#culture

While Starlink is pushing the industry forward and Wall Street is raising concerns about what that could mean for AT&T, we’re still consumed by RTO, presence reports, and building a new headquarters. That’s the only focus here and it feels completely backwards.

Instead of talking about how we’re going to compete with Starlink, people are talking about badge swipes and making sure they sit in a chair for eight hours before heading home. Time that many employees once spent working extra is now spent commuting. The result is 8&skate culture where people check the box, do their eight hours, and leave. That’s not how you build an innovative company, but that’s the culture Stink has created with RTO, FTW, and Presence monitoring.

At the same time, we’re spending billions on a new headquarters nobody wants while facing one of the biggest competitive threats the company has ever seen. Shouldn’t the priority be improving our competitive position, controlling costs, and attracting and retaining the talent needed to compete?

The conversation should be about how we beat new competitors, not how many days people are in what office. If leadership wants this company to be successful, the priorities have to change. Right now, it feels like we’re looking inward while the competition is looking forward.

Time is running out, and if things don’t shift soon there won’t be an AT&T left for these egos to lord over.

It's nearly 3 months late at this point

Why some people are still virtual?

Things will not improve, they will not learn, there is no greener grass elsewhere.

The best you can do is learn to detach from all this - accept and embrace the sh-t show.

More and more tenured reps are leaving or being muscled out and what's left behind are new blood reps who don't even know how to hold a conversation on the phone and transfer every call to tier 2 lines. No interest in learning or helping the client. Just working as Transfer Specialists now.

Good move on Travis V. He was obvious, d-mb as dirt.

However, you need to do the same for the rest of the clowns in ISG - Directors, VPs, SVPs. A couple are okay but most have no business doing what they're getting paid to do. Just look at their track records. Their failed records speak loud and clear who should hit the bricks.

How Dell managed to bring in so many incompetent dipshiiiits in high ranking positions is a mystery.

I was told by an AD yesterday that they were asked “to do something they don’t typically do for midyear reviews and when asked why the Director said they don’t know why.” Any idea what this is and if it’s specific to this org or something happening more broadly?

America's Test Kitchen has undergone multiple rounds of layoffs and operational shifts since its acquisition by Marquee Brands. These changes include the closure of ATK Kids and Cook's Country magazine, alongside a strategic pivot towards digital content and influencer collaborations. Company leadership asserts these adjustments are necessary for adaptation in a changing media landscape, aiming for organizational right-sizing rather than simple cost-cutting. Former employees express concerns that these shifts may dilute the brand's core mission of rigorous recipe testing. Despite these internal shifts, the company's flagship television show remains a primary driver of subscriptions.

Boston, MA

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/07/09/business/americas-test-kitchen-layoffs-strategy/

Anyone else fed up? No parameters or structure to our roles so we’ve been worked to the bone for the last few years and dealt with incredibly pushy and unprofessional attitudes and leaders in the name of “candor”. Movement is tough with limited internal and external mobility. Silicon Valley bro expectations like we work for Amazon or Meta on a Target salary and mediocre raises that barely cover the cost of living increases.

Producing 10x what we did even two years ago is the expectation with no recognition or belief in you from your leader to show for it. Just “feed it into AI”, constantly.

The bar for success is constantly moving so you can never, ever keep up. Exhibiting behaviors well above your level and still not being seen or heard for them. And don’t get me started on the steamrolling.

I’m not one to be so negative. I loved this company coming into it years and years ago. And I know many of us work our a**es off. I critique it because I know it can be better. But in its current state, our output will never enough in many areas where expectations rapidly shift and the loudest dominating, borderline bullying voices are rewarded. Such a shame because I know incredible people and leaders here.

Long gone - retired just before and during the Operation Excellence phase of the merger. After that all he-l came in from Frank. Jeff Y was gone to a house in Florida with a ton of cash. Everybody else learned SAPIENCE at the risk of termination. Yes there were problems of course - even IBM could su-k up a disaster or two. But the relatively good firm was shot full of holes. Am very sad at what it has become today.

We was told the annual employee survey was supposed to happen in June. Still nothing.

I have to wonder why… Are they worried the results will look like they did last time?

Because the feedback has been pretty clear… Employees have been saying the same things over and over, five-day RTO is hurting morale, the presence report is damaging trust, and people feel like leadership isn’t listening.

The action plans that come out afterward have become a joke. They check the box, put out some talking points, and nothing changes. They never actually address the issue employees are raising.

The answer isn’t another mental health program or another communication campaign. The feedback has been loud and consistent about what the biggest problem is.

At some point, leadership has to decide if they actually want honest feedback or just feedback that confirms what they already believe.

If the strategy is working, release the survey, get the results, and prove it. Or are you too scared to get your ego bruised again, Jon?

Anyone had NetApp admit they made a mistake getting rid of you and asked you to come back to the same role as if you never left? Didn't happen to me, but curious of others had it happen?

What’s your final answer? Are you staying opted in? Why or why not? Hmmmmm? There is just soooo much to look forward to! It’s gonna be Hhhuuuuuuggggeeeeee!! Centene is gonna be the biggest and bestest health plan EVER! No one has ever seen anything like it!

I am astonish to discover after some research, how many of those middle management people at Centene have just a high school or just or just a CNA. I cannot reasonable understand how they can provide with real leadership and evaluate people in a real balanced way. What can we expect from people without any education to The Cost-Efficiency Model: Corporations often prioritize the ability to "do more with less." A manager who can reliably enforce corporate mandates and keep the department functioning within budget—regardless of their academic credentials—is often viewed as "effective" by the organization, even if they lack the capacity for the systemic, empathetic leadership. I understand now, why the government is checking and following the health care organizations....

Bring back the survey you bloody cowards, too afraid of your employees you’d rather bury your head in a hole?

As expected, my LinkedIn feed for the last 18 hours has been filled with former colleagues announcing they had been kicked to the curb by OpenText.

But in a new sick twist, a number of remaining employees have taken to LinkedIn to crow how they were promoted over the past two days. The posts all read the same as if they were told or highly encouraged to post and what to post.

In addition, there were posts (on the same day as their colleagues being dumped) celebrating the addition of new employees.

There is no doubt that ELT and HR have orchestrated this to cover up the nasty truth that a number of talented, hard working, productive people were sacrificed to almighty Canadian dollar to make amends for the sins of Tom Jenkins as he leads this company to ruin.

OpenText under the leadership of Jenkins, the clueless BoD, Bell, Muhi, and the rest of the clownshow ELT has become classless and hopeless.

Unwittingly, OT is showing what it really means when they say the company is "Canadian by design" ... Incompetent, fractured and losing relevance.

How this company is so backwards. We got another ”people team” leadership. How many have we had in the last 6 years?? The out of touch CEO have no clue how bad it is here and no career trajectory for anyone unless you are a former GS executive or best pal with the EC.

Time to take summer vacation!

Good riddance SH

For years we’ve been told the next initiative was going to turn this company around. First it was five-day RTO. Then it was AI. Then workforce reductions. Then another reorganization. Then a new headquarters campus. The strategy keeps changing, but the underlying problems don’t.

Meanwhile, employees have been saying the same thing the entire time - morale is declining, trust has been destroyed, experienced people are leaving, and the company is becoming a harder sell to younger talent. Instead of asking why so many people are saying the same thing, leadership keeps doubling down and acting like the employees are the problem.

At some point you have to stop blaming the workforce and start questioning the strategy. Success isn’t measured by how many people badge into an office or how many presence reports get generated. It’s measured by whether people want to work here, whether great candidates want to join, and whether the business is actually moving in the right direction.

The market eventually exposes every bad strategy. Employees vote with their feet. Candidates vote by accepting offers somewhere else. Investors vote every day the market is open. Those are the scorecards that ultimately matter… not another memo telling everyone the strategy is working.

Six years is enough time to judge a strategy and its results. Nothing has improved.

Leadership shouldn’t be evaluated by speeches, memos, or slogans. It should be evaluated by results.

Has the company become a more attractive place to work? Has it become easier to recruit top talent? Has morale improved? Has the culture become stronger? Has the strategy delivered the long-term results shareholders and employees were promised?

Those are the questions the board should be asking and the answer to every single one is NO.

I think it’s fair to ask whether the current strategy and the leadership behind it is the right one for the company’s future.

No leader should be immune from accountability. A truly market-based culture should hold leadership to the same standard it expects of everyone else. Nobody else with this poor performance would still be around. Get this loser out while there’s still something to save.

After another round of layoffs ( people who worked over 10 yrs have been layed off shortly after they were celebrated by the upper management although there are seemingly a lot open positions suitable). Offshore colleagues are being solely treated as numbers and laid off - still we are expected to perform even more because of "AI"...

Any medical device company that thinks AI is here to disrupt it are foolish and wrong. AI is here to disrupt mo--ns like every EVP and SVP at this company that can’t read or reply to emails on time and it’s here to definitely stay in manufacturing and will be utilized in imaging but when it comes therapy, AI will ki-l people and GM is the biggest id--t for not understanding this basic thing. Cathworks will prove it that GM acquired a fu--ing science project while scientia will pay dividends for years to come

At Boeing let’s name all the shitHole department to avoid!

Please.

Our Market director was in my store today and said Savvy said it was delivered today. I said please what do your eyes say? They said check the back I said what do you think, it’s Santas workshop back there? I told him our PepsiCo website also shows employees smiling, you see that? I told him to go send another savvy tracker, it’ll get you the same result, NOTHING!

FYI - Psychopaths: in corporate America, that number jumps to 3% to 21% for senior executives. This means 1 in 5 business leaders can have psychopathic traits. This is the same rate seen in prisons.

This is my view of where we are in '26. Take allof this with a grain of salt as I've been wrong many times before. This is reflecting my views and I am not sharing any internal information. And, yes, I am angry:

1. The culture has changd and not for the better.
2. Bottom-up ideas no longer seem to matter. Period.
3. Politics + self-preservation are in, real leadership is out
4. WAY TOO MANY managers, way too little accountability.
5. Collaboration is talked about. it is NOT practiced.
6. Quality people are leaving. Some are waiting for the right time to jump.
7. AI just an excuse to cut roles. OK, maybe has some bus use too.
8. Some teams are way too bloated - some teams have already been cut way too deep.
9. Offshore turns companies to sh-t, it's happening to us to. Poor quality, poor oversight.
10. Value standards have slipped, enshitification is in progress.
11. Come in and work/collaboration in office, but it's OK to ship work offshore. Sick.
12. Morale is low, trust is weak, and it's gettin worse.
13. The old T. Rowe Price is gone.

I’ve noticed that almost every day there’s another LinkedIn post from someone leaving Appian. What's got me is that many of them have been with the company for 4 or, 5, or even 10 years. At the same time, I keep seeing lots of Appian jobs being advertized. Im just trying to understand and wonder what’s happening. Is the company growing that quickly, or are these roles mainly replacing people who are leaving?

I’m asking because changing jobs is a big decision. If you’re happy where you are, you don’t want to leave for something that looks great on paper only to find it’s not what you expected. I’m not criticizing Appian or suggesting there’s a problem &I honestly donnno. I’m just interested in hearing from people who work there now or have left recently. Is this just normal, or is there something that’s driving so many people to move on?

The only thing that’s cycling more rapidly than our MREs now is my bipolar disorder.

Today I witnessed all that is wrong with the human race. All people really care about is themselves, they asked the questions, but all they really wanted to know or hear was not me, not me(this time). However, what I found most disgusting was the thanking and emoji sending of hi---rs henchmen who were send out in force, it made me sick to my stomach tbh, to all the good people who left today I genuinely will miss you guys and I wish you well over the next few months.

Any news?

Let’s call it out the directors of the UR Department are world class actresses but little to no experience actually doing the front line work
They attempt to put on world class performances but the workers know
It could be so much better

Fun fact before I forget visiting this site (got a better job elsewhere); my friend did high end catering in San Ramon area. He did a private house and told me “hey buddy, I think I did an event for your company”. Sure enough I opened website to show him leadership and he said it was them. They all have zombie personalities behind closed doors. That politician personality is not just for us, its who they are. Lol imagine that act non stop.

Everyone: one day they will kick you out, get advanced degrees licenses, do projects you want (in 6 months you will get a new supervisor and can lie about your responsibilities). There is a flaw in system, dont analyze it to death here: exploit it. Good luck.

It's truly never been worse here.
There's so much more to life than this place. If the clowns at the top don't change the 'market based culture' (which is just a phrase used to change the subject away from discussing the worst employee culture around) quickly, then the point of no-return is upon us.

The laid off like the BEST people ever earlier this year. Then I see posts lately of bottom of the barrel leaders accepting leadership roles at Cigna this summer. Like why would they hire them and layoff others beats me.

_https://www.linkedin.com/posts/alisonmurphy541_sarah-london-hadnt-driven-her-kids-to-school-activity-7478557950656225280-Sh3E?_

You really can’t make this stuff up. Who approved the article? They should be the first one ejected from this clown car.

While CenTeamers are trying to figure out if buyouts, layoffs, reorgs, and product exits are coming for them next, LinkedIn gets a heartwarming leadership lesson built around Sarah London’s stress.

To be fair, this doesn’t look like Centene PR. It looks like an executive coach using Sarah London’s story as a leadership-content hook/executive pitch for women about “non-negotiables club.” Which somehow makes it even weirder.

In the story, Sarah was stressed out, Sarah got a coach, a reset, and a nice little inspiration arc. “CenTeamers” got uncertainty, canned talking points, and their own version of non-negotiable: take the exit or wait for the system to decide for them. And it’s non-negotiable…

Someone else mentioned this in a previous thread. The internal podcast is called “London Calling.”

Perfect.

The Clash wrote a warning song about systems breaking down. The song was about disorder, pressure, uncertainty, and the sense that the people in charge were not really in control. Centene turned it into her personal executive branding. Nailed it!

Sounds like a great follow up LinkedIn post to spike the football on how to be ruthlessly non-negotiable. “Lean in” on the non-negotiable nature of executive leadership in the months to come. Spin it as growth or sumthin’. It’s an opportunity!

The chorus:

The ice age is comin', the sun's zoomin' in
Meltdown expected, the wheat is growin' thin
Engines stop runnin', but I have no fear
'Cause London is drownin' and I live by the river

Maybe the next episode can offer breathing exercises for “CenTeamers” hearing “we need to shift,” explaining layoffs to their families, and wondering if their login still works next month.

Inhale: “we value our people.”

Exhale: “your role has been impacted.”

Inspirational stuff. Bring the puffer jacket. The Clash warned about the ice age coming, and somehow she’s turned it into a leadership moment.

The large disconnect between Truist Messaging and the way it treats its employees and clients has to be the greatest hypocrisy of any marketing campaign. Employees are being set up, thrown out, and reputations smeared. Clients are getting over engineered loans and being pushed out aggressively for no reason. This doesn’t seem to fit anything w purpose? Certainly isn’t making better lives and communities. Definitely not unwavering with care!? How can you throw some many lies out there and think the public won’t figure it out? Great job Bill. You get an F for CEO. Failing grade.

Hey

I don't hate my life anymore!

Remember when T as a company was an innovator of new technologies. What was T's last successful innovation? They lost that culture and were duped into spending 100's of billions in mergers and takeovers only to have to sell them for pennies on the dollar. How did the once top innovator in the world miss the AI innovation?