Even my manager hates being in the office and is not hesitant to say so. I thought we were doing this for them, so they can feel like they can manage (more like control and micromanage) us better. At least in our case, that couldn't be further from the truth. So why the he-l is RTO even a thing?
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Every chance we get to undermine the authority of the "our betters" has to be taken. No respect without respect. Got it? Now go forth and undermine 'em.
This has unforseen effects on workforce, it's like gambling rather then having an honest deep cut of staff.
Through the ranks these office issues are getting sugar coated so much, that black turns into white at higher levels, it's hilarious
You are stupid if you leave now without waiting for severance. You are stupid if you stay. You are stupid if you go into the office. You are stupid if you stay home. No one here can tell you what the best thing for you and your family is. Many just want to insult other people and feel emboldened by the anonymous forum. Enough with the political jabs and conspiracy theories.
Why RTO?
To reduce HDCT and slash costs because Randall and Stankey have saddled this once great company with so much debt it can hardly breathe....way too many strategic blunders....
Hey John - why did debt go up $7B in last quarter???? I thought we were supposed to reduce debt? You've got to go....customers, shareholders and employees don't believe you.....you have lost their trust...why???? because trust is earned through day-day actions....and you have not delivered...you should do the right thing and step down along with a lot of the other top leaders,,,
RTO will continue until the person to your left and right are out ….
“ Because the old boomers that run this company refuse to accept anything done differently than the way they used to do it could actually be a better way of doing things. Plus, they know it’s a way to micromanage employees and make them miserable until many of them quit on their own. Other than reducing headcount, nothing positive will come of this RTO nonsense.”
If you people just your job and no one would have thought of doing this RTO exercise.
Yes I rather be doing my own personal business and sleeping in than RTO.
We are doing RTO because Stankey said so. He wants to force people out without costing too much in severance.
I personally prefer working in the office compared to WFH. At home, I can't effectively network. I can do that from the office.
How else am I supposed to build the right connect to advance my career?
high number of WTF employees even before the pandemic
Have to guess this was actually WFH employees, but funny autocorrect.
I think that most who are complaining dislike the "change for change sake" nature of it. When you went WFH during the pandemic, you knew why the change was necessary, (the whole "staying alive" thing.). For RTO, there's less of a clear reason.
And yes, the ones who are about to comment that "they don't have to give you a reason" or "do it or quit" or "because they said so" are TECHNICALLY correct, people tend to respond to directives better if they either know the reasoning behind them, or trust the source of those directives completely. Neither applies in this case
You say it's for THEM, but there's many different levels of them and this seems before the very high levels of them
Why would the company care about the cost of your child care, time and expense to drive into office. Companies are not in that business. That is on your dime. And always was.
The RTO is being pushed by investment firms that own these companies as a way to shore up their corporate real estate holdings. Do you people not pay any attention? Me and the boys have to stay getting rich off you working class sc-m. We don't care that it costs you gas, time, child care....just that we pad our bottom line!!! So get to that office and keep floating that real estate market for us. That's exactly what they are thinking while you think it all just pertains to your individual situation.
All this anger and no willingness to take charge of your own future by walking out. And you wonder why you are lead around in directions that you don’t want to go…
Get with it people. We are in the 2020s and RTO is the in thing to do, if your not in you are out.
Cute that you think your manager has anything to do with, or any say in it whatsoever.
Combination of several factors. Employee headcount had gotten bloated through acquisitions and mergers and was disguised by the high number of WTF employees even before the pandemic. Then they started trying to get rid of properties because they weren't being utilized, and a lot of systems were being offshored, able to be serviced with smaller facilities or pushed to the cloud, etc. But bc they can't unload the properties (some have been for sale for years), it doesn't make sense to have them sit empty if they're su-king money.
So solve two problems with one initiative. Reduce headcount and assuage the feeling that you're hemorrhaging facilities money.
I think something small we can do is to not put our money into the surrounding areas of these offices where the higher ups have their real estate investments. Let’s make sure we are bringing our lunch everyday (not eating out), getting gas in our hometowns, etc.
Because the old boomers that run this company refuse to accept anything done differently than the way they used to do it could actually be a better way of doing things. Plus, they know it’s a way to micromanage employees and make them miserable until many of them quit on their own. Other than reducing headcount, nothing positive will come of this RTO nonsense.
Headcount reduction is the game.
Why is it happening? Because, if you go far enough up the food chain, the people that make decisions want it to.
If I had to guess their reasoning, (and I kinda do - because their public statements on the matter vary in message and accuracy,) it's because it's what they're used to. Most people don't like change - it's just human nature. So they don't want the workplace they've come to know to change anymore than it has to.
They dealt with the change during the pandemic - but mostly by convincing themselves that it was temporary. BAU would resume, and all would be right with the world yet again.
Unfortunately for you guys, those people are in a high enough position to make their dream a reality. So you'll be forced to change, because they don't want to.
And I'm sorry for that
Once the company reaches their aggressive headcount reduction goals RTO will likely relax. Until then expect more of the same.
"as a selling point to applicants"
sure - then you RTO later lol. Genius.
“So if you take the RTO, wherever that may be, you're now under their control and no guarantee your job is safe. If you don't like being in an office, well sad story, all companies are doing now. Good luck getting a full time WFH job if that's your requirement.”
This is 100% false. A vast majority of companies - including ATT competitors - use the ability to work full-time remote as a selling point to applicants. Most of these companies pay more and value your experience at ATT. There is an entire world of opportunity out there if you are willing to put in the effort.
Give it some time. They think it will be awesome, they’ll learn soon enough that the numbers didn’t improve and even may have declined since people are just working 9-5 again. Not to mention the company costs went way up. It’ll change again.
There are still plenty of companies staying fully remote. This is just a follow the leader situation and Blackrock trying to save the commercial real estate office space. Long term, everyone will work remotely. Only people pushing this are people out of step and clinging to the past.
Your boss didn’t want RTO.
Your boss’s boss didn’t want RTO.
Your boss’s boss’s boss didn’t want RTO.
This from the very top. Everyone is just trying to stay employed.
Its all about control - nothing to do with collaboration or managing employees. Especially when managers have employees in other cities.
It's to get you to leave, make you uncomfortable, kinda like how covid went down. You aren't being forced to take the poison, but if you don't, your job is gone.
So if you take the RTO, wherever that may be, you're now under their control and no guarantee your job is safe. If you don't like being in an office, well sad story, all companies are doing now. Good luck getting a full time WFH job if that's your requirement.
If you're 50ish, Senior, at end of salary range - you'll be laid off soon. Throw away any achievements you earned over the years, or how well you performed. I am still baffled at why some of the elderly still work there.
The concept is called keeping the rabble on a tight leash.
- They want people to quit
- They are likely being influenced by board members etc. that have large investments in corporate real estate