I predict that I’ll be terminated for cause. With decades of service, numerous awards and accolades, the company will use that to not pay my severance of six figures. All because I didn’t spend eight hours a day three days a week being a desk jockey in a cube farm.
I spent decades trying to perform exceptional service every single time. Focus used to be on getting the job and the projects completed.
This new form of micromanagement is challenging to navigate with so many new detailed company policies to observe.
I really used to like this company. My 9 to 5 was actually 5 to 9 as I found my work extremely gratifying.
So, if I don’t have any severance paperwork to sign with the disparagement clause, then hello social media, my new friends. I’ll be happy to tell the world about the inner workings I’ve seen over the past several decades. Stephen King, I might have a new horror story for you.
27 replies (most recent on top)
@kc We had a hillbilly tech director tell everyone to "think outside the box" as everyone struggled to overcome the bureaucracy. Laughable.
Think outside the box roughly translates to "lick my boots".
Welcome to the top down approach. Employees are not rewarded for thinking outside the box or making observations to improve current processes. We’re expected to be drones and do what we’re told. If you’re told or communicated anything differently, it’s just because it’s a formality. A façade.
This company needs guidance counselors. How are we expected to navigate the ever-changing policies and procedures? we’re too busy trying to maintain a work/life balance.
We hire lawyers for legal. We hire CPAs for accounting. If we get sick, we hire a doctor.
I’m just saying, we hire professionals to deal with matters we don’t specialize in.
Because the policies and procedures are communicated vaguely, we’re usually confused.
The corporate way, severance equals hush money.
@d7 Absolutely. No severance equals no disparagement clause. The media would love knowing that the new narrative is shareholders, first. To your point, this is a fun place to vent, isn’t it?
Everyone should be posting these experiences in glass door reviews, as well as sending over to a journalist.
I’ve resigned myself to being terminated with cause, soon. Do you really think I’m going to resign and have to endure a 60 day notice?
Agree. The terminations over this will probably hit the news. Coffee-badgers could be made into an example to scare everyone else.
We will also probably lose the last of the real leader managers over this. I can’t imagine that they want to manage this way.
Play defense do 8 hours don’t let them win!! Don’t leave without severance!
@az “Image coming to work 5 days a week 8-9 hours a day for years and years!”
Imagine going to Blockbuster to rent a movie every Friday night for 20 years.
@b7 The rating system is a farce. When you’re involuntarily moved around like a pawn, sometimes you get a mediocre supervisor who already has favorite directs. Doesn’t matter how well you do. Supervisor will always have an excuse. I’ve played this game for years. I keep waiting to either be terminated or displaced with a severance. No way I’m going to resign. Being an SVP, I’d have to give a 60 day notice. That’s insane.
If the company doesn’t make a decision, soon, I’m gonna be pushing the envelope even further. No fear!
What's funny/sad about this is that on my team, it's the valuable employees who are the most concerned. The ones who contribute barely anything are like "lol i guess i'll just do nothing in the office instead of at home."
Same thing with performance reviews. The people who actually care and work hard to get consistently exceeds/exceeds are the ones who annoyed if they get a meets. The ones who don't a sh-t gets a meets/not meets and just shrug.
@ap
LOL, same.
But I got close to one of those Hawaii trips.
The point isn’t termination - it’s control. What percent of employees do you think have been fired for cause in the last 5 years? Less than 1 percent maybe? To fire for cause there needs to be a reason with evidence that can withstand legal challenges. This place is so sloppy with documenting employee coaching - and our data and reporting is even worse. At worst most people will be laid off. The control comes from your belief that you will lose severance or your job. You come into the office to avoid that.
@b1 I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Think about it. Do any of you think AI will not somehow take over your positions? Federal, state and local laws are only keeping you in your jobs for now.AI is coming for you…
It has nothing to do with work. It's about making people hate their job enough that they voluntarily quit. Hudson Yards will get rid of you Uber compliant boot li---r types as well. Your compliance is irrelevant frankly. The only point of it to to try to ensure you get your severance when the reaper comes, but either way, the reaper is coming. If you in the US and your job isn't required by law to be internal and in the US, HY plans to eliminate it.
@az been there and done that. Three days a week with eight hours days it’s just the beginning of the saga.
Image coming to work 5 days a week 8-9 hours a day for years and years!
@aw I’m sending you a big high five. Yes, indeed! Teams matter. Shareholders matter. finally, my bank account matters. The client matters is a façade.
@ar Yes! I already reaped my rewards. I intend to retain what sanity I have left.
So @OP so I see that you feel that you are under siege? You should. You management guys were trained and rewarded at being facilitators. This bullying style was rewarded in the past. Remember how the bank incentivize this behavior during the client account scandal (eight is great). This bank was the poster-child for psychological abuse (a HR concept brought forth from Harvard) Later, you were able to thwart agile transformation (where teams are self-facilitating not bully-facilitating). Now many of you are in denial ("all corporations are like this" and "agile can't happen at this bank"). Well there is a fourth turning. Teams matter. Fearless teams will be more efficient than fearful teams facilitated with bully managers. Eventually the executive managers will figure this out. Maybe they have.
So, instead of trying to go 8 hours for 3 days, you're just throwing in the towel?
@an I’m just saying, I eventually found my niche. I found opportunities that would allow me to excel and I capitalized on it. I’m rated exit. You, on the other hand, can keep looking at your success which in fact, is just a mirage. If you don’t wake up soon, you’ll find out that you’re being replaced by AI. Now that is not a mirage.
@ag I’m guessing you don’t understand. WF is not the same culture of a company I joined decades ago. Either before the Wachovia merger or the fake accounts scandal, my department was fun and the work was gratifying. We would in fact compete with other cities to see who can get the best cross selling statistics. Great camaraderie. I remember best shot awards, exceptional service awards, and sometimes trips to Hawaii.
Today, I don’t recognize the culture of the bank. Now is a good time to exit as I’ve made my fortune and I’m not interested in being a clock watcher.
I was here when the stock price was nine dollars. Look where it is today. I’m cashing out.
So you can just enjoy your mediocre micromanaging time here. Who’s the m*ron, now?
You're probably better off just coming out and admitting youre a coffee badger who actually works two hours a day instead of making up an alternate reality where youre the bestest employee evvvaarr and will now be forced to quit working 24/7 all to avoid having to actually come to work where everyone else can admire that amazing work ethic.
Yes everyone I know who was working 16 hr days at home for decades while receiving all kinds of "awards and accolades" is now getting ready to leave because of having to work an actual 8hr in office day three days a week instead. Do you mo--ns even realize how delusional and FOS you sound?
I can totally and completely relate to this! I’ve been navigating this, game of thrones style. If they can’t get me on one gotcha item, they’ll try another, and since I’ve successfully swatted away all their attempts so far, in office requirement nonsense may be the one they get me for. They just don’t want to pay that severance, amazing they are trying so hard to get out of this when this is a drop in the bucket amount for them. Very sad and pathetic.