So we are mercenaries if we prefer to work from home? He didn't even answer the question that was asked and then said we are an in-person company. No we aren't. Haven't been for awhile but gotta get those mercenaries into the office so we don't waste money on all our corporate real estate. No issue with coming into the office a few days a week but to call us mercenaries is a ludicrous thing to say. Do better Rick.
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Can we see through the brokers eyes for once?
Not the first time I've been disrespected by a Grade level 57 and above. Charles Schwab ova here.
Aren’t we mercenaries, all, though? I am. Most of you are too. We do good work in exchange for money. Corporations turned us into mercenaries starting about 20 years ago when they began shuffling us around like commodities.
I think the real problem for Rick and all CEOs is that he knows most of us are figuring out we actually are just hired commodities and have begun treating the corporation as if we are hired mercenaries. He doesn’t like that. No CEO does. So they are flailing. Trying to keep that 20-year one way loyalty streak flowing. They call you what you are, what they know you are, and use it as an insult. They hope you will reflexively not want to be the thing you are. What they made you become. They will treat you like a mercenary and then act hurt when you treat them like they hired you as a mercenary. It’s the definition of an abusive relationship.
I am good at what I do. I deserve the money I receive for my services. And just like they would get rid of me tomorrow if it served them, I would leave them tonight if it served me.
Calling me what I am, but using it as an insult, is weird. I am a mercenary. And I am not embarrassed or insulted by that.
@15e Yeah, Signal is just a good option for day to day communications that is better than sms (We really need to stop using this) or whatsapp. Sessions, XMPP, Matrix, etc. are better options for this purpose.
@12a I requested to join, the initials of the name are FL which isn't anything compared to my real name
@149 I understand anonymity vs privacy. Unfortunately, Signal does not support multiple accounts and is much more mainstream even for conversations with those you actually know, so using your real name makes sense. So using it for instances like this will not work for most people.
@140
What he or she is looking for is anonymity. Not privacy. Signal is good at offering privacy but if your real name is displayed then you will have no anonymity and depending on who is in that group then no privacy. The same issue would still exist with Sessions.
@13z Session offers true privacy but does not have the adoption Signal does.
@12a+1kg7yrkt8 I use signal for other communication and use my first name, can't join this. Very disappointed but interested
Most of us “mercenaries” are getting sh!t done, from home, and getting performance reviews to prove. That was literally the worst thing he could say.
If anyone wants to discuss, join this Signal with NOT YOUR REAL NAME. It isn’t vetted so we assume nothing. https://signal.group/#CjQKIPSkfY8PTzqEr-ryKuSyUfty0GbDo9rIC_eK1H7zTz6REhC10zY8GYDQaLe3l8Vvy4D4
Y’all should protest in March. The King said it best. FAFO.
I wonder if this comment was intended to seed the ground for layoffs this week.
Would anyone be surprised if this was said to prepare the org for finally laying off those pesky remote (mercenaries) workers?
I view myself as a mercenary. I'm here for the pay. I'm not doing extra if the battle is tough and I have no loyalties whatsoever to the company. Rick probably just read Sun Tzu's The Art of War and now thinks he is a genius. Sun Tzu said you should have your own army instead of Mercenaries because merenaries are there for the pay and will retreat when the battle is tough. This company has turned their employees into mercenaries though. Rick should look in the mirror to understand that.
Remote work was accepted, relied upon, and even described as “here to stay” by Walt. Employees made real life decisions based on that. Leadership later reversed course, like the rest of corporate America.
For Rick to now label those same employees “mercenaries” is name-calling and revisionist history. It shifts accountability for a leadership reversal onto the workforce and misrepresents what actually changed. No one is confused about this.
The return-to-office push isn’t about ethics or commitment. It’s about control. Leadership should own that choice instead of pretending otherwise.
the very first question in the Corp Update from the Pigeon Hole. How will collaboration/other goals of RTO be measured? How can those going to an office to be on Teams all day reap the benefits? The first part of the question talked about the % of us that are co-located
@c2 CEOs today are hired to extract as a means to raise stock price, not to build companies anymore. :(
@me I think it was the question about allowing a bank of remote days rather than taking them 1 full week per quarter. I could be wrong, but yes, he did in fact use the term "mercenaries."
Where was this said by Rick?
@OP What was the question he was answering that involved his labeling of remote workers as mercenaries?
Time to send Rick packing
@ja how is being 100% remote equate to being a mercenary? Explain it to me like I'm 5.
Man, I forgot how sensitive Schwabbies are. Why is being called a Mercenary insulting; I think it’s pretty accurate if you’re 100% remote. Perhaps the issue is you're disappointed that this is how others think of you.
You should be lucky that Schwab pities you enough to employ you so you can make payments to learing centers and soros foundation.
I thought Schwab’s mission was serving clients and investors, not sorting employees into soldiers and non-soldiers. If leadership needs war metaphors to feel important, that says far more about them than about the workforce.
Rick calling employees “mercenaries” is projection.
Mercenaries are hired to execute without attachment, which aligns completely with his McKinsey’ background but not with Schwab employees doing their best to do the actual work.
Location doesn’t define loyalty but RIck’s “mercenary” perspective reveals not only his lack of self-awareness but also his disinterest in understanding the workforce he leads.
If anyone here fits the mercenary label, it’s Rick & he’s the highest-paid one at the firm.
Was anyone surprised? Ricky brings three things to the table. A golden spoon. McKinsey. And absolutely no people skills.
People aren't going in to the office. Some managers support it. Others are remote and clueless. It isn't changing with RTO 4. Let them fire those who don't follow every rule. We've already been told the bonus and merit levels. And they don't show any in-person anything.
Wait I missed it what happened?
@am oh, but we are helping them. Us employed su-kers and those who save and invest are funding the lifestyles of those who choose to not work in addition to the illegal aliens stealing our taxpayer money.
Quit and work somewhere else. Simple. Otherwise shut your pie hole.
The irony of the company complaining about lack of employee loyalty when they themselves treat their employees like disposable interchangeable cogs and lay off the best while keeping the worst