Several long time employees were FIRED last week for not returning to the office despite manager approval. Fired, no severance, gone after high performance and decades of service. Nothing descent matters to these people.
43 replies (most recent on top)
@19h OT far exceeds two rule sets. To speak in such absolutes makes you sound like a simpleton. Clearly this is a method of cheaper WFR to reduce layoff numbers, but logically the people who come in 2 or fewer days per week would all be gone before they start firing people that don't stick around all day. Especially when you consider the communication that has been passed down at every level, which is that 1 swipe = 1 day.
@rn I had the reading comprehension to understand that RTO meant RTO. You can't have two rule sets. Always go with the stricter one.
This was so obviously telegraphed as a way to cull the herd. There's just no other way to see it and if you didn't, you're just stupid. Plain and simple.
First ..a little levity..
This is the funniest comment I have seen on this site in quite a while:
"You have to have the IQ of a broken doorknob to have been fired over this." 😂🤣😅😆
That said,I have 50 years in tech..the RTO policy is designed to mitigate risk of lawsuits from terminated employees..purposely vague.
They also don't want to have to payout large severance packages....
I have worked at several companies..we never needed a policy that laid out when we needed to be in the office. They trusted us.
If anything..this hard line 5 day RTO policy reflects how OT feels about and has always treated its employees:
1) Zero Trust 2) Fear Based 3) No-Value..
You are all temporary..at some point you will be jettisoned, your contributions are valued until they aren't.
Everyone should look at this policy as another reason to have a Plan B and have 6 months of savings..and always keep your eye out for better opportunities.
OT should be a pit-stop on your career journey particularly now, in an environment where the only way to ensure its long term survival will be to break it up, or be aquired. In which case to make the transaction acreative will be to fire legacy OT people as soon as KT is completed. (Rather ironic because this is what OT did on almost all of its acquisitions)...a fitting end. The current leadership is in place to accomplish this and ride off into the sunset with their millions in compensation for their temporary contributions.
Get a Plan B would be the best insurance for individuals working there.
I’m in that retirement age group & not agreeing to RTO. I’m ok with it. Policy is if not agreed to WFH, mid Jan. Is the termination date, WFH until then. Pkg offered at that time. I started before XP. Lots of knowledgeable let go or retired. work the same job as someone else only on a higher level team and because I’m not within the range by 3 mi. and that person is, I had to RTO but chose not to. Mgmt is Clueless, because that other person works about 2 to 3 hours a day. My guess is that person will be let go eventually. Maybe I won’t make it til then. The new CEO seems office only.
Just got told that company wants to make an example of those who don’t complete the mandatory compliance training by EOD May 8. They will terminate few folks who don’t comply.
Wonder if this also applies to those who aren’t spending a set number of hours in office!
@r3 funny you mention iq when you have no reading comprehension ability
@r6 I never saw the director in the office until recently.
@r5 so they were coffee badging or not going to site at all ?
@r3 You missed the part where the directors firing for RTO, did not RTO, and implicitly approved remote.
It is the unequal application that is the problem.
I don't really understand how any functioning adult could see these RTO mandates and think "that doesn't apply to me, they won't fire me."
That's entirely what it is designed to do.
You have to have the IQ of a broken doorknob to have been fired over this.
@qq sales are increasing, we are hiring and returning to growth
The policy has 1 goal - to fire people and save on payouts, it was intentionally vaguely written and employees were encouraged to work with their managers, no warnings were given. It's a great strategy to avoid layoffs news and save money by sc--wing employees. They fired people for bad pulse feedback before, the company has no direction, the products they aquired over the years are dying from layedoff talent. customers are losing support, presales and sales are dropping. Run.
@qk sounds more like am anxiety disorder than an office issue
Whats the issue with sitting in an office with headphones on for a few hours
@qk so now you have no salary but 100 dollars saved from gas , not very smart
I was also fired last week. Over 15 years there. I didn’t agree with the mandatory RTO since I was alone even in the office. I was the only member of my team in this country and still collaborated with my teammates via Teams no matter where I was sitting. I could not afford $100 a week in gas just to sit by myself. It was so stressful I would physically get sick from my anxiety of having to go to the office.
Read the comments on this LinkedIn post from Mark B. This shows how disconnected executives are from the real world.
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/markbarrenechea_100-years-of-turandot-at-teatro-alla-scala-share-7451360825258418177-ZzEU?
@kc I never said anything about fairness. Personally I have no problem being in the office 8 hours a day. It’s the overall ambiguity that’s frustrating. There are people in my office that are literally wondering if they are going to be fired for taking off 2 hours for something like a doctor’s appointment or to pick up their kids.
@kk, yes the policy is on OTCi, but it doesn't specify clear expectations around hours. It says "employees should work with their managers on daily hours and schedules that work best."
@kb The policy in on OTCi.
@ke well the policy is 8.30 to 5 as your contract states
If you really want to push them then they can force you to do full days
@kc It is, until they start laying people off for not putting in 5 or 6. The point is zero specifics on the requirement. It does allow them to be flexible in termination for cause. So maybe that is ultimately the point.
@kb honestly isn't 4 hours a day in the office fair enough ?
My manager actually said this a few months ago. "We're only tracking if you badge in at least once a day. Technically you could badge in and out at 11:59 pm, then badge in again at 12:01 am and be credited with 2 days." For sure that didn't smell right. Now we're hearing "at least 4 hours / day in the office." The biggest issue is ZERO communication what the actual policy is.
@js managers are clueless in OT
@gx Multiple managers above those people told them that what they were doing is absolutely fine
@h8 Agreed, once you leave the office, work is done for the day.
Just pretend it’s 1985 and go into the office, but don’t bring your laptop home and don’t use a company mobile phone. Use this opportunity for returning to work/life balance.
They threatened us with dismissal 2 years ago for failure to RTO. This isn't new.
@OP so people who refuse to abide by company policy should get a package????
@OP Can confirm. I'm one of these people.
@c6 wtf is wrong with you?
@cr it’s all about the stock price, full stop. And selling a point that makes our shareholders the most money.
@c6 In my city, 9 miles took one hour to drive during peak hours.. People already hate unreasonable RTO. If your company is as big/strong as Tesla, Google, AWS... Yes, you can ask employees to do RTO because they got paid well.
However, in OpenText, the business is going down.. It's not because people don't want to go back office... It's the entire business model is wrong... and C-level have to fix it instead of punishing employees.
@a8 so if all of them did the coffee badging and knew it was against company policy why they still doing it and why they still have a job? The policy is one for all or nothing at all period.
Fake news. The RTO policy applies only if you are itching 50kms of an office. Designed for folks outside of North America. Most North Americans are pretty A-okay with a 50km.one way travel. In most cities, that would amount to 40 minute one way ride. No one in their right mind would want to lose their job over RTO at least in the US and Canada. If you fall outside it the 50KM radius, you can continue being virtual .
There's a lot of fake news on this forum. Please stop dear mongering
Yep. No faults at all toward the fabulous mandate, nor the wonderful, employee-focused "leaders" that imposed, monitor or enforce it. It's always 100% on the workers, when you are a bootlicker.
Saves them valuable thinking time, and reduces headaches that way.
@an agreed we need to justify owning/renting the office space to share holders. So it’s either all in the office or all virtual and we stop having offices. No hybrid.
@ac take it easy . The people have no one to blame but themselves if they didnt follow the policy, it's very simple
The directors will be gone in due course, don't worry
@a8 Do you have reading comprehension problems?
The issue is that those that implicitly approved, and participated in RTO noncompliance are not punished.
In other words, the RTO firing excuse is not uniformly enforced. Directors that also did not RTO are firing people for not RTO
Do you understand now?
I would expect even a bootlicker to be able to think critically and avoid simplistic black and white assessments like yours.
Again, I am disappointed.