All of these changes have made working at CVX a complete nightmare.
I'll be taking my CIP and looking elsewhere.
The worst thing is the gas lighting that HMP and Leadership throw at us: "Better together", "We benchmarked against Exxon - they are doing it!", "If it works for Google, it must be good"
@kv yes the managers have no vision. Just blindly cut costs! Truly, AI should and could replace those losers
You want to talk about surveillance state, just wait until they start putting people on PIPs because their computer usage shows they weren’t typing or mousing enough during the day.
It’s coming.
• The modern open office is modeled on Jeremy Bentham’s 18th-century Panopticon. A design meant to induce behavioral compliance through the possibility of constant observation.
• Its purpose is not communication, but control: creating a sense of invisible omniscience where people self-regulate because they might be watched.
• You are not sitting in a creative hub; you are sitting in a surveillance architecture designed for maximum control per square foot.
The Turtle Response
• A Harvard Business School study found that face-to-face interaction drops by 70% in open layouts.
• This is due to the Turtle Response: when exposed visually from all angles, the amygdala triggers a low-level threat state.
• People retreat into digital shells—headphones, screens—to protect cognitive resources.
Executive Hypocrisy and Territorial Boundaries
• A Silicon Valley CEO privately admitted: “Privacy is the ultimate luxury good,” while sitting behind soundproof glass walls.
• Executives who preach “radical transparency” rarely sit in the bullpens they design.
• Deep work requires territorial boundaries—if you can be interrupted at any moment, you’re not an architect of ideas, you’re just available inventory.
The Irrelevant Speech Effect
• A Cornell University study shows that half-heard conversations degrade cognitive performance.
• Human brains are evolutionarily wired to prioritize speech over static tasks, making background chatter neurologically disruptive.
• “You are not tired at 5 PM because of the workload; you are exhausted because your auditory cortex has been fighting a defensive war against noise for eight hours.”
It is so incredibly pathetic and lazy to have our leaders employ consultants to tell us how others are operating, and then we have to copy them. Seriously, what does that teach you about the hiring and managing processes that these managers are following in the first place? Look for the commonalities in these executives and managers and you will see the problem. It’s greed, laziness, and no genuine accountability. You want a good use of AI? Don’t replace the technical folks. Replace the managers and watch our company takeoff like a rocket ship!
unassigned seating - copying this from Cargill
culling the bottom 5 - 10% of performers yearly - copying from Exxon
@e8 CVX is in a commodity business where it has less than a 5% global market share, so it has no real pricing power. It can reduce/minimize controllable costs which includes manpower. Plus, it is more cost efficient to buy into NOJVs like Guyana which provides royalties with next to no manpower or cost. BTW, there never was a win win, that was just talk.
Why is the LT so focused on cutting costs and exerting control above all else? Whatever happened to visionary leadership and win-win? Far more shareholder value could be unleashed for long term with an engaged and appreciated workforce free to innovate and grow the top line.
It’s all a demoralization exercise. Don’t let them win the battle over your mind.
New work hours seem to be 6am-3pm.
Arrive early Just to Try to get a place to work
Feel sad for parents with kid drop off - 8am arrivals find no spaces
Finding a place With equipment that works is a chore
Carrying a backpack clearly too heavy just to have what we need at our work area.
Can’t make sense out of nonsense.
Is 4 days really truly necessary? Yep! But Only in the US. Managers are asking how it’s working. We say it’s not. They say - HMP is bringing collaboration - using those desks and couches.
Managers (don’t call them leaders) need to see people so they can report to their manager and so on. Oh well. I think I’m seeing some quiet quitting.