#remotework

Do you all come in five days a week? No hybrid at all?

Company wants to be more efficient so they hire more managers, lay off seasoned/experienced engineers, introduce the "product model" which is great for software developers but slows the rest of the tech teams down/delivers slower results to our internal customers, increase bureaucracy, and gaslight everyone. 15 years ago, this was a decent company to work for. Yeah they did not pay top dollar, but you had the ability to grow your career, work with good people, advanced, and where ok with the less pay because the company valued "work life balance" and did a decent job of investing in skill development/training. You actually felt like you can grow and build something that helps advance the brand, better serve the customers, and where better rewarded with innovative ideas. Now, it is all the bad of the tech world: work life balance out the door, health insurance benefits mid, constant threat of layoffs, a massive slide in technical leadership, a feeling of constant uncertainty/direction, gaslighting, a significant increase of teams backstabbing each other, more offshoring esp with sensitive customer data, political pandering, and paying customer satisfaction at an all time low. Unless it is automation or a way to layoff more people, innovate ideas are frowned upon esp if they challenge the "product model"/hired too many new managers. Current leadership team brags about how they "revolutionized" CVS, yet CVS when they where there, but look how bad CVS has performed over the past decade. I get that the only thing that matters is the stock price because everyone above director is paid with stock shares. I think the reason you don't see higher attrition rate is because the company is still pretty remote/hybrid (good thing they got rid of a significant amount of real- estate or else this would be different). However, there is going to be a strong return to office mandate soon even if the majority of your team is offshore in a different region of the country. If you do not live near an office because you believed the company about working remote, you either better relocate or start looking elsewhere. By the end of the year, there will be a new tech out that will have the ability to better track remote workers/hybrid users and HR is already looking at it as a way to eliminate/reduce remote workers.

Perfectly said, @rh+1kgyvphgn.

Just heard it from a leader in RMC that JR in RMC doesn't believe in inline promotions anymore. You have to get a new job in the bank to get a promotion. Of course that only applies to people who are not remote. The only people getting promotions in her area this year will be a very extreme small subset of what used to get approved. No more midyear off-cycle promotions anymore either.

The old days of treating employees like people are long gone. New culture is here to stay.

Will mandatory RTO for the rest of the organization ever come? It’s a shock it hasn’t happened yet as a soft RIF. Does anyone have insight?

Ive heard executives for the last few years have been trying to figure out how to end fully remote work. Has anyone else heard if this is true or not? Are they really trying to get people back into the office after they’ve been doing real estate reductions?

I think most Fiserv employees are now familiar with Corelation INC? The remote work option is awesome, of course. But look at the salary ranges for the positions being offered. Are they for real? These are all low-salary utterly beginner-level salaries. What do others think?

1. Capped earnings — introducing plans where up to 60% of payout is effectively unreachable.
   1. Rigid RTO mandates — reversing years of successful remote performance with no clear productivity rationale.
   2. Artificial gating — 50% storage gates that suppress commissions even when deals close.
   3. Unattainable quotas — targets set beyond realistic market conditions to control compensation expense.
   4. Remote = stalled careers — limiting promotions for employees who remain remote despite proven results.
   5. Frozen pay growth — eliminating merit raises regardless of performance.
   6. Commission erosion — reducing or eliminating commission opportunities that once defined sales roles.
   7. No in-role advancement — blocking progression within current positions, removing career pathways.
   8. Constant quota changes — moving goalposts mid-year, undermining trust and planning.
   9. Vanishing checks — commission statements that frequently fail to reflect closed, booked business.

How flexible/hard honestly would it be to ask for 2 days in office vs 4. LM site.. the drive on I4 is getting brutal.

I'd bet money that remotes are gonna start getting the heat sooner than later in regards to layoffs. Dell has made it abundantly clear that they want EVERYONE to be local to an office and there is no new remote job opportunities anymore.

Remotes have been getting hit during layoffs but I think they are gonna get hit a LOT harder, and frequently in the coming year(s)

New positions are not offered remote anymore. Remotes aren't eligible for promotions because ALL job movement REQUIRES you to be onsite now. For i8's and above, that's likely not an issue as they rarely ever get promoted anyways... but, I'd bet that bonus's and/or raises will either decrease or be non-existent for remotes soon enough, to force them to quit. Essentially forcing those i8s+ to quit as their job became a literal dead-end job (unless they relocate.) And since Dell doesn't assist with relocation...

My guess is they will start with the remotes who are below an i8 first, get rid of a lot of them, then will move up to i9 - i10s, then go after the Sr. Managers - whom most got knocked down to i10's last year anyways... Then move up to the director level. Or maybe it'll be the other way around; but if you are full remote, I'd be very cautious because you are slowly having a big red target painted on your back..

Point is that remotes are IMPO going to feel the brunt of layoffs going forward. I mean if Dell wants everyone to be in office then they have to start axing remotes eventually... I'm sure there will be exceptions but those will be few and far between and only reserved for those whom are VITAL to their org - execs, sr directors, VP's, and that's likely about it.

It's an hour commute for me to go to the office daily and it SU-KS! But I'm kinda glad I was forced to because I just have a feeling that remotes are going to start getting hit far more. Maybe not this year but it's coming 100%...

I came across this article recently that Microsoft Teams will soon be able to track worker locations by their phone if it is installed. The new feature was due to be released in January but was delayed to this March.

I thought the timing was interesting since we were originally due back in the office 4 days a week in January but it was pushed back to March. Could be a coincidence but I wanted to share this so people aren't surprised when MS Teams begins to share your location 24/7 with WFC.

https://cybernews.com/tech/microsoft-teams-employee-tracking-feature-delay-managers-look-forward/

Has anyone heard when Phase 2 of RTO will take place? Assuming outer offices will return 5 days and remote employees given a chance to move closer to an office. Do we think management has already been fighting for remote works to be given an exception ( I’m referring to those in Sales)

Previous post about RTO is gone. Is anyone hearing anything?

What our employer is doing may not be illegal, but it is absolutely intentional.

People who have worked remotely for ten years are suddenly being told to commute hours every day. No individual consideration. No acknowledgement that some people do not even have the means to comply. Dress codes are being tightened after years. Compensation reviews are promised, then quietly abandoned. All of it is happening right in between layoff rounds.

Individually, each change can be defended. Together, they create pressure. Pressure that leadership knows will cause people to quit.

That pattern has a name. Constructive dismissal, also called constructive discharge. It is when working conditions are changed in ways that predictably push people out without formally laying them off.

This approach may help avoid certain legal thresholds, but it does not make it ethical. It places sustained psychological pressure on employees by design. People are left in prolonged uncertainty, forced to make impossible choices between their jobs and their lives, their families, their finances, and their health. The stress is not incidental. It is cumulative and relentless.

For some, this kind of management creates anxiety, sleeplessness, depression, and a constant sense of threat. When policies are used to push people out while leadership remains silent, employees are made to feel trapped and disposable. In extreme cases, this pressure has contributed to serious mental health crises, including people being pushed toward self harm. That is not a side effect. This is the intention.

Legal or not, it is a sh---y thing to do to people who have given years of their lives to a company.

Thoughts? It's insane how they are tracking too.

The layoffs - which are expected to be permanent - were attributed to "operational changes in CVS Health Aetna's Small Group business segment," according to the letter. Layoffs will occur between early April and late July, according to the letter.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/cvs-health-to-lay-off-over-300-remote-employees-who-report-to-aetna-hq-in-hartford/ar-AA1VKElx

https://www.ctinsider.com/business/article/cvs-health-aetna-layoffs-hartford-21335365.php

Something is happening. No clue what. But all associates were instructed to work from home tomorrow.

"We will discuss important organizational updates and critical information about our organization."

I know they exist. I see the people in webphone. So, why are they the exception? I see job posting with “5 days in-office”, but clearly, that’s not always the case. Applying internally, are all the jobs genuinely gonna be 5 days in office still?

There are so many opportunities I would love to see through, but I am not gonna commit to another job with 5-day mandatory office. I can’t do it anymore.

Are you looking for an exciting opportunity to manage workforce transitions and offshore operations? We are seeking a candidate to join our operations to assist with local workforce reductions and restructuring initiatives.

Job Requirements:

• Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment to recklessly reduce headcount
• Ability to follow directives (be a Yes-man) and execute strategy without reservation (don't ask questions).
• Extensive experience in minimizing FTE value while promoting offshore and H-1B talent.
  • Familiar with AI. We've been claiming there we know AI just secure our position in the company but now the lies have caught up to us and we need someone that really knows it so we take credit from you.

Perks:

• Exemption from Return-to-Office (RTO) policy.
• Work from home and spy on employees.
• Opportunity to lead workforce management strategies (degrade employees to force them to quit).
  • High potential bonuses - the more workers terminated, the bigger the payout.

https://apple.news/AB3GL7V95R7qXMGPLPTdnqw

The best employees in the world are trusted to work where they want, when they want, and how they want. Not because no one is watching, but because they’re capable adults with talent, character, and integrity. When you hire people like that and give them autonomy, they consistently deliver more than any mandate ever will.

A five-day RTO policy sends the opposite signal. It tells top performers they aren’t trusted. And they respond the way the market always does, they leave. What’s left is a shrinking, less competitive talent pool made up of people with fewer options, the bottom quartile of talent.

If connectivity and flexibility are truly our product, we should be the company that proves it works, not the one that contradicts its own message.

Been with the company for 2 years, only had 1 meeting in person. Why cant we just be remote?

About 10 were displaced today from the Barn (they were all WFH but based in Oregon). Estate care center. I wonder how many folks from the Barn remain that are still working from home.

Worth reading:
https://www.inc.com/leila-sheridan/kevin-oleary-loves-why-his-companies-will-never-force-a-return-to-the-office/91291726

Kevin O’Leary, a real investor with actual companies laid out why forcing people into offices is a losing strategy:

“If you’re trying to say to people, ‘Oh, you got to work in an office,’ you’ll just get the bottom quartile of people who have no choice.”

I was a product manager laid off with no notice. The severance package su-ks. Plus given less than 60 days of pay until I'm officially laid off from company. I think they are trying to get rid of Remote employees.

i walk in, log into MS Teams, and talk to people who are halfway across the world. i don’t even know what they look like, and most of them are contractors

I forgot my laptop at home and didn’t realize it until I got to the office. It’s kind of hilarious how there’s literally no work to do without it. No systems. No tools. Nothing.

Which exposes the flaw in the whole RTO and “collaboration” argument. If presence alone created value, being here would still matter without a laptop. But it doesn’t. All the actual work still happens digitally, exactly the same way it does at home.

If the office adds no functional capability beyond what a laptop provides, then forcing people to commute just to open the same apps on a different desk defeats the entire purpose.

I know there are people active on this site that have been helpful as we’ve faced these recent layoffs.
I’m curious if they, or anyone, has credible information on the strategy here. It seems this past round had a large focus on remote, performance review, and a bit grading. Is there a magic number of reduction we are aiming for? Or a magic number of remote workforce?

Was laid off last Wednesday with the rest of the team. Was told HR would help with finding employment and it was encouraged to communicate with hiring managers. How can I communicate without slack/internal email? Also, I need remote employment and none of these other jobs offer remote. They simply don’t care about members and their own employees. So much for the culture and leadership. This place will go down. It is just a matter of time!

I see many job postings for Austin online but am curious if that is a shift to bring staff back locally instead of India? What are your thoughts?

Just got email from emergency response telling us to wfh tomorrow.
Good news.

You get to work remote PLUS level up a job grade!

How many years of service?
Remote or hybrid?
Current Age:
Position level:

It's coming. They're going to do it. They're gonna say we are a co-located company first, and you have 6 months to get back into an office or you're considered voluntarily terminated.

Start saving now and always have a plan. Juan doesn't care about remote employees.

Only been a couple of weeks and I am already on my 2nd and 3rd rounds with two remote companies offering higher pay and minimal travel. Anyone else planning their exit after bonuses?

So we are mercenaries if we prefer to work from home? He didn't even answer the question that was asked and then said we are an in-person company. No we aren't. Haven't been for awhile but gotta get those mercenaries into the office so we don't waste money on all our corporate real estate. No issue with coming into the office a few days a week but to call us mercenaries is a ludicrous thing to say. Do better Rick.

Heard a few people got exemptions to work remotely after building closed. How many out there has this happened to?

I'm trying to work remotely today and the WiFi says no connections available when in fact there are many available connections. For example, My cellphone is connect to the WiFi and I can see all of the WiFi connections from my phone. This happened to me last Thursday as well and when I went to the office it worked. Did the company decide to shut down WiFi and force employees to go to the office by shutting down the WiFi?

In case people have not heard the directors of several LOBs have granted remote work during the time when everything in Minneapolis is going down.