That's all the new RTO policy is about. I've seen several articles in the past few months where CEOs openly admit they're using RTO as an attrition tool, to get people to quit and reduce workforce without paying severance. I'm just wondering, do they really care so little about the best people walking away, since that's what's most likely to happen?
24 replies (most recent on top)
That's all very true. WFH allows me to take care of my kids, prepare meals, watch all of the important streaming series and news programs that I would otherwise miss during work hours. Also I can run errands, not have to spend money on gas and upkeep for commuting to and from the office and get paid the same as if I did, lol. And I am able to squeeze in a few minutes of work each day, just like at the office. I can't imagine why any employer would not want me to have that ideal work/life balance.
@bx why should high performers WFH take a paycut for the same job but different geography? That's ripe for a lawsuit. That would adversely affect caregivers (w/children or aging parents), who are still primarily women, and differently abled people.
@a4 Hybrid enabled mothers, caregivers, and differently abled people to re-enter the workforce. RTO mandates adversely affect this part of the pop the most. Hybrid allows people to see their families more, contribute to their communities, and cut back on commute time and costs, leading to healthier and happier employees who are thereby more productive employees. A handful of people may have been less productive on remote days and they should be managed but a blanket RTO order is backwards. One-size-fits-all is old and broken.
Hybrid is a Prescription for Healthier Employees: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/intentional-insights/202304/the-surprising-health-benefits-of-hybrid-work#:~:text=Hybrid%20work%20is%20a%20prescription%20for%20healthier%20employees.&text=Hybrid%20workers%20exercise%20more%2C%20sleep,more%20engaged%20and%20productive%20workforce.
12% more productive working from home:
https://edubirdie.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/DOES-WORKING-FROM-HOME-WORK.pdf
Positive impact on mental health: https://www.coworker.com/mag/why-hybrid-work-models-lead-to-happier-and-more-productive-employees#:~:text=Hybrid%20working%20can%20have%20a,employees%20they%20were%20created%20for.
I’m so glad I EOI. Best decision of my career
@a6 you are absolutely correct sir
You guys in the office are convinced that you produce some sort of a "product" now? Lmao. That's so cute.
@OP Just quietly quit or just look busy but reduce the finished product. With all the new reorganization it will not be noticed. Reduce your stress level. Send Uncle Mike some KY lube for Christmas...
@cf Great compilation. You forgot to add to that the layers upon layers of unadulterated overhead, aka BS, they've added via needless meetings and ceremonies to "appease" the egotistical sensitivities of the insecure and pathetic power hungry control freaks who wouldn't know how to connect and do work from home if their life depended on it!
An ABU SCM manager said 2028 is the next re org so if they think people won't sit on their hands and get ready for the next handout, they don't under people.
Im a contractor 15 years going on 16 at chevron. Working remotely and far from any office and love it. I feel bad bad for employees especially Houston employees who commute over 1 hour each way and wake up before the sun rise.
I don't know any fellow employees who based any of their decisions on where they live and commute on Covid, and the temporary covid work schedule. Am I out of the loop? I understand that it's an unwelcome change for people used to the schedule, but not life changing. I'm fortunate to still be getting a paycheck. Most of us have easy jobs. Have you people ever worked anywhere else? Doesn't sound like it.
@bm I don’t know about insourcing but Exxon friends I talk to have had bad to terrible experience with the BTC quality.
@cm, that’s exactly the point of this thread. People that made decisions on where to live and how to commute based on a 2/3 hybrid will become disgruntled and, over time, choose to leave voluntarily. The company won’t have to pay any severance, so it will have the desired effect.
What about people who got hired on a hybrid schedule and made choices on where to live, where to work, and how much compensation to ask for based on an advertised 2/3 hybrid?
@a4 I'm against it- and the notion that productivity needs to pick up- because I have twice the work that I did pre-COVID, WFH era. I'm still meeting my deadlines- barely- because the extra largely gets done in the time I save on commute and because I'm able to work more effectively (and, lbr, longer hours) at home. RTO is a net decrease in my productive time.
But wait! That's not all!
It also coincides with being asked to move to unassigned cubicle seating where the expectation is to tote the laptop and peripherals witg me whenever I leave 'my' desk for more than an hour at a time- yet more hassle and time lost to set up and take down. And I will still have the same amount of work- if not more so, given the ongoing reorganization and layoff.
Back when it was 5 days in (or 9 days in 10, with the 10th being the 9/80 Friday), I had (a) less work, (b) the expectation that I would leave work at work, and (c) an assigned workspace where my laptop, peripherals, and ergo settings would be undisturbed so I could get right back into it in the morning.
It's not just RTO. It's the combination of RTO, unassigned (and deliberately insufficient!) seating, toting your stuff back and forth (and hither and yon during the day!), AND the expectation to do more with drastically reduced time.
WFH works well for many and that is fine. If those that want to WFH would take a pay cut then that saves the company money. It saves on salary, transportation cost, carbon footprint, etc. Management needs to come up with a figure and offer a reduced salary for those that want to WFH. For those that would take reduced pay and continue to do a good job from home then that should fix it for employees and management. If management does not want to offer reduced pay it just proves it is all about having rears in seats at the office.
@a4 there is a much larger plan, execs and the 1% need to take back control from employees. Don’t be fooled, BCG, McKinsey or whatever consulting firm is just another 1% working to herd us back. “We’re doing this for our shareholders”, go look at who are the largest holders of stocks, it’s not us. Hit them where it hurts, take your stocks out of companies that are not for you, and start putting it into companies that are working in OUR interest.
@b6 I’ve heard so many people say that Shell and Exxon have been going back to “in sourcing” but when I look at the their career site, I see a lot of Bengaluru openings. I don’t even think we can trust what employees are saying.
@a4 "it has always been 5 days a week for decades"
so the world can evolve but not the way we work? Got it.
This has zero to do with productivity or collaboration. Leaders know well that even in the office space, the "collaboration" still happens on Teams calls. This is about control, real estate, and fear of adaptation
@az McKinsey selling weak Chevron leaders on what they just did with Exxon is the reason for Engine.
Talk to Exxon employees about how their BTC is going for a glimpse of our future.
WFH is the reason for ENGINE.
Get into the office asap. Sell your worth. ENGINE is currently visiting BUs as we speak. Use what ever excuses you want to justify WFH but it ridiculously scary and you wont win this game. USA leadership are coach, referee and score keeper. Wake up!
While I don’t think RTO 4 days a week is unreasonable I do not think the reason to have us RTO is for collaboration purposes. RTO 4 days a week is how they can weed out non-compliant employees in the next round of layoffs. I have lost a lot of respect for the LT for this pettiness.
I’m not a fan of MW or MN, and I don’t support the way they’ve damaged this company’s culture. That said, coming back 4 days a week is reasonable, and it will help productivity pick up. What I don’t get is why people are so against it. Is it because they moved far away from the office during the pandemic or just got too comfortable working from home? Either way, that’s a personal choice—but let’s be real, it has always been 5 days a week for decades.