Loved the comment section for this call today. Employees were really laying out some of the craziness they've been dealing with since RTO started. A doctor (of something, didn't say what) discussing company culture and dealing with RTO. A little digging shows this doctor is actually an AT&T employee (figures the company wouldn't risk an outsider leading this discussing given the polarization). Her answers to the employee questions were less than satisfactory, typical corporate speak and "showing up for each other".
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This was such a great conversation.
"I thought it was great, and shows leadership is in touch with what we need as workers."
Leadership knows what we need but they choose not to give us the tools. This circlej--kof a TH was evidence that leadership is does not care about our needs . . . it was a blame the employee session.
Guys the big takeaway from this talk series is that if you are an AT&T employee you should write a book and then sell it at once of these shill calls to enrich yourself.
Although don’t make too much money or they’ll send the lawyers after you!
@de
I bet you love rainbows, sunshine and unicorns.
I thought it was great, and shows leadership is in touch with what we need as workers. Thanks for reaching out to us in this manner, and we hope you continue to do so.
I’d not waste a nano-second on that contrived, disingenuous, patronizing candyfloss. What an absolute load of horse squeeze.
And yet AT&T has been unable to coach or performance manage 20-year "freeloaders"?
Not sure if they or you are the bigger clownshow...
Just more , p-e on my leg and say not to worry it's just rain. All they are doing is attempting to condition the people who are left. It's the age old Pavlov ringing the bell exercise . A perfect example of them massaging the data by proving up their own statistician who will make the numbers say what they want them to say.
They are setting the stage for more gaslighting .
@OP from isolation to inspired to get laid off.
The camera work was interesting. Everything was a close up, probably to hide all the empty seats. I wonder how many books ATT bought from the author.
That TH was the biggest corporate Bl0w J0b I have witnessed in some time. The blame was squarely put on the eployees to make chicken salad out of chicken sh!+.
Forced RTO does NOT lead to more collaboration and innovation or at best has limited impact based on the studies.
What it DOES lead to is more employee distrust of management, less commitment to the organization, a higher desire to leave and more challenging recruiting. This has been proven. Our own culture and employee survey shows it and employee engagement overall is low across the economy. The company and its sycophants on this board can spin and spin but you’re still wrong. Some level of hybrid work is fine but there is absolutely no need to be shoved into a big d-mb glass box every day so you can sit on conference calls.
"The data backs this up."
You are absolutely incorrect. At best, the studies show that hybrid models are the best for creativity, efficiency, and collaboration. The 5x8 model shows no increased benefit to productivity, efficiency, health, or culture. The only benefit to 5x8 RTO is reduced head count, which we all know was the goal.
@ay What data are you talking about?
As of 2025, there is no peer-reviewed, controlled, or statistically valid study demonstrating that return-to-office (RTO) mandates or full-time office presence:
Increases measurable productivity (e.g., output per worker, sales, lines of code, calls handled)
Improves worker well-being (e.g., stress, satisfaction, retention, engagement)
Enhances firm-level performance (e.g., revenue per employee, profit margins)
… compared to hybrid or remote arrangements.
With RTO in US i now can hear much of audio on meeting.
Before such of time smart guy can arrive on meeting with car and eating lunch cr--kers.
Soooo frustrate when call dooes hear the crackle crackle sound.
Now such of time I hear all tings even when goat make the bahh bahh sounding
@c2 if you need to physically be in an office to perform your work duties then YOU are the free loader who depends on others hold your hand and to do your work for you. It’s you people who think your job is validated by simply sitting in the office.
“Some of us have been hybrid or WFH for 20+ years.“
Longterm freeloaders.
Innovation tends to be more deeply connected to company culture than to where employees physically work. In short: culture creates the conditions for innovation; location shapes the tools and methods used to achieve it — in most cases the relevance of location is minimal to none compared to culture. A culture of fear and layoffs is precisely what destroys innovation.
"Some of us have been hybrid or WFH for 20+ years. Covid was not any different for us."
Ahem. It's like people don't understand somebody has to work the MW, be on-call or heck even be casually paying attention to catch an issue right when it starts to bubble up.
That balance, that contract is gone now. I don't log on when I get home anymore and check alarms when passing by my office to head to bed. I don't monitor over the weekend to see if something is being missed. Heck I'm blocked 10+ hours of work a week at least just commuting.
Now I spend the first 10m of my day setting up my desk and wiping it down if I'm lucky enough to get one where I like.
@ay
Complete bullsh-t!
A positive culture?? That ship sailed and it's not coming back.
Showing up for each other? Sure. The socializing at work -- all day, every day is anything but productive. But keep paying me to do nothing.
I am so tired of the reference "return to office". Some of us have been hybrid or WFH for 20+ years. Covid was not any different for us.
How can remote workers feel included? Who cares! They have a work life balance that office workers don't have. They get to attend afterschool events for their kids; they don't have a 2hr commute or pay for parking & gas. They can workout before, during or after work & still fit in 8 hours of productivity. They can be home if a contractor needs access to their home/property. They can serve their family at hot meal at 6pm & eat together as a family. They can walk their dogs rather than circle the basement. They can schedule recurring medical appointments near their home without the need to commute. Life is pretty dang good for remote folks.
Quit holding us hostage & give us a severance.
There is a clear performance benefit to having employees physically together in the office. The data backs this up. Collaboration occurs much more naturally, freely and organically. WFH encourages introverted and isolationist behavior which hampers innovation. If your office is open and you resist RTO, you will be treated accordingly.
These meetings are all shameful.
Good people are getting destroyed
Kind of glad I didn’t attend. I did head over to look at the questions presubmitted for her, and there was only one, dealing with RTO. Which was also pre answered, stating that the speaker can’t answer those questions and directing them to HR.