noticing team dynamic and personality changes? Speaking to many colleagues seems like many are feeling this way but feel helpless that the continued re-org, endless trainings, AI measuring meetings and competencies, half baked offers that don't make sense, constant changes... is Anyone seeing this? Or at all feeling heard? Or is it just me?

People are nervous and watching their backs, so now there’s this constant tension where nobody feels secure enough to plan their future here. It’s a huge mistake, and it’s going to cost this place way more in the long run than anyone at the top realizes.

Several managers and ICs let go in the SC org couple of days ago. They are doubling down on their SC 2.0 agenda and pushing out anyone who doesn’t fall in line. Feels more like ego than strategy. Morale is sinking, and they’re going to lose a lot more people if this keeps up.

This company has treated me so badly that watching it sink feels like poetic justice. It’s wild to go from loyal employee to hoping they fail, but here we are.

They seriously included this in emails about layoffs? I know nobody really bothers reading these anymore but they aren’t even trying anymore.

Just how many of his VP’s have said they don’t agree with his email….

Our VP made a point to say they didn’t agree with it on today’s Town Hall. Not the first time I’ve heard it from leadership either. In fact, I haven’t heard a single person support it.

They wanted to distance themselves from his opinion.

Anyone else?

How is this guy still CEO?

He’s lost the entire company from the top down.

He’s gotta go!

Dear leaders.

All of these complaints being posted in the open for all to see is embarrassing and preventable. I love and appreciate US Foods who hired me over 20 years ago and is the only company I have worked for outside of a couple small ones. I have raised kids while working here and made friends along the way. I have reached a level within the company where I lead other associates.

My team opened up during a team meeting and they concerned about reporting issues internally and shared this site with me. I spent the better part of the morning reading all of these comments. The articles of one of our newer leader was one of their main concerns. Having met him briefly, I now understand why I had a bad feeling when we spoke and why I did not see him as a good fit for our lovely company. He was smug and a know it all who made comments about what he inherited and some of what he had to do since being here which I felt was inappropriate and which I won't report here because I am old school and don't think his comments belong here. Like them, I don't want to call our compliance hotline because it may get back to him and he seems to be the type to lie and take matters into his own hands. His past shows that, and yet knowing it is out in the open, he remains in a trusted role here.

But reading these posts are hurt me deeply. I ask that our leaders consider clearing the hurdle that is forcing our associates to place our dirty laundry in the public. This can have a negative effect on our associates and customers. It seems to already have and what will come out next. As a faithful leader of this company, I ask our ELT to put the wellness of our associates and trust of our customers first and remove the barrier so our associates and I can once again speak our concerns internally where it belongs and stop hurting our progress as a company. This is embarrassing and must end.

I am confident that IT and our Operations leaders in Montgomery are doing the right things to protect us and that they would let us know if there was a danger in either incident. But when you read these boards, it generates fear and distrust and subsequently causes our associates to flood external sites and fill our customers ears with negative publicity. I urge you to take the only action that would return us to the company I have known for years.

A faithful but worried leader of US Foods

It's just so exhausting and frustrating day in and day out.

Continuing to cut and slice the organization when you've already won. By his words, we are already in a league of our own... so let's ruin organizational morale further. Winning at all cost is an endless pursuit.

Corporate Communications sent an email to our location today asking for us to send in submissions about how we’re living the WELL life at Wells Fargo.

Really? You ask this now?

Even if you think those of us upset about the 8 hour thing are being whiny, you have to admit that sending out something asking us for a testimonial about the great Wells Fargo RIGHT NOW is pretty laughable.

Betrayal at Home Imperial Oil Offshores Canadian Jobs After Exploiting Resources
After decades of degrading Canada’s environment, draining communities, and profiting from our natural resources, Imperial Oil,under the control of its U.S. parent giant, is shipping 20% jobs to India

Should be the title of the press release.

Most of the analysis and decisions were led by ExxonMobil employees in Houston and elsewhere in the world. Imperial despite being an independent publicly traded company was puppeteered by its American masters.

This should be headline news everywhere in Canada tonight. But instead, given it doesn’t affect Ontario or Quebec it will be swept under the rug.

What happened to elbows up?

Amidst todays news, just wanted to pass this along. All of us former employees are with you in spirit. There's so much information and news to digest and a massive human element to all this. Just remember, Imperial hires fantastic people, regardless of what specific outcomes are, we all hope things work out for everyone individually. Take care

Fxking toxic

MN is such a great guy who cares so much about us all! His genuine concern for us all is absolutely heartwarming. I just want to say to MN that we all care for him as much as he cares for us and we want to send the same message to him that he send to us every day:

🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕🖕

Found out my co worker is on the PIP. He has been with Exxon for 22 years and had cancer last year. He was working even during the treatment even days he had Radiotherapy. I work with him often and his performance did not change. Can't stand this place!!!!!!!!!

It's become so clear from this forum that we all hate each other and cannot agree to collectively take action on anything.

This place has become so miserable over the last few years I'm actively rooting for Juan to announce the end of remote at this point so we all suffer.