150 Years of History, 0 Years of Perspective
I’ve been trying to process the absolute disconnect of AT&T’s "celebration," but the more I think about it, the more insulted I feel.
Today, leadership stood up and proudly touted a $250 billion infrastructure investment. A quarter of a trillion dollars. It’s a staggering number meant to impress shareholders and the media. But for the people actually building, selling, and supporting that infrastructure? We got a sticker and a stale cookie.
The "Grand" Celebration Breakdown:
The Investment: $250,000,000,000 for the network.
The Employee Reward: A single cookie and a sticker (and only if you were lucky enough to be at a "core" location).
The Message: If you aren't a piece of hardware or a fiber line, you aren't worth the investment.
It is genuinely embarrassing to work for a company that talks a big game about "culture" and "people-first values" while treating a once-in-a-century milestone like an afterthought. 150 years is a massive achievement, yet there wasn't even an attempt at a commemorative item or a gesture that felt permanent. A cookie is gone in thirty seconds; a sticker belongs in a middle school classroom.
The Downhill Slide
We’ve watched the employee experience erode year after year. Milestone anniversaries: once a point of pride in this company, have been gutted. To see them brag about billions in spending while failing to provide even a basic token of appreciation to the global workforce is the ultimate "read the room" failure.
We aren't asking for a slice of the $250 billion. We’re asking for respect. We’re asking for a culture that actually acknowledges the human effort behind the numbers. Instead, we got a sugar crash and a piece of adhesive paper.
AT&T isn't a "family" or a "culture" at this point, it’s just a giant machine that forgot it’s powered by people.