Thread regarding Citigroup Inc. / Citibank / Citi layoffs

@pd Hi, @OP here. Nothing happened and im still employed. It was actually a nice conversation about expectations along with some acknowledgements on their side. Everything worked out!

@OP please let us know what happened.

@a7
I think a better solution would be to just be frank. If you're missing team meetings because of the commute and public transit scheduling then just tell them you can come to the office but you'll be late.

@OP / @ar
If you can find out any way they've wronged you too (you probably weren't supposed to work on weekends and it does sound like they were giving you a constructive dismissal last year), tell this to your manager's boss. Even if this isn't happening right now CITI will still be held liable. Any work place issues you can bring up? More history the better. cheers! you got this

@d7
Lots of reorgs happened last year. happened to members of my team too. Sh-t management will do that and sh-t management is what we have a citigroup

@e8 “You are pathetic” seems like bold words from someone flexing their burnout as a badge of honor. Who are you to call people pathetic?

If grinding through 12-hour days, unpaid weekend work, and spending thousands on commuting without complaint makes someone more pathetic, then what exactly are you proud of? Being exploited more efficiently?

You sound less like a team player and more like someone who got mistreated for so long, you think that’s just the way it has to be. No one is here to martyr themselves for a company. What work culture do you belong to? Definitely not an American, definitely not a westerner.

@dc

It is great if your income can allow you to do that, but the average Citi employee would struggle to live in central NY / LDN / Tokyo :P In a way, that is why sales and trading get the big bugs - a large portion goes to expensive rent / mortgage + commute with taxis.

But if you are an average 200k pa average Citi Joe, then you should probably reconsider living in Manhattan :D

You are pathetic - are you aware that before 2020 we used to go 5 times a week into the office 9am till 6pm on average, I did many 9pm Friday nights and my commute was at least 1 hour one way - so at least 2 hours a day. And all that while preparing breakfast for kids who went to school and nursery. You are required to go 2-3 days a week only - get a grip and attend the office.

My commute is 15 minutes. I’ve had a policy never to drive more than 30 minutes for work. I choose not to live in the suburbs.

Go to sleep at 9.30pm and wake up at 5.30 and get to the office by 8am and leave early.

1 hr commute is average, many have 1 hr commutes from the ‘burbs.

Getting bounced means you are fungible and have no expertise; that is a much larger issue.

1 hour commutes each way is not out of the norm, I’d even go so far to say more than 50% of the NY office has commutes that long. I wouldn’t use this point as the main part of your argument although it certainly doesn’t hurt to bring it up. I’d focus more on late night meetings with Shanghai, although that’s no longer valid. Do you have early morning meetings? Child care concerns? Elderly parent/caretaker responsibilities? All that might help if you have a sympathetic boss.

I’d also wouldn’t hedge all your bets on using the argument that all you do is Zoom calls at work. That’s pretty much true for most people, so focusing on that won’t help your situation very much. All Citi cares about is that you hit your 3x/week in office.

Unless your direct manager already gave you a strong warning about your attendance, then it’s possible this meeting with your manager’s boss is about something else that was alluded to by another poster…

Why did you taketh job then? Return to office was inevitable...

More concerning is having no important work for that time and bouncing around. That’s going to be worse for you than in office. For in office, they give you a warning first. Like Trim said, you’re about to get RIFed.

Don’t worry. My colleague never showed up in the office and she is still not laid off.

If a meeting with your boss’s boss appears in next week’s diary, there’s a fair chance you’re about to be made redundant, and your daily commute will soon be history.

Thanks to those who actually offered thoughtful advice — especially the Shanghai example. That’s exactly the type of context I was hoping to hear. It’s reassuring to know I’m not the only one who’s been stuck in a situation like this.

To the “just wake up earlier” crowd: respectfully, this isn’t about laziness. My local train starts and leaves at a specific time. I cannot make it move any faster.

When I had first joined I was without commute benefits for 5 months spending nearly $1000+ to make my commute between ubers and public transport tickets.

I’ve done 12-hour days with zero complaint when the work mattered and the structure made sense. I've even been forced to work on weekends despite it not being part of my employment designation when I had first joined.

Commuting 2+ hours round trip just to log into Zoom all day doesn’t serve the team or my health.

I’ve been clear with my manager and will be just as honest with their boss. I’m still delivering, and I care about doing good work. I just think it’s fair to ask: if we’re being told to prioritize productivity and well-being, why punish people for choosing the option that actually lets them do that?

Anyway, appreciate the input; both the helpful and the harsh. Just trying to figure out what’s sustainable before burnout turns into breakdown.

@OP I will tell you an old method that used to work well in your situation. Wake up earlier or find another job that suits you better.

Yes, start getting your a-s to the office or find something else.

Probably but that’s no way to live..

Ive been there, especially before the Shanghai exit. 90% of my team was in Shanghai and most of my work was in Silo, or meet at night with the shanghai team members. There was no real reason for me to even speak to the nam team or manager other than updates. If I had blockers, the only one that could help me was shanghai. Yet I still had to make my office attendance. I eventually brought it up to my manager same story you are bringing up.
He did allow me to come in late if I worked with Shanghai the previous night. I ended up coming into office late each day but he understood. Talk to your manager, be frank about your situation. If he is human, and you are delivering, he/she will try to accommodate you. If not, then you have to cheat the system

Come in the evening to badge in and leave or make it count or early morning and leave, hack the system in your favor if there is no flexibility. And look for new job since doing this long term will ki-l your health