Heard mandatory two days in office will be set in stone for hybrid folks so you can’t choose your two days come summertime. It’s going to be determined for you. Is this a rumor or is this for real?
80 replies (most recent on top)
“I'm like an auto mechanic when there are no repairs to complete. And i have no choice but to be idle.”
Honestly if you have enough time to sit around being idle, enjoy it. You’ll see in a lot of these threads some of us are working our tails off doing forced OT. I wish I had your problems
Here is how I consider it. I worked at home for four years without an issue. Apparently, consistently doing good work and meeting deadlines was not what Cigna leadership wanted.
No. I was forced into an office where no one else on my team is, for the stated purpose of "collaboration". Great, I am here ready to do so, but there is no one to collaborate with.
So, I am not supposed to just get work done and I'm unable to collaborate. I guess I am stuck another day doing nothing until I can leave. I'm like an auto mechanic when there are no repairs to complete. And i have no choice but to be idle.
"If finding another job is THAT hard and you need your current job THAT bad, don't complain about it."
I'm sure you've never complained about something that you struggled with and struggled to change. People are allowed to complain about what bothers them, such as terrible working conditions and changes to those conditions they don't have control over.
I'm simply saying you don't know everyone's situation which might keep them in a job they're unhappy with. That isn't my situation, but I do know coworkers here who are in that situation. Empathy costs little to give to others.
"I think we've all been on calls where nothing gets done because someone's child is constantly interrupting them as they try to talk. It's a waste of everyone's time."
That hasn't been my experience. The coworkers I know who had children that they kept at home are some of the biggest producers within their department. When on calls with them, the children were never a problem and didn't stop anyone from getting work done. I'm honestly impressed with their ability to manage both.
And yet, I've sat in numerous other meetings with no children in the background and nothing meaningful was done. The meeting could have been an email, but then that would have taken planning on the host's part to create an agenda and stick to it.
I'm not saying others haven't had the opposite experience. But let's not claim that meetings are perfect without children and always terrible with children around. It all depends on the situation.
Again, empathy toward employees and their situation can make all the difference. Allowing your employees to choose what works best for their situation isn't that hard. And if it turns out not being best for the situation, then the manager talks to that employee individually and they sort it out. Not these blanket inflexible mandates that do more harm than help.
Here is a handy instruction manual for any of us looking to cut productivity in response to this initiative
https://www.openculture.com/2022/01/read-the-cias-simple-sabotage-field-manual.html
Much of this is surprisingly effective even today
"WAH has allowed many caregivers to enter the workforce and still keep their children at home through flexible scheduling and empathetic managers. People who are just as skilled and hardworking as someone who can hold a more inflexible schedule."
I'm sorry but it is hard to believe that you think someone with their kids at home while they work from home is as successful as someone whose kids are not. It's impossible to be as focused on work if you have children you are also caring for. I think we've all been on calls where nothing gets done because someone's child is constantly interrupting them as they try to talk. It's a waste of everyone's time. Cigna's policy is, and ALWAYS has been, that you need child care for kids who need caring for even if you work from home.
"In an ideal world, yes, absolutely. ......"
If finding another job is THAT hard and you need your current job THAT bad, don't complain about it :)
Thanks for the insight but I'll pass. Instead, I'll follow the lead of the great Homer Simpson
https://cdn.tvgag.com/content/quotes/5468_ret.jpg
Sorry, don't be offended if you are in operations and/or call center. But do these rules also apply for more prestigious depts like AI or Actuarial?
"Take some agency in your lives!"
In an ideal world, yes, absolutely. However, there are many reasons why a person might stay in a job that they are unhappy with. Not everyone is in a situation where they can start job searching and find something, especially when some roles/industries are in really competitive, tight markets. Job searching is practically another job. It takes a lot of work, commitment, and luck. Not everyone has the health, time, money, or connections to get an exit plan in gear simply because they're unhappy with their company's direction.
Not to mention, people are allowed to feel upset about drastic changes to their schedule that they had no input in. That's more than "Jobs sometimes have requirements you don’t like." It'd be one thing if you go into your position expecting hybrid. It's another when you're hired under the expectation that you're WAH and then see the changes happen where you have no input and are either suddenly expected to be hybrid or you're still WAH but see all opportunity for growth dry up because of that.
And to those who can't understand the frustration or stress that moving from WAH to hybrid can have on a person or their family, try some empathy. In a world where most families have to have both spouses working and childcare is expensive and difficult to find, WAH has allowed many caregivers to enter the workforce and still keep their children at home through flexible scheduling and empathetic managers. People who are just as skilled and hardworking as someone who can hold a more inflexible schedule.
So yeah, ideally, create an exit plan out of this terrible company that doesn't care about their employees' needs. And if you can't, do what you can to insulate yourself from the people who can't be bothered to show empathy and take care of yourself.
Guys. It’s a job. Jobs sometimes have requirements you don’t like. If the aspects you don’t like outweigh the ones you do, you find another job. You aren’t locked into Cigna. Take some agency in your lives!
@1msm+1rZfLLBQ “oh no! how did children survive pre-covid???”
That’s it…they survived. But they saw their parents less. And you try explaining to a kid why their parents are around less. You’re probably a Karen or Ken who yells and tells kids to shut up, get off your lawn, and get out of the community pool. Maybe not. You are definitely the kind person who goes in 5 days a week, and loves being around a bunch of people who are miserable to be in the office when there is no reason for it. If being in office works for you, great…but why would you want to force people to do something that is less productive and unhelpful for them? My guess is you are a manager with your total lack of compassion and sarcasm towards people who are rightfully upset.
In my case I was hired as work from home in 2019. Cigna made a commitment to me as a condition or benefit of my employment. They have taken that away, so why should I continue to have the same commitment level to Cigna? Business is a two way street. They take stuff away, I do less and less at work. I am so disengaged and can’t focus when I am at my picnic table non-cubicle. I don’t even get cabinet or drawer to keep my personal items in. I see all the frowns and scowls around me and that sinks my morale. 80% of my weekly work gets done on the two days I am at home. Great job Cigna. You took a high performing worker and squashed their output. Good luck with this next draconian move.
my team recently went return to office for 3 days... kicker is none of my team is in my location so it's just doing what I would do at home at office except now I have to waste time commuting
@1qwf+1rZfLLBQ oh no! how did children survive pre-covid????
"If push comes to shove, i am going to send them the freaking out of pocket expense of my 1000 doctor visits."
No you won't.
I hate this whole stress of making an unwanted attendance. Like we are in elementary schools . Speaking of elementary , my kid goes to elementary and he is constantly sick and makes me and my wife sick too. And when he is all fine, we end up carrying germs from office. How do we manage all this ? Do they want me to come to office and make everyone else sick? If push comes to shove, i am going to send them the freaking out of pocket expense of my 1000 doctor visits. This is absolutely crazy for families with babies and young kids. It’s crazy.
It’s time people quit rolling over and putting up with nonsense. Don’t be a yes-man, do what’s right for your team. It’s not like the very few actually know what’s going on and they’re not going to be profitable if they keep running things into the ground. Do the right thing.
My guess is Cordani is planning on retiring in about a year. He’s doing everything he can to max out all the shares he owns, including destroying employee sentiment and damaging the company, because he only needs short term profit to walk away as rich as possible. If it all falls apart in 3 years why would he care when he is sitting on a yacht in the Maldives.
For a long time he was a long term vision leader who wanted to make sure the company thrived, which can only happen if employees are feeling good in general. Culture has changed so much so fast and he’s a huge part of it since culture flows downhill.
Research is there. Return to office mandates are harmful if they don’t offer flexibility. They are taking flexibility away and are too smart not to know that will upset many people. The layoffs were expensive with severance so they can reduce headcount more cheaply if they do stuff to make more people quit. What they aren’t counting on is quiet quitting and resenteeism. If you stay, give Cigna as little as possible since they are taking more and more from you. I plan on GTFO ASAP.
I saw a memo being prepared by a VP which states that hybrid employees may be reclassified to office if they haven’t been compliant with FOW.
Meanwhile the majority of employees remain Remote...
Oh yeah morale was already down, just look at the postings here over the last few months. They have got to be prodding us to quit.
Forever on the cutting edge of innovation, Cigna leadership has early adopted this emerging trend:
https://nypost.com/2024/04/10/lifestyle/new-workplace-trend-resenteeism-has-employees-working-less-hard-because-they-hate-their-jobs/
@xul+1rZfLLBQ “since there aren't any serious rebuttals made”
How about this? While in-person collaboration is great when all or
most of the collaborators are in the same place, most of the time teams are distributed so that benefit is lost and it becomes in-office remote work. Also
- forced commutes increase pollution
- risk employee injury and life due to how dangerous driving cars is statistically
- significantly reduce talent pool because the most talented generally will go where things are remote or highly flexible
- increase absenteeism due to increased spread of germs in office
- reduce productivity for neuro-divergent people who have no privacy and are distracted by others when in an open office “cubicle”
- many people were hired remote and that was a commitment made to the employer; failing that commitment sets up a scenario of employees must meet commitments but employer doesn’t have to
- take home payne reduction due to commuting costs and increased taxes (for those who live in a state with income tax but also have to pay income tax to the state where the office is)
- increased family stress due to less time
- the list goes on
Short version is good employers care about the outcome of work, not where and when it is done. This is about control, commercial real estate markets, and tax incentives
Perry soon it will be back to 5 days a week. I’ve been going in since September, have kept my in office at above 50% and have spent less than one-tenth of a percent of my time in collaboration. No one on my team is in my area, they are in other offices. This is pointless…unless they are looking for more ways to reduce workforce by people quitting or being able to avoid severance by firing people.
Fu-k this place.
What is there to be positive about with this? Any group that wanted to come in on the same days could already do so. For others, it's another degradation of the working environment.
What happened to all the early talk about providing flexibility? Erased from the intranet and we are supposed to cheerlead? Guffaw guffaw.
Down vote all you want. That's apparently the extent of your capabilities in this matter since there aren't any serious rebuttals made. I bet you feel super powerful
Cracking up about how MAD some people are at the 2 commenters being even slightly positive…. y’all need to get a grip bahahaha
@vtc+1rZfLLBQ are you aware that many teams are distributed across many locations?
I've been coming in for a month now, and haven't in-person collaborated once. I don't need to sit around and listen to other people's WebEx meetings. This is rubbish.
@wfw+1rZfLLBQ as if staffing reductions have anything to do with productivity. Bless your heart
@jrl+1rZfLLBQ In a year “why’d I get laid offffffffffffff”
Not sure who crapped in your lunch but I agree this makes sense and will foster better collaboration. For anyone complaint it’s TWO DAYS A WEEK out of five. Calm down
Every time they pull some bull cr-p on us, I permanently drop my productivity to help balance the scales. This will almost put me to the point of doing negative work. Rock on, Cordani!
Oh yeah, nothing but wonderful. People already hate the way it is now, I'm sure they will be over the moon when this is implemented
Oh awesome this would be a great change! Makes more sense to have everyone in the office on the same days instead of scattered days when you never get to see and connection with everyone! I hope this is true
"Future of Work" on Iris. Apologies for the omission
Check the "Future of Work". Suddenly, anything referring to flexibility in choosing your days has been removed. Hmmm...
Not a rumor. I was told mandatory Two days at dictated by corporate so that the entire company is in the office at the same time with one flex day to come in. BUT we must be in the office 3x no excuses.
Re: Asking because I heard it’s going to be announced in an upcoming townhall by David.
My manager strongly encouraged us to attend next week's town hall in today's staff meeting. More strongly than he normally would. I wonder if this is why!
From what I see in the office, I wouldn't be surprised if this is the "next step" to trying to enforce compliance. I personally don't see what appears to be compliance, unless more people are coming in on Fridays (which I highly doubt).
Asking because I heard it’s going to be announced in an upcoming townhall by David. Wondering if others are hearing the same thing. Best case, it’s a rumor. Worst case, people have a heads up to think about how to coordinate home life/responsibilities with in-office requirements. And if my senior director knew, I wouldn’t be asking…
Even posting rumors like this is SO stupid for a company with 70k employees and 100 offices in the U.S. It depends on your team! Every org sets its own policies. If you’re asking because you’re curious how your team will be impacted, ask your manager or skip level.
This is already the case in our org. We had to pick which 3 days to be in the office and have to be in on those days unless we are on PTO. Many don’t follow it though.