During the last GEM, the grand p-o-bah TK threatened a 60-day warning at the end of Feb. for those who haven't returned to office (whatever that means exactly). Of course, even among those who have returned, there will be false warnings because the dufus tasked with analyzing attendance data won't have knowledge of agreed-on PTOs days that employees forgot to enter into workday, remote work days due to personal issues (which upper management has said would be allowed), and other exceptions. Many will have to challenge the warnings. CSG motto should be "How can we lower morale. Let us count the ways!"
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Re: free bagel Fridays….DAMN those bagels were good! No doubt TK would take a bakers dozen and a couple tubs of cream cheese for himself…
Sure, everybody will be in-person somewhere in a building, but still attending meetings over Zoom while they multitask on other stuff.
Sounds like Citrix circa 2010. The only time anyone emerged from their office/desk was to go to the bathroom or breakroom (free bagel Fridays!!), go out for lunch, or have spontaneous meetings in the smokers' area.
Given how some locations still aren't ready for prime time, I imagine folks will need to bring their own portable chairs & a lap desk?
There aren't enough desks in Cambridge for everyone to go back 5 days a week. I guess he expects us to work sitting at the toilet or something.
"You were all in the office 4-5 days a week and all was well." UMMMM, NO, WRONG! I've been at Citrix 6.5 years and worked remote 2-3 days a week, sometimes entire weeks. My manager at the time made this deliberate decision for the entire team, regardless who lived where and how they were hired. We met all our quotas, deadlines, and exceeded expectations. We also didn't waste time commuting and stressing over traffic.
Dear Tom: for months, I've been taking your money. I barely do any work, and you continue to pay me. I won't be coming to the office, either. Worst case, you fire me, then I collect unemployment while I get a new job, so you have no power over me. Thanks for all these months of salaries+benefits while I do NOTHING. It's been like a vacation! I'm not even home half the time.
No, it doesn't bother me one bit. People like you forfeit all rights. I'll work for a real CEO who inspires me, not for a spreadsheet toadstool like yourself. So, come and get me. I could not care less.
"Just 3 years ago, you were all in the office 4-5 days a week and all was well."
Nope. 12+ years at Citrix. 2 days a week in the office was my original terms or I wouldn't take the job. There are many others like me who came to Citrix via acquisition.
"And for those who think other places are all going remote.... keep thinking. Every company is reversing their decisions and going hybrid."
You seem to be under the delusion that this is something new that happened recently with COVID. This is a trend that is decades in the making. Companies making offices less and less desirable by reducing square footage and moving to worse locations, and employees not being willing to go there. Open your eyes and stop spewing the stupid MBA narrative. There is a lot more going on here, and it's been happening for a lot longer than COVID. NOBODY is "returning" to the office, because this BS isn't how it was even in 2019. The policy here isn't "go back to how it was before."
Anyway, there are still plenty of jobs out there. Some are remote, some are better commutes than to a Citrix office, and some are hybrid. Tom has no leverage at all. He's complete impotent. He can pay our salaries while we hunt for the perfect alternative.
Every RTO mandate has exceptions to the rule for high-performance employees.
Speak to your manager and see if you qualify. TK won't punish top-ranked talent.
Actually, I just pity TK. All the money in the world doesn’t matter if you make a career out of making people miserable. He’s missing the point of humanity. I honestly feel bad for him.
Imagine being a CEO whose employees would love nothing better than to beat the cr#p out of. Nice job, Tom! You've inspired people. Maybe not to work for you, but you have inspired them.
Just get a medical accommodation for anxiety for work from home - most docs will happily fill out the paperwork. Then if CSG tries any funny SH7T like writing you up for it coming in to the office or denying a promotion they will be discriminating against you for a documented medical condition. Big no-no. BIG $$$$$ legal risk. Retire early, AND watch TK 💩 his Depends as he writes out a HUGE settlement check!
Going to be a total sh-t show when these warnings come out. I will dispute it for sure. They have no proof I wasn't there for legitimate reasons. My manager will back me 100%. The peevish a--hole counting the badge scans can go take a long walk on a short pier.
@clg+1llUmln3 A lot of us were hardly EVER in the office. I've been here over 10 years and generally, if I worked even 1 day a week in the office, that was a lot. Yet I'm one of the most senior people in my product line and have been the go-to person for years. And I did most of that remote.
Hah, your problem is that you go to the office to work. I go to the office to get paid. Work not required.
Just 3 years ago, you were all in the office 4-5 days a week and all was well
All was not well. We were just zombies that hadn’t yet seen the light of a better work life balance.
How are these companies measuring loss of productivity? That is a lot of BS. "You were all in the office 4-5 days a week and all was well." NO, BECAUSE THERE WAS NO CHOICE. You think people enjoyed going to the office every day? Hardly. Why in the world does a coder have to go to the office? There were many days I went in, sat in a cubicle, coded, didn't have any meetings, and went home. Total waste of time.
I'll say it again: F### Tom Krause. He is the biggest ###hole I've ever seen, and I've seen many.
Incredible that the WFH debate is still alive in Citrix...
Just 3 years ago, you were all in the office 4-5 days a week and all was well. Companies are seeing overall productivity losses and asking for people to come into the office and interact.
And for those who think other places are all going remote.... keep thinking. Every company is reversing their decisions and going hybrid: min 3 days a week of office (for those that are "local" or non-sales) to drive face-to-face interaction. Even VC's are now re-examining funding decisions that were made for all-remote teams!
16,000 Amazon workers have joined a Slack channel and launched a petition to fight CEO Andy Jassy’s mandate to return to the office. At least Amazon is requiring 3 days in office, while our fearless leader is demanding 5 days a week for those lucky ones who happened to live within 50 miles from an office. New day, new tantrum.
Completely unsustainable and stupid mandate for a company selling and advocating for secure hybrid work. Morale is at its lowest as it has ever been, micromanagement is at its peak, corporate culture inexistent, and numerous unhappy clients, partners, and employees. But wait, there’s more. While I can not speak for everyone, I commute 10 hours each week productively sitting in traffic and paying for gas only to ‘collaborate’ via Zoom with my remote colleagues in different time zones. What a train wreck I can not wait to jump off as soon as a new opportunity opens up.