23 Veteran Forced out of USAA....

I was deeply saddened to hear Wes’s story from Wayne’s World. At the heart of USAA's core values lies an unwavering commitment to service members and veterans in service, loyalty, honesty, and integrity. It is especially heartbreaking to hear about his situation during recent initiatives for PTSD awareness and Veteran Su----e Prevention (Never Walk Alone). How can we do right by our members if USAA leadership has such little respect for someone like Wes, who served our nation in four deployments between 2005 and 2016 over his 23-year Marine Corps career? How can we do right by anyone when we blatantly disregard all ADA and Veteran Protection laws, and embrace hypocrisies that define today’s company culture? It seems lately all USAA cares about is driving profits. The mission has taken a backseat – we let Wes walk his walk alone.

USAA has long recognized the immense importance of supporting veterans financially, emotionally, and mentally. In NEO, I was told we serve our military members above and beyond, so they could have one less thing to worry about. The decision to force someone whom Veteran Affairs recognizes as being 100% disabled to return to the office environment is not in alignment with USAA's core values nor with our initiative to prevent veteran su----e, not to mention a potential violation of the ADA. I am very sorry that Wes had no choice but to resign. It felt that he was forced out.

Especially for someone in Wes’s situation, in which his whole team is based in San Antonio except him, alone in an empty office can be a breeding ground for anxiety, stress, and triggering memories. The daily 250-mile commute, living in his camper three days a week, and being away from his family can all bring back memories of painful goodbyes to his family before his deployment. We should not downplay these veterans' immense daily challenges. We cannot disregard the mental anguish that may come from being thrust into a situation that exacerbates their condition. Instead, USAA should be a beacon of empathy, compassion, and understanding.

The initiative to prevent veteran su----e should not just be an empty slogan; it's a solemn duty we owe to those who have sacrificed so much for our freedom. It means recognizing the unique struggles that veterans with PTSD endure and making meaningful accommodations to support their well-being. There was also news about a bank employee who tragically ended his life. To my knowledge, this was not the only time a su----e happened on campus. Why do these things keep happening?

If USAA wants to make a difference to Veterans, it should start with military employees. We need to create an environment where veterans can choose their path to recovery, one that empowers them to heal at their own pace without the added stress of returning to an office. Remote work, flexible hours, and access to mental health resources are not mere conveniences but lifelines that can save those who have faced the horrors of war.

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My experience: USAA is anti veteran. It's not that they dislike veterans (they are agnostic on that), but they want a loyalty test where you betray something important to you and that has repercussions. For me it was taking my 85 year old father to a handful of VA appointments - my self-serving pipsqueak of a manager would spend more time harrassing me about this than I was actually away from my desk. Meanwhile he (my manager) was leaving early every single day for school pickup. Another one of their loyalty tests is seeing if you will pretend to believe something you both know is a lie. I failed both.

USAA is anti Veteran. I wish they would stop pushing their "Mission" and be upfront with their employees.
Veterans are a minority at USAA and they don't care. They are currently putting people through their "MTE" which is their sad excuse for veteran retention. I wish USAA was transparent enough to not hide their veteran attrition rate. We leave USAA because we don't want to be treated like children. Anybody who has served knows what I mean.
Open the membership to everyone. Rates are high as fu-k and people are tired of having to pay extra to be loyal to USAA. The company does not deserve people's loyalty.

USAA failed this employee. The Executive Council and the Board of Directors should be ashamed. This employee reached out for help and his manager, EC, and CEO turned the blind eye. The manager should be at least be terminated for failing the mission. Wayne’s full steam ahead on RTO is blinding him from seeing the mental damage he is inflicting on his employees.

This is disappointing, but not surprising. The fact that a former USAA employee took their own life in the parking garage, and the email showing pretend empathy was shorter than the email about the challenge supporting s----de prevention tells me that USAA doesn't actually care about the employees... It doesn't matter if they are veterans or not. Employees are replaceable.

@1kbf+1oyDwuZG, I disagree. First, you don’t have to disclose your disability when you get hired, and companies are forbidden by law to require disclosure. Second, companies likely cannot require being in the office as a “condition” of employment. Requiring this would lead to disparate impact, that is, making it harder for people with disabilities to get the job. Third, in Wes’s situation, he would likely be eligible to work remotely as a part of “reasonable accommodation” required by the ADA. Unless USAA can demonstrate that giving him remote status poses and undue hardship on the business, USAA’s denial of his accommodation is likely in the legal gray area.

I am very sorry for Wes and his situation, but not necessarily surprised. Unfortunately, we have lost too many of our military veterans that have worked in the company. All because in many cases, like Wes, there are things about a veterans mental health, that could include PTSD, that management is not prepared to handle. There’s no training that they receive on it, there’s very little guidance that they receive on it and they don’t know how to interact with the system, unless you have direct knowledge of it. I would hope if there was a way for us to reach out to Wes, we could do that , he absolutely needs some support.

Wesley's post is still up in the #wherewework channel. I don't even bother going to the #wa-kerworld channel where the WaynieWeenies worship at the altar. The way his situation was handled was beyond despicable. It also shows that the top execs only care about warm smelly butts in office seats 3/4/5/6/7 days a week, flexibility and humanity be damned.

I am a pretty disgruntled employee right now. However, Wes was hire this year and as part of his condition of employment at hire, he was required to be in an office. I struggle to feel bad about this situation. Why would you take the job? He still would have the problem even if people were in his location. I kind of agree with them denying this one.

The real question is why the post from Wes is still visible in Wayne's Slack channel. Did one of his admin goons forget to delete it? Or is Wayne leaving it there to demonstrate that he is the CEO and he could care less about employees?

@1ivy+1oyDwuZG

Her copy'n'paste reply in multiple threads was a joke as well. I guess that's what we have to expect from a "recognized" HR expert. When I think my life is tough, I just look at Tamla's CONNECT profile and remind myself that I could be a self-absorbed narcissist like her.

@1dvv+1oyDwuZG

Don't worry about Tamla. She will take her HR cronies to the spa and long lunches when the mean anonymous people on this site become too much to deal with.

@1ivy+1oyDwuZG her post was pathetic. To pay lip service to hearing employee comments about rto then in the same post completely disregard any of the previous discussion goes to show how little of a voice employees have at USAA.

Boo Tamla as well. Her response at the end of the post from Wes is tone-deaf and completely tasteless.

We are Wes

I am Wes

You are Wes

Can we all not just start booing Wayne at the next town hall? This was actually the most shameful thing I’ve read

"Since you won't respond to my email sent last week, I will post it here."
Wesley didn't come to play!
Team Wesley.

"In NEO, I was told we serve our military members above and beyond, so they could have one less thing to worry about. "

It's a shame. That mentality is freshly lost at the upper layers, and has poisoned into the Trust and Safety group and the Office of the CEO, as of June 2023.

In my situation, none of them ever said "thank you for your service" after being identified as a Veteran. They all treated me like I was a pariah, and wanted me gone.

My story:
https://www.dontbankwithusaa.com

I sent physical typewritten letters to my US Senator, and to the Congressmembers/Senators on the US Veterans Affairs Committee. In it, I asked them to consider initiating inquiries into what is going on at USAA, and I asked them to consider suspending USAA's ability to offer VA loans as penalty...things that entice Servicemembers/Veterans in joining.

You are spot on. On top of that, we did not receive any emails acknowledging 9/11 today from any of our leadership.. It's sad that the apple has fallen so far from the tree..

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23 Veteran Forced out of USAA....

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