#worklifebalance

No matter where you work, you should work toward accumulating a financial base to where you can tell anyone that they can go “F’ yourself”. This takes time, a lifetime in some cases but it can be done.

Don’t spend your raises or bonus’s and funnel your extra money into investments. On raises and bonus’s, put about 10% of that aside to reward yourself but be as frugal as you can be. Now Citi does not make this easy as they are extremely lacking in rewards for a job well done but still this is an achievable goal. Work toward a 1 month pay in liquid cash, then 3 months. Put this amount in a CD at a fixed interest rate. Then work toward 6 months, put this into a CD. Then 9 months, same thing, then a full year same thing. Again this takes time. Once done though, as they mature, you’ll be faced with a decision to cash them in or roll them over. Stagger each CD purchase to where they don’t all mature at once. I get it, I really do. This is not a quick fix, its not a fast turn around and you have to spend money to live. It’s a choice though that’s worth the sacrifice. Max out your 401K always.

Resist the urge to have the latest and greatest Iphone, entertainment center, PC, car….etc. … Work hard toward wealth, not money. Build enough wealth to where you don’t care what Citi does. Enough cash reserves to where if you get let go, its of no significance to your life.

If this is so great and fail safe why am I still working at Citi, you may be thinking. I have a good gig. I’m happy and I get paid. Should Citi ever deem my employment no longer needed, that’s ok too. Should Citi ever do or mandate something that I don’t care for, no issue there, I’ll just walk. Simple as that.

I admit, its not always been that way but like I said, this takes a tremendous amount of time and its exponentially harder to do if you have kids but this is what Citi hinges on. They rely on your desperation, your continued need to have to have this job. The more desperate you are, the more you can be abused and strong armed to work crazy hours with the implied “or else” that’s aways preached. They are masters at telling you several things to enforce this. Key phrases such as “its a bad job market out there” , “better the devil you know”, “other banks operate just like this” and on and on. At times all of this is true, at times only some of it and at times none of it is true.

There are other job sectors to look into you know. Citi would have you believe that this is the only place you can ever work and this is the only place that would ever employ you. It’ll do you no good to ever look anywhere else for a job, this is as good as its ever going to get in your life. This is just not true so don’t buy into it.

Work hard, invest what you can, invest in yourself as well (skillset), be patient, network outside of Citi, take care of your heath and work toward the goal of having enough money to where you walk away anytime you want to.

My early 50s don't have much of a chance to start up again somewhere else. Time to stock market casino time and roll the dice with what I have built up. Do or die time.

Hey fellow managers in banking/tech – thinking of jumping into (or back to) Wells Fargo for that fat comp? Here's the unvarnished math from the trenches (thelayoff.com + earnings calls).

Benefits (Why You'll Go):
Top-tier pay: Base + bonus/RSUs often beat peers by 20-30% in tech/LOB roles.
​Scale exposure: Run massive legacy stacks migrating to cloud/AI (Columbus project, SOA) – resume gold for enterprise gigs.
Network: Charlotte HQ builds C-suite connections if you survive reorgs.

Costs (Why You'll Leave Burnt):
Rank-and-yank he-l: Forced curves mandate 15-20% IM/NI ratings; first-timers get "no initiative" dings despite metrics. Expect IM → PIP → term in 3-6 months, no severance.
​RTO grind: 3-4 days/8 tracked hours ki-ls flexibility; global calls "stolen" by reset clocks tank productivity/morale.
​Efficiency meat grinder: AI/offshore push (3 US → 4 offshore) + layoffs (~70k gone) means constant fear; learn toxic politics over tech.
​Net: 2-3 year stint max. Milk pay, document everything (JIRA wins ignored), pivot to AI governance roles elsewhere. Long-term? Builds grit but scars your management style – unlearn the blame-shifting. Who's hiring WF escapees?
​

Recent MBA Fit
Strong no for fresh MBAs: High pay lures, but you'll inherit unlearnable habits like subjective 360s, quota-driven firings, and "efficiency" as code for attrition. Better: Goldman or fintechs teach scalable leadership without the toxicity.
​
Skills Learned vs. Unlearned
Learn: Enterprise-scale ops, regulatory compliance, AI-augmented legacy migration – transferable to Big Tech/banks.
​
Unlearn: We-ponized subjectivity (blame-shifting, seagull management), quiet-quitting survival, offshore distrust – antithetical to healthy cultures. Nets negative for career velocity; 47% attrition risk in year 1 per forums.
​

Belk is seriously cracking down on managers having any hourly position working off the clock. That includes keeping hourly associates waiting to leave at store closing in the evening once clocked out. so once your hourly associates have clocked out they are free to leave. , even if it’s only a 5 minute wait. Also, hourly associates can’t be required to work past scheduled time, if their schedule says an 8pm end shift, that’s when they are free to leave and nothing can be done about it, RVP and HRBP won’t back you up on this.

I think I should say this. I had heard good things about PNC and had found a couple positions I wanted to apply for in Technology, but after hearing the CEO‘s decision on a 5 day work week, and how the morale has completely changed, there is no way that I want to work for PNC. I truly believe I’d be miserable every day. I will take my talent and expertise where employees are cared about and respected.

Well for those fortunate enough to keep their jobs, hearing RTO 5 days a week is coming as part of the new strategy going forward. Gone are the Friday through Monday "4 day weekends" many have been enjoying. Covid is long over...time for everyone to get back in the saddle 5 days a week.

Many of us are just hanging out at work doing the very minimum work that we can get away with without getting fired all awhile laughing about getting paid well for doing almost nothing. Also laughing about how we all know we're being replaced by automation and off-shoring and that we'll eventually be laid off. Well haha yeah we WANT to be laid off! And we ain't leaving until they PAY us to leave! It's so easy to just stay on the payroll and take advantage of all the paid days off for all the many reasons. And we laugh because we just don't care! Also because the company cannot touch us. Haha... no matter what you say, we just don't give a flying fock!

How does the HR calculation work?
Is it considered only 4 days every week or can we do all 16 days together and get 4 days WFH in last week ?

How does it work in other locations ?

Not your performance or dedication. Worse, actually. Being both skilled and experienced pushes you towards the top of the list, because quality is costly. Don't bother trying to prove yourself in the coming weeks, or doing extra work in an attempt to save your job. Definitely don't take being laid off personally. In this stage of corporate greed and extreme short-term thinking, it's more likely a badge of honor than a statement on your worth as an employee.

Indefinitely? Until we all go nuts from anxiety?

The facility I work at still pays us for 7 holidays, but only gives us the day off for 3 of them: Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years Day.

Is this the new normal for everyone in Pharma?

I was just checking out the Layoff board for UHC, and their last comment was like a month ago! Are Optum employees the only ones living with this whirlwind of layoffs? If so, I'll jump off of this nightmare cruise and head over there! Waiting to be laid off is so stressful...

So, for people that have now stepped into new roles because of the layoffs and people that left, are we getting salary adjustments? does anyone have any insight on this? or are we just "lucky to have a job" and are supposed to shut up and take it?

Many of us would just like to be done with CA. The constant layoffs create undue stress on the employees. The stress and the health effects are not worth a couple of dollars extra.
But I wanted the severance as many of us do. Afterall in the world of layoffs why should we get the severance when we leave.
So, this is how I did it.
1) Quietly back off on the work you do. Be less productive but not to the point where HR takes notice.
2) Throw in a couple of mistakes here and there.
3) This is key. Casually let your boss know that you are thinking about retiring or leaving the company. Nothing official and absolutely nothing in writing. Provide no solid date.
a. If you do this well, they will start planning for your departure.
4) Never quit. Just mention is casually here and there. Eventually they will plan for your departure but when you do not leave, they will be forced into a layoff.
There! Several is not many thousands of dollars in your pocket.

It's just the fear of the cr-ppy job market that's keeping me here, nothing else.

Fired? No consequence if they go for some days?

I actually like the work I do, but the conditions are wearing me down fast. We're constantly short-staffed, people leave every month, people get laid off all the time, and the pay just doesn't make up for the stress. It's making me seriously question if I should stick with this entire field. Does it ever get better, or is this just how it is everywhere?

Is CAT digital in Chicago 5 day RTO? Also how is the work culture and work life balance here?

How long do I have? Im in CTO. Never got that rating before. Basically the rating said I’m good at my job but don’t take initiative blah blah blah. I knew it was coming. Don’t care, ready to be done with this place. Do I have until summer at least?

Last year, I was informed that I would have to switch to a non-exempt contract because the salary limit had been exceeded with the last agreed increase. Has anyone else received this? It gave me the impression that they wanted to get everyone from the old collective contracts. Has anyone refused this?

well ONSEMI in hudson hit the iceberg lol, now it’s slowly sinking it will close people , But some will stay to the end because u are afraid of changed , plus where else can u go do errands , stay on your cell phone , sit the cafe for a hour , with out punching out lol. yes next job u have u will have to work for a living . anyways God Bless finish those puzzles

Do you still need to work and hand off all your projects while you're still on payroll?

It’ll be hard as pressure will be applied under the guise of “meet the goal or else” but just put in 8 hours per day…..ONLY. Let the days of 50-60 hours per week be a thing in the past. Those of you who did work like that last year, what did you get out of it? No increase in comps, possible layoff and if you survive more work to pick up the slack.

Don’t do it out of anger or spite. Just let the layoff set the pace going forward. Clock in, work, go home. 8 hours only, no more, no less.

If you grind hard, you get let go.
If you do just enough to keep from getting fired, you still may be let go but its not quite as bitter as putting in tons of extra hours and then getting the axe.

This is what I would say…respectfully of course.

Your employees have stood behind you helping PNC stay successful. Without us, it could not be done. Every single one of us contributes in some way. You are getting a lot of heat regarding your decision. Is this the legacy that you want to be remembered by? A CEO who didn’t care about his employees? I know you have heart, Bill. I’ve seen it.

You were so upset about not being able to reach several direct reports. If your directs can’t be reached, I’d be upset too. But hold them individually accountable, not the entire bank.

Your children are grown, I believe. If I’m wrong, I apologize. This company has alot of single moms struggling to support their children. In most families with two parents, they both have to work. Trying to juggle getting them to school and back home, daycare costs and keeping food on the table has become more challenging than ever. Most of us don’t make enough money to hire a nanny. We want to have enough time with our children to raise them well. Our children are the future businessmen and women of this country. Nothing can replace that valuable time with our children to help them grow into successful adults, make good decisions and always be open to other people’s perspectives. To always be respectful to everyone, because you never know what they may be dealing with. And when you can help someone less fortunate, you should. Be loving, be kind, be supportive.

Those that are happy with the return to office decision are ones who can afford to do so. We aren’t pushing back because we’re lazy people or big babies! Maybe there is a very small percentage that seem to take advantage. Hold those people accountable, not the employees who produce and do their jobs effectively.

Put yourself in our shoes for 1 day. Partner with a single mom for a day and see the challenges. Having to choose between paying the gas bill or putting food on the table. Do you know what that feels like? The cost of commuting whether by bus or car 5 days a week is expensive.

You’ve said how successful we’ve been before & after covid, now all of a sudden it’s hurting the company to work from home. It’s contradictive. We know there are other reasons behind your decision.

I’m asking you to consider coming out and saying you have heard how your employees feel, and maybe have us come in 3 days a week. Inform your management team not everyone can’t wtf mondays and fridays. It should be well coordinated for coverage purposes. For department meetings, everyone in person. That little bit of flexibility will go along way, Bill. Going back on a decision doesn’t make you a weak leader, Bill. It shows everyone that you are a human being who cares about his employees. That you recognized after the fact, this decision was going to cause more hardships than you anticipated. I guarantee if you did that, your employees would be much happier and so appreciative. When employees are happy at work, they tend to go above and beyond more.

You guys got it all wrong. It’s all about saving the youth from isolation. Fighting traffic, fighting for office space and waiting for the next round of layoffs is needed to save humanity! See and hear for yourselves. :-(

https://www.wsj.com/video/series/wsj-leadership-institute-leaders/why-atts-25-billion-plan-demands-a-new-corporate-culture/91BB8221-DDDA-49CB-B565-5356447B351F?mod=WSJvidctr__pos0

AT&T literally:
sells connectivity
sells remote access
sells cloud voice
sells VPNs
sells mobile data
sells collaboration tools
…while forcing its own people to drive 2 hours a day to sit on Teams calls in an open space with no assigned seating.

Add Stank - a tired, clueless, utility salesman, now targeting and trolling Tmobiles LinkedIn, begging for customers.

Add a stock thats dropping from 28 to now down to 23, it will keep going down.

Could you be more pathetic?

Here's one guy's take on this move vs. don't move.

ACCEPT:

If you are a L2 or L3 with little or no experience outside of AT&T. As in, you joined out of high school, military service, incomplete college, or an online degree
If you are in a role/job title in which you do not meet the minimum qualifications. As in, AT&T calls you a PM but you have never actually managed a project or if they call you an engineer but lack the qualifications to work on a L1 NOC.
If your role recommends an advanced degree but you never completed the undergrad.
If your 'industry experience' means that you are familiar with most of AT&T's products.
If you feel that your job at AT&T challenges your mental abilities.
Or, the inverse - If you feel that AT&T is a cake job and you feel like you get paid for doing nothing.
If you accidentally/purposefully took credit for work or ideas that weren't actually yours.
Finally, if you believe that losing your job at AT&T would make you unemployable at the salary that AT&T has shackled you with.
If you answer yes to any of those, you should consider relo. You are the kind of person AT&T wants.

REJECT:

If you have at least 1 prior position working in your chosen field with 3+ years of experience prior to AT&T.
If your supervisor has ever disparaged formal education or prior experience.
If you do not feel challenged by your role and consider that to be a 'bad thing'.
If the idea of fighting for office space reminds you of being back in kindergarten.
If you're tired of having to explain technology basics to your coworkers and managers.
If you feel that AT&T puts dividend checks before employees or customers.
If you're tired of hearing the story about that time your id--t director almost played a significant role in that billion dollar startup.
If you're tired of inept leaders who frequently remind you that Bill Gates, Michael Dell, and Steve Jobs didn't have college degrees all while they rely on chatgpt to make up for their 8th grade writing skills.
If you are competent, confident, and employable.
If you answer Yes to most of these, you should hit the REJECT button. Take the package, brush up on soft skills. Practice interviews without using "AT&T" in every answer. Don't talk to your leadership any more than you have to. You aren't under any obligation to train your replacement. "I support my team and my customers" is a perfectly reasonable answer. If your director or VP can't explain what you're working on, tough luck, buddy. Guess that's another thing you don't have in common with Dell or Zuck.

Just remember, if you are willing to let your employer dictate your very life, you are EXACTLY the person THEY are looking for. Make no mistake, you aren't valuable to them. Just the opposite, you are a peg to fill a hole. You are table stakes. And yes, you can be L3, L4, or higher and still be table stakes. Need I remind you of our engineering SVPs who clearly weren't technical but they fit a particular hole for a period of time.

I've made my decision. I hope this helps you make yours.

We've all been working our behinds off, so what this latest "warning" sounds like is more "now you'll do even more hours and skip holidays and work weekends and you'll be happy about it or we'll fire you for poor performance." They want more free labor, as simple as that.

I’m going to join the rest of you in Technology! PNC wants me in the office 5 days a week, no problem. Just to let managers know, when my shift ends, I am not available until the next business day at my starting time. I simply cannot make myself available during my commute into work or after work or on my personal time any longer. I have over an hour commute to and from work. I need to change my availability to be there for my family. It’s unfortunate because this is not something I wanted to do, but in order to accommodate my family I had to make some changes just like PNC had to do. As far as technology is concerned, I don’t think any managers should be reaching out after office hours when issues arise. It’s unreasonable to have employees come in the office every day and get home after 6 o’clock and then have managers calling you because online banking is down. My cell phone will be turned off.

People here are acting like something like this never happened before, to anybody. People will talk about it for a few days and it'll be forgotten. Move on, everybody.

I’ve been an employee for a long time. I honestly felt that I have been treated well and fairly throughout my career. I felt like management cared about me as a person. Having the flexibility and working in the office three days a week helped me to get a little more sleep as I wasn’t commuting every day. It helped me to balance doctors appointments for me and my family. I was able to take care of a chronically, ill family member. It made me happy to go above and beyond because I felt Pnc was going above and beyond with the work/life balance.

With the announcement today, I just can’t understand what is happening at PNC. With other employees around me being on calls all day long, I’m not sure what type of interaction they expect me to get. I can sit at my desk all day and not one person talks to me because they are on conference calls. I have nothing in common with any of them. We don’t do the same job. Not even close. The only thing that this is doing for me is costing me more money. Money that I don’t have. I don’t have the luxury of having paid parking downtown and although I appreciate the discount in the northside, it adds an additional 40 minutes onto my commute daily. (20 minutes each way, not to mention I’m getting up way earlier to come into the office to begin with.) I can’t afford to park downtown every day like some of the higher paid employees at the bank. I can’t afford to pay for someone to help a chronically ill family member. Through a program that is offered to us, It would cost me $125 a week. The chronically ill family member did not have an illness prior to Covid so I didn’t have to worry about this. Wtf 2 days a week helped me tend to their needs on my lunch time, and after work, but now I’m not able to do that as i’ll be downtown all day and will be getting home significantly later in the evening due to all the traffic for my commute home.

I’m honestly hurt by this decision and cannot believe we are not being given some flexibility for our families. We only have one life to live and we are just passing by on this earth. My family will always be my priority. Nothing will come before my family.

I've never been more productive in my entire career than while working from home. That's about to change. I have no intention of answering any more mails after working hours once RTO starts. Something urgent needs to be addressed as I'm about to leave? It can wait for the next day, I have to go home. And so on.

I’m asking you to message your director, your executive, your head of department to voice your frustrations. Let’s be real we have proven the remote model works very well. Acquiring BBVA and FirstBank, launching the new PNC website, onboarding over 11 million customers to a new user experience, beating earnings on a consistent basis, consistent dividend increases, record net income multiple times, becoming a top 5 national bank, and most importantly for the executives - a record high stock price less than a week ago. Let’s be real on another front, this announcement is driven by politics, power and greed. Don’t fall for the excuses. Well my friend Jamie Dimon did it, so why can’t we? Our shareholders don’t like empty buildings. Yea right our shareholders care about one thing only, ROI. (See above) Don’t fall for the corporate buzzwords that PNC loves to slurp on. “Being in the office fuels collaboration, sparks innovation, and helps us grow–individually and collectively.” In realty from someone who was five days in office, being in office fuels distractions, a longer commute, a reduce in W/L balance, and our carbon footprint (remember PNC loves the carbon footprint buzz-phrase). When a director or executive visited our floor, we were never approached or asked questions and if we tried to introduce ourself it was at the most a quick wave hi and goodbye. There was no collaboration. You took the time out of your busy schedule to come visit us and we couldn’t get a word in. Which is ironic because here we are yet again at a time where we are not given a chance to get a word in.

Long time FTE

In speaking to others during my lunchtime, we all agree that technology is going to be the biggest area that will suffer. And when technology suffers, the customer base will suffer. No one, and I mean no one is going to bend over backwards, work evenings, or weekends anymore without work/life balance. A lot of good talent will leave. And remember, even though we are replaceable, good talent takes time to find and bring up to speed. We are talking months! Who is going to pick up the slack? The managers? They can only do so much. They are already over stressed and overworked putting in so many hours.

The worst thing as well, is the media will get wind of this confirmation of a 5 day return to work requirement and PNC’s reputation is going to suffer. Mark my words. It will make them look bad. Why couldn’t we just be a leader in the banking industry and keep it at 3 days a week? Why do we always end up being the follower? Can you imagine the talent we could bring in with a good life/balance plan? At the end of the day, when employees are happy, they tend to go above and beyond for their employer. That’s a known fact.

So no flexibility for me??? Great, no flexibility from me when there are system problems. At 5pm, I’m off the clock. I will leave my laptop in my locker. That’s all folks!

Congratulations to the CEO for just destroying the work life/balance at PNC. Work/life balance no longer exists at PNC. Good bye to all the talent and hard working people at this business. He has no idea what he just did to his employees.

Typo fixed.

Let's wait and see instead of deciding this is the day or this is the week. It's not good for anybody's mental health.