Thread regarding Cigna layoffs

How serious are they ?

Does anyone have a first hand information on how the HR is going to track the hours ? Most people I speak to including say they won’t be able to complete 8 hours everytime. In that case does everyone fall under the same bucket ? Example, a person working 3 hours each day vs a person working 6-7 hours each day will be equally fired.

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| 2581 views | | 22 replies (last May 14, 2024) | Reply
Post ID: @OP+1sspDx7q

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What if you don't have anything to type every 5 min? Like a training or meeting or listening to a customer what then, do people actually get in trouble or worse?

Yes. If you do not move between screens every 5 minutes the program in one clinical area times out. Therefore if you are in a meeting and eating lunch (even a lunch and learn) the system/productivity program assumes you are not at your desk working and you/your manager will have to explain why your hours were not met.

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Post ID: @4ikd+1sspDx7q

@3tpx+1sspDx7q Yes , there was never a strict protocol on this. Expectation was to be available when most of the team is available. Usually 9-4 is what we go with even when WFH. Post 4 I generally do not expect my team to be available. But people just are always there when they are WFH. People step out to pick up kids or for appts and block the calendar so it’s not an issue. I am sure it will be challenging specially when we are approaching summer break. I am sure I am not gonna able to stay for whole 8 hours.

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Post ID: @3tvv+1sspDx7q

@3tpx+1sspDx7q

I can only speak for my team, but as long as we acted like adults (getting work done, not leaving early 2-3 times a week, etc), there was no concerns about a late start, early departure, or a work-at-home day

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Post ID: @3iux+1sspDx7q

Genuine question from someone who was hired WAH years ago: how were things enforced when WAH wasn’t the norm? For those who went into an office most of the time, if not full time, did you feel like you could comfortably leave for appointments or to pick up your kids or go home sick without having to make up those in-office hours at another time? Because if so, that would make the new policy even more ridiculous than it already is.

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Post ID: @3tpx+1sspDx7q

Why would I be in the mindset of doing my best work under these circumstances? Treat us like garbage, you may get garbage in return.

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Post ID: @3zcf+1sspDx7q

"I received productivity report weekly to show how “productive” I am. I am only considered productive if I am using specific Cigna websites and apps, and if I’m hitting a keystroke every 5 minutes. I am a band 3 customer-facing role who does not work on customer service."

What if you don't have anything to type every 5 min? Like a training or meeting or listening to a customer what then, do people actually get in trouble or worse?

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Post ID: @3vnp+1sspDx7q

@3ytt+1sspDx7q

Had to?? That's rich. They could have done a number of things in response to the clear indication that employees don't want to be back in office.

They could have accepted it and began downsizing real estate. They could have incentivized employees who were coming in. They could have solicited feedback and implemented things that made employees want to be in the office.

Those are off the top of my head and I am sure there are many other ways to respond besides running around from facility to facility installing badge readers to hold over our heads and cudgel us into compliance

My motivation and enthusiasm for this job has never been lower. But hey, I will be physically in a building for 24 hours. Whee.

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Post ID: @3ken+1sspDx7q

The original FOW policy was mainly about government policies and Cigna getting to retain tax benefits, at least in CT. By classifying (some) workers as CT based, those workers who were out of state have CT state income tax deducted when they didnt before (it su-ks to have two states deducting income tax!). To do so, Cigna only needed to mandate more than half the time to be able to change classifications.

The new FOW policy is certainly connected to this because non-compliant workers were able to put down they only spent 10% or less time in CT so Cigna is forcing it now to make sure CT gets the revenue they expected in a trade off for Cigna paying almost no tax to CT. But it is also being implemented in a way to get people to quit so they don’t have to pay as much severance on future layoffs. Otherwise Cigna would be more honest and open as to why it was making these changes. Most of us know it is not helping collaboration when most teams are split over locations and many workers are still WAH.

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Post ID: @3yzz+1sspDx7q

@3lau+1sspDx7q , yes some level of employment is generated and give encourages it . But not sure why 8 hour had to be a thing to achieve the govt goals. It’s so baseless that only the HR alone can find these genius ideas.

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Post ID: @3bjw+1sspDx7q

“ Also, this has nothing to do with trying to force people to quit without paying severence. The FOW initiatives have everything to do with government incentives to bring employees back to dying cities post-covid. Look it up.”

It absolutely has to do with both.

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Post ID: @3lau+1sspDx7q

There aren’t even enough desks for everyone at the larger offices. Management on other teams have said they cannot be assigned a desk because there are no spaces. How is that fair? So what I should fake an address close to my manager so I don’t have to go in like then instead of going to an office in a state none of my peers live?

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Post ID: @3hmf+1sspDx7q

@2iyk+1sspDx7q Yup, and because not enough people followed the more flexible guidelines, they had to impose stricter ones

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Post ID: @3ytt+1sspDx7q

Also, this has nothing to do with trying to force people to quit without paying severence. The FOW initiatives have everything to do with government incentives to bring employees back to dying cities post-covid. Look it up.

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Post ID: @2iyk+1sspDx7q

Do you really think WAH employees are untethered and unmonitored? By and large, they’ve taken away VPN access ensuring that most employees cannot tether from their personal phones. I must strike a key on my keyboard 1x every 5 minutes. Management has the ability to remote view my desktop. My phone calls and WebEx are monitored. I received productivity report weekly to show how “productive” I am. I am only considered productive if I am using specific Cigna websites and apps, and if I’m hitting a keystroke every 5 minutes. I am a band 3 customer-facing role who does not work on customer service. My guess is most of the enterprise is made up of band 3 employees. I’m hardly unmonitored and untethered.

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Post ID: @2dmq+1sspDx7q

I’m a director and have been in high level meetings and can tell you this is being taken very serious. Managers will get reports on their employees and be given the choice to take action or potentially have action taken against them for not enforcing Cigna policy.

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Post ID: @2fhp+1sspDx7q

A friend of mine was like 'this will all go away soon.' I asked her if she had read the policy because that was not the impression I had. Her mabager has yet to even say anything to her about the new expectations. I don't get how some are so unconcerned about it given what all of us have heard and read.

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Post ID: @1xug+1sspDx7q

As a manager I’ve been in the FOW call as well as had discussions with senior leadership. HR is dead serious. Badge swipes have always been tracked, but haven’t been reviewed like this since they were revamping CT office and had to figure out who wasn’t coming in that didn’t need a desk so they could rotate everyone else to areas not under construction.

Managers are responsible for enforcing, so in places without badge out manager will either see them at office, or we’ve been told reports will be available eventually on how long your machine was connected to office internet. We’ve also been told that HR will be randomly auditing so if we don’t write up non compliant employees, we can get written up or even fired. Until we get more clarification, we are to assume that employees will only get a single warning before termination. I didn’t sign up to be a babysitter but that’s what they want from us.

I’d say they are very serious about this unfortunately. Some permissive managers might let their direct reports slide, and like all things in an enterprise this size, consequences will be applied unfairly and unevenly. It’s not fair, but sadly a lot of stuff goes on here that isn’t fair.

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Post ID: @1iuf+1sspDx7q

"while so many others are completely untethered, unmonitoried, and w@h."

You don't seriously believe that w@h means unmonitored do you??

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Post ID: @1apb+1sspDx7q

so inequitable. 20% of employees forced to work in office (after 15 years as w@h) while so many others are completely untethered, unmonitoried, and w@h.

all in the hope of Cigna saving $ from having to pay out severence?

shame on Cigna. shame on the ELT. vitality indeed.

every time cordani opens his mouth more bologna comes out.

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Post ID: @1oab+1sspDx7q

@1fyy+1sspDx7q Yes the language seemed
like that. They were ready to accommodate a few things but not on a permanent basis. So I am a bit surprised why some people are not taking it seriously. Each to their own I guess. And there would be warnings for sure before they take any action. May be 2-3 . The thing that is super frustrating is that they are giving any controls to people. Like how many incidents are excused ? How many warnings ? All of this is giving me severe anxiety. Hate Cigna for this

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Post ID: @1rsi+1sspDx7q

Extremely serious and will be applied evenly to assuage fairness concerns

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Post ID: @1fyy+1sspDx7q

Don’t have the first hand info , but I hope they make it black and white. Else there will be a lot of unfair situations.

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Post ID: @cdl+1sspDx7q

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