The RTO is a bunch of Horse_sh*t, if your team is not all in the same office.
But speaking as someone with 20+ years of experience, I learned a lot from watercooler conversations, hearing a hallway conversations or people in the next cube discussing something. New people working remotely miss out on a ton of extra learning. It's bad for them and it's bad for the company.
So, a respectful exec team would have been thoughtful about their ask.
Does it benefit you and your team if you are all together in the same office? When the answer is Yes, you should put your big boy/girl pants on and get your a-s into the office.
If you are all truly masters at what you do, you do not need to be in the office unless you are hiring young people to learn your craft and then yes, you should be in the office.
If the people being hired to eventually replace you on on a different continent; f'em.
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@mj I am looking forward to tap dancing on the grave of OT, but you don't need to flat out lie, buddy.
https://www.cantechletter.com/newswires/best-identity-protection-2026-webroot-named-trusted-security-solution-for-personal-data-by-software-experts/
Management is in fire drill mode. Don’t expect well thought through plans. In January 2026, a report circulated by Cantech Letter (and picked up by regional outlets) labeled Webroot as a "Least Trusted Security Provider," citing declines in reliability. This kind of negative press often precipitates leadership changes or aggressive reorganization to stop customer churn.
Anything that would be said at the water cooler is probably being sent via cell-phone, I can't trust communications at the water cooler or via teams. Waterloo is watching and listening.
Management respects Ai and revenue not employees.
I really can't see how this will pan out. Haven't they shut down or trimmed many offices? There are so many people through so many acquisitions who were made remote because offices closed. Micro Focus had a nice office in Houston. are employees expected to move to Dallas or Austin (at your own expense, I'm sure) to be in an office with people who may not even be on your team or even team-adjacent?
As someone with a good 10+ years more experience than you, I can attest to the fact that modern technology, particularly remote tools, has replaced and enhanced the water cooler experience to be exponentially more useful than the few tidbits you might randomly discover by osmosis.
Unfortunately, just like the water cooler conversations, it does require management to understand the value of the conversations in the first place. At OT, their first reaction would of course be to put taps in each cubicle/office to make sure you're not 'wasting your time' talking to people when you should be working.
What about anything, ANYTHING, from the last 10-15 years led you to believe that any member of management has any respect at all for the OT workfoce? Everyone at OT is just in a queue for the next layoff/PIP/manage out of position. It's been this way for a long time.
How can you have the gall to act shocked by any of this?
@de agreed this is all talk and no action.
@af no they won’t
Management does not care since the replacements of customer facing employees is AI. In 2026, we are explicitly trying to automate the "Operate" and "Value" tasks. Instead of a dedicated rep calling to check in, we are rolling out "AI Aviator" tools to handle support tickets and customer issues.
I don't talk to anyone, don't eavesdrop on water cooler conversations, don't inject myself into other people's discussions, and don't care about training up younger people. None of that happens to be in my job description.
Yes, you should dislodge the corporate boot from your esophagus, come off of your condescending approach, and
concern yourself with your own affairs.
The virtual over 50km will have to relocate by Jan 2027 or leave the company
I really feel for the virtual employees who are being forced back to a full time office role in the US and Canada. Many of these employees came from acquired companies where virtual was how they were hired. Luck of the draw in that they happen to reside within 31 miles of an office. So while their peers remain remote, they are stuck with 90 minute commutes.
There is also a financial drain on office employees. The peer who does the same work but is remote has no commuting expense.
I was lucky enough to work for a company that valued their employees so we all valued the company and would do anything for it.
After we were purchased, that feeling tried to stick around for about 2 years. Until we finally had to accept this is a su-ky company, driven by egocentric id--ts that establish mandates that hurt employees and our customers.