This insane email from AC today literally admitting moments that matter did not work as well as they hoped because people chose to work from home. Well duh, none of us can do this office thing if we have been remote all this time and have perfected our daily planning for the day. Instead they are now stating we need to be in the office 3 days a week. For this alone my resume has been updated and I’m starting my search for remote role as it really has been my role the last 2.5 years. As someone who has done all their work from home I will not be told what is good for me personally. Putting us in more stress with unnecessary long daily commute, exposure to more germs in the office, constant interruptions because coworkers want to chat. I don’t have time or mental capacity for this. Gas prices aren’t helping either and honestly speaking I won’t be able to get half of the work done in office setting that I took on over the last few years. I only took on extra work because of flexibility but now that’s out the window good luck getting another person to take two person job without any increase. Sickening. Hope everyone fights back.
44 replies (most recent on top)
I'm not worried about going into the office due to the drive as much as I am worried about being around toxic people.
I’ve got a medical ma------a prescription…….ummmmm for my glaucoma . I’m going to be smoking up in my car and walking around the office reeking like the green. Minneapolis based BTW. Let’s the executives get a whiff of that!
"We don’t want that to be a mandate; we want it to be a choice." - I don't think they understand what "choice" means. Reminds me of going to church and being told we have free will, but their god will punish you for all eternity if you don't make the choice he wants.
That email was the biggest load of garbage I've read in my time at the bank, and there's been a lot. They offer no evidence at all that bringing us back to the office will help us collaborate or be more engaged, and the whole "One U.S. Bank" is creepy as he-l. None of the people I meet with on a daily basis live in the same state as I do. The few times I've actually been to the office, almost no one talked to me or seemed like they wanted to be approached. They like to say bring your whole self to work and claim they want diversity, but also demand that you erase everything about yourself that doesn't fit with how they want you to be. I used to genuinely care about going above and beyond with my work, but it's clear that the company neither appreciates that work nor cares about any of us (or their customers for that matter). I'm also applying to other roles and will be fully following the "work to rule" principle until I can get out.
Dear “Lets break this down..”,
Your mouth is AC’s urinal. Get back under his desk.
XOXO
How is going to office less work when the work needing to get done is the same and deadlines not going away. Magical fairy is not appearing getting this work done. Do you not understand many of us are overburdened with responsibilities as it is. Stretched to the limit. Now we have even less time to get it done. Welcome more stress. Less pay and whole lotta nonsense.
We don’t need to protest in front of their homes. Right in front of US Bank is best exposure plus give a tip to local news and you’re golden. They can get news coverage for putting workers needs last.
Quiet quitting aka doing the bare minimum. That’s what I’m doing while looking for a better job. Less stress. Not putting my best foot forward for this company after this fiasco. They showed that they don’t care about employees or their well being.
Lets break this down...
- Nobody is quiet quitting. That is just yet another d-mb CNN article.
- EEOC isn't going to care and there isn't going to be an audit.
- Project Veritas while totally awesome isn't going to care. They are focused on mentally ill people in positions of power.
- Nobody is going to protest. Executives live in gated communities. You would just look ridiculous standing there outside the gate with a sign that reads "My company wants me to come into the office 3 days a week"
- I really don't get why any of you actually didn't think this was going to happen. You have seen the leadership at this company now for years. Its not like they are forward thinking so this decision is consistent.
- On the plus side going back in the office is less work to do. Actually being in the office means more wasted time and less actual work. Everyone really should be happy about that.
If a far-right hatchet job org masquerading as journalism would actually tangle with an unethical large employer that pays lip-service to diversity to distract from its cutthroat capitalism, sure, let them fight, I guess…
Project veritas exposes crooked injustices. I think they would do heck of a job and they definitely do not go after sane people only crooked ones.
The nonsense the working class has to go through is beyond comprehension. Where is the fairness in all this.
Crime rate in Minneapolis is 200% above the national average; police staffing is cut by 50%. Why should I risk my safety when I can accomplish everything I can from home?
Hard to see this work since so many people moved remote. Not really fair for those close to offices. But with so many managers remote (tos), no one will come in until they force it. And many won’t because they are remote.
Protest and make it trend. Project Veritas is a great idea. Fire up Twitter and your other socials.
Maybe a copy of that email needs to go to Project Veritas. They take action against injustice.
If we file enough EEOC complaints it could trigger an audit. The he-l the HR department will have to go through to defend why: Miss Blondie (under 40) gets to work from home and Miss Minority has to work out of an office . Miss 20 something gets to work from home while Miss 40 something (with children) has to go in the office. Miss Healthy (under 40) works from home while Miss Serious Health Issues (covered under the ADA) has to commute to the office.
Good luck defending those claims HR because we all know they exist!
Protest mentioned below. Let’s get it going!!! Bad exposure for the bank is what they deserve.
Team no sleep thanks to the upper management who is playing chess with our well-being. How great that they are all home-based and speak about going to the office as some sort of benefit. It’s all lies! meanwhile they expect the little guy to be an emotionless slave.
I have never heard of an EEOC Audit. Is that something that is automatic or do you have to submit a request to have one done?
Do they not understand that several of the leaders delivering this message we’re doing so while WFH? How d-mb do they think people are?
And, BTW, with the acquisition completed they need to cut costs. Firing people who don’t come back to the office is one way to do it, as is waiting for people to quit. In case you thought it was about “the culture.”
Should we organize a protest?
That sounds like an opinion. People will not change just because they work in an office. Sometimes this can make things a lot worse. At least when you're remote you can distance yourself from the toxic person.
Kate Q also talked about the virtues of going in to the office… from her home office. At her house. In Arizona. Where she now lives full time.
To the person stating we are slackers. Bet on yourself for once and stop with all the a-s kissing. They won’t feel bad getting rid of you when that time comes.
To the dude that posted below me…….you’re a douche bag. Get back under AC’s desk.
I’m willing to bet all of the complainers on here are the same ones slacking each and everyday and why so many SLAs aren’t being met anymore. I haven’t worked with a single support function (CCS/GTM/etc) that has completed a request timely or correctly in well over a year. Most of my customers are beyond aggravated that they’re on their fourth month or longer of simple requests either being completed incorrectly or not being completed at all. The vast majority of this company is in support roles that don’t interact everyday with customers, the one thing that keeps everyone employed and it shows. The number of enabled, coddled, slacker employees at this point is flat out embarrassing.
Other companies have tried this. They all have about 20% actually going on site... if that. Wells had even fewer going in. Nothing happens until they start firing people. Good luck with that.
Sounds like Gunjan and Elcio are the dictators. US Bank you arrived at the wrong side of humanity.
A majority of the “leaders” in my department are coded as remote. What a crock of cr-p. This is nothing more than an effort to get people to quit. We’re not stupid Elfio.
The best part of todays meeting was 3 things
- Gunjan talking about the virtues of being in the office WHILE SHE IS REMOTE
- Elcio stating it’s worthwhile to be the only person in your department in office if there is one other person there you may not even know bcuz we are “one US bank”
- Gunjan saying they’ve talked to a lot of people that want to go back. I’ve been at the bank for 21 yrs and know A LOT of people. Not a single one wants this
We are going to get a 3-4% raise with 9% inflation and most of the raise will go towards gas and parking. Tone deaf and bordering on lying with their responses
Glad that cancel culture is a thing because I’m canceling USB and my accounts are going elsewhere.
What is an EEOC audit?
My peers are allowed to work remotely while I am working onsite three days a week. We all live nearby a USB office. How does working onsite make ME more productive/collaborative but not THEM? We have the exact same job responsibilities. I am apparently under the wrong table giving the wrong people BJ’s. EEOC ring ring ring
Came to see if anyone else is feeling aggravated after receiving that email and I see I’m not alone. It made my blood boil.
That email sounds more like it’s “dictating” vs doing the right thing in todays environment.
Since someone asked for the text:
"Update on return to office approach
Team,
During the weekend, there was an article in The Wall Street Journal about changing expectations at work, and how the gap between employers and employees is perhaps the widest it has ever been. Companies want people back in offices to help promote a culture of collaboration, engagement and productivity. Employees want to keep their newfound flexibility because they believe they have shown for more than two years that they can work effectively from anywhere; inflation has taken costs of working outside the home higher; and being home has given them a greater appreciation of how to balance work and family time.
We face this same debate at U.S. Bank. As a leadership team, we believe there is value in maintaining an in-office culture. Collaboration happens faster. We can see engagement up close, and decision-making happens in real-time. It’s easier to keep a pulse on how effective we are as an organization when we can see people face-to-face more regularly, and this helps us sustain our culture.
That said, we also are proud to provide you with flexibility, as needed – assuming business results remain strong. We are geographically dispersed to stay close to the customer and to attract diverse talent. We are using new technology to make collaboration more accessible across time zones. And we understand the very real pressures everyone is facing given everything from higher gas prices to increased reports of anxiety in school-aged children coming out of the pandemic.
What we haven’t found quite yet is a balance between these ideals.
Moments that Matter was our first attempt to define a model that would promote time in the office for our hybrid employees while allowing flexibility. Most of you are choosing to work predominantly from a remote location, and that is affecting how we show up for each other and our customers. Although performance is still strong, we’re seeing other things erode – like collaboration, engagement, and how we demonstrate our culture as One U.S. Bank. Being in the office won’t solve this at once, but it can and will help.
We want the office to be the center of work – where people come to connect, get things done, and be inspired by the great people they get to be around every day. We don’t want that to be a mandate; we want it to be a choice. But to get to that point, we need people to give it real effort to succeed.
During the next few months, we are asking everyone who is mapped to a hybrid role to start working onsite more regularly. We think the best balance is three days a week, planning in-office time around when partners and colleagues are also in our buildings. We also know that may seem far from reality for you right now; the transition doesn’t have to happen overnight, but it should be something you commit to like any new habit. We will reevaluate how it’s going in early 2023 and decide the next steps from there.
Many of the people who are working onsite about three days a week today started with 1:1s, team meetings, workshops and in-person training. Try that approach. Consider scheduling weekly collaboration days with your team to reinforce the importance of being together in person. Talk to your partners about days they’ll be onsite and have your video cameras on when you’re having meetings with people in other U.S. Bank offices. In the meantime, we will explore updates to our office spaces to accommodate modern needs for onsite and hybrid work, ensuring we are well equipped to work in new ways.
One of the things I appreciate most about our culture is our willingness to do whatever it takes to serve customers and support each other. I need you to show that willingness once again, as we work through this next stage in our transformation as a company. I am sure you will see the value in spending more time together on a more regular basis.
As always, thanks for all you do.
AC
Andy Cecere
Chairman, President and CEO"
What did the email say?
I’ll join. Quiet quitting and looking elsewhere since it seems we aren’t valued here and our opinions no longer matter.
Former UB employee here, I think the promise was not to lay off branch people in Lower and Middle Income areas.
I think 80% of UB branches are within 3 miles of USB branches and the deal did not include the real estate, and UB owns a lot of its branches in very desirable areas,