#hybridwork

RTO is coming to an end. Productivity is down, morale is worse than ever, and people are leaving in waves for companies that offer flexibility. The younger workforce doesn’t want to live in traffic five days a week, and the veterans are burned out.

Every major study shows hybrid work drives better results, retention, and satisfaction. Forcing everyone back has done the opposite. Billions are being wasted on office space instead of innovation, debt reduction, or employee development.

RTO didn’t build culture or collaboration. It built resentment and distrust. The future of work is flexible, and every company that matters knows it. It’s time AT&T caught up.

How is it that whether the 35 mile rule applies depends on which leader you talk to? Some executives are telling teams that anyone living more than 35 miles from a corporate hub will be considered remote, while others insist there are no mileage exemptions at all. I'm seeing teammates receive different rules based on their department or their manager.

If leadership intends to allow mileage based exceptions, those criteria should be published so everyone knows who qualifies and why, instead of decisions being made behind closed doors. Teammates, myself included, have reorganized their lives around previously communicated expectations about remote work deserve clear answers. Is there or isn’t there a 35 mile policy?

When will the email be sent ordering remote Phase 2 employees to RTO? I heard rumors it will be as early as January 2026. Anyone with intel on the matter?

Client success teammates received an email from Shelley today confirming that return to office 5 days a week applies to us as well. You can understand how taken aback we were considering we only have 2 months to adjust to this new norm. Not sure how they think the entire department will fit in all of the hubs 5 days a week with the space constraints. The worst part is that TM’s hired during and after Covid that lived hours away were told if they lived 50 miles or more they would be fully remote while the rest of us returned to work. Those of us that have been with the company for years that are showing up week after week are making all the sacrifices. How is that fair? Here’s the kicker: when it was Suntrust prior to Covid, we were on a 3 day work week so hybrid was never new to us it was always the norm. Do they not realize that the only thing keeping us here was the work flexibility? With that out the door there is nothing keeping us from jumping ship and looking for something closer with more money. Teammates take a stand together. We need to learn to stick up for ourselves and collectively say “no!” They need us. They can’t fire us all.

I am getting so sick of my Teams calls, meetings, and emails getting hijacked by team mates not in Dallas and literally talking so much that no one else has a chance. You guys aren’t the only ones who are working. We have to give our updates too and talk about our projects. It’s our company too. And this ridiculous RTO they are punishing us for in Dallas is because yall are actively annoying and hard to get rid off.

5-6 hours is enough if you go back home and finish up there
8 hours is perfection

I came to the office at 228 a little late, this morning. It was about 9:30. I parked in my usual area - which wasn’t difficult since the lot was about 1/4 the number of cars as Mon through Wed.

I walked through quiet dim passage areas, going by conference rooms of various capacity, all boasting of being free all day. Then past the large collaboration area that only seems to have people collaborating for bagels every other Tuesday and occasional pizza.

So, “where is everybody? What happened to the mandatory RTO five days a week.

Please be nice to the person you are working with! We want to help you! We have been given a directive that we are expected to follow. We are doing our best but volumes are high due to the new 8 hour requirement. Thank you.

I’m hearing a lot of rumors about possible RIFs at Verizon, and I’m wondering if anyone knows whether remote or hybrid employees could be more at risk. Do you think Verizon might target work-from-home employees first, or is that just speculation?

I’d like to hear what others are seeing in their groups and whether RTO status is actually a factor when it comes to layoffs.

3 days per week, working 8 continuous hours a day. I heard it. Did you?

I have been coffee badging ever since RTO started and I have never heard anything from my manager about time spent in the office. I am the sole person on my team at my location so I never see anyone I know when I go in. So I typically take a few calls at the office in the morning then head home to finish up.

Reading all the posts here about managers cracking down about number of hours in office makes me curious if I’m the only one who hasn’t had any related time tracking guidance yet? I don’t see myself changing up my in-office routine unless I hear something from my manager directly.

What is the typical hybrid schedule for this location? Relocating to this area and was wondering if anyone knew.

https://fortune.com/2025/10/09/in-office-mandates-new-hires-employers-are-sneaking-in-a-hybrid-creep-after-your-offer-letter/?utm_content=socialShare_null&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=social_share

Does Fiserv require 5 days a week in the office ?

I see some posts with people saying Cisco is making people to work from the office/hybrid now. Is that a mandatory for everyone? I know that big % of company is still 100% remote, so I'm interested how things can change in the coming monts for EMEA

FBS is over with now, so it'll get busy up until the week before TG holiday, then I use 3-4 weeks (or whatever is left, which is usually about 4 weeks) of PTO and take every Monday and Friday off the rest of the year.

My medical exmption RTO ends in November so, 3 days in for 2 hours each, then 1 day in the rest of the year after TG!

YAAAAS QUEEN, SLAY!

I was hired as a fully remote employee, which makes sense since none of my colleagues live near me. After 1 year as a remote employee my manager informed me that I may need to begin coming into the office as a hybrid employee, but for what reason? Regardless, all of my meetings will be remote, so how does it matter where I work from?

Also, the company has not given any clarification on when the hybrid mode will begin, how many days will be required, and where I will be located?

As of now, I plan to ignore this requirement, as it seems entirely superflous, a waste of my time, and a waste of gas.

Has anyone’s manager successfully been able to transfer them from Hybrid to Remote? My manager said she’s in the process since I am the only team member in my location.

Which group will be the first to go back to Hybrid work?

Has anyone heard anything substantial about a return to the hybrid model? As the new leadership from other companies has been coming to AT&T most of them seem against 5 day RTO. I know that my AVP up to my SVP truly don't care for 5 day RTO.

I don’t post often, but I can’t stay quiet anymore. RTO is breaking this company, and it’s breaking the people who’ve held it together through every storm.

We’ve already endured layoffs, outsourcing, constant reorganizations, and a revolving door of “strategic visions.” Through it all, employees adapted. We stayed. We worked harder with less. We found ways to keep this place running even when leadership gave us little in return.

And then came RTO.
• Long commutes rob us of hours that could be spent with our families or serving customers.
• Overcrowded offices are unsafe, stressful, and do nothing to improve collaboration… we’re still on Teams all day with coworkers in other states and countries.
• Morale has collapsed. The message is clear: loyalty doesn’t matter, results don’t matter … only badge swipes.
• And the best “younger” people? They’re leaving. They’ve found remote jobs at companies that trust them and respect their time. AT&T is bleeding talent it will never get back.

Please, stop this before it’s too late. Remote and hybrid work worked. Customers were happy. Productivity was high. Employees had balance. The only thing RTO has delivered is frustration, attrition, and despair.

AT&T doesn’t need to be the company that dies on this hill. End the forced RTO. Trust the people who’ve carried you this far. Give us the flexibility we’ve already proven works.

Because if this continues, there won’t be anyone left to carry it at all.

So the company is going to can all remote only positions and won’t hire for any in future? Even if you are not anywhere near an office? Or is RTO only for hybrid workers and remote being removed for them?

Began learning about six sigma recently. Specifically DMAIC. I know this is a long shot, but I remember a couple years back when some head of a product area was claiming about how agile based statistics showed employees were very productive during connect weeks. I have no idea what those are, he just said “you can look at the stats, they support it”. As if stats can’t ever be broken lol.

Anyways, I was wondering if anyone in the inner circle in Fidelity are certified in six sigma. If so, would anything from the certification or ways of identifying ways to improve business or productivity TRULY show that there’s any good that comes from Fidelity’s advancing hybrid model?

Yes I know this is probably a huge long shot where people are gonna call me an id--t, but I’m just curious. Thank you.

Just curious, how your teams and coworkers reacted? For sites that aren't core hubs - did they share more details what will happen?
Are there enough spaces on sites to manage the required capacity?

Yeah, it's weird here. Yeah, the morale isn't great and the Coporate big-wigs make life more difficult on their employees than they have to. But get out and enjoy the weekend, everyone. Happy Labor Day!

But to the on-highs who decided that the still hybrid office employees have offended the company by having the audacity to celebrate a federal holiday on a Monday and elected to punish us by forcing everyone into the office next Thursday; I hope the beer is warm and the grill breaks.

Theoretically what would happen if someone started to work Fridays at home to start and then Monday/Fridays after some time

I was just asked, well, told to come in to the office 3 days per week. This is ridiculous as I've been working remotely for years and years. Is anyone else dealing with this too?

Looking forward to see how everyone starts driving to office 4 days a week in traffic and complain about missing little Tommys dance classes. LBT will probably start badge tracking for hours spent as well. I am fully remote so I will continue to WFH

There is not much clarity about agency workers if they are supposed to be RTO or no

For the mandatory 3 days in, people have been working 4 hours in the office and then going home to finish their day. Is this accurate. I don’t see anything that states it’s acceptable per WF.

Ford’s 4-day in-office mandate isn’t just about presence—it’s about control.

It signals a shift toward a Panopticon Culture, where employees feel constantly watched. Trust is replaced with surveillance.

This is how you create an Authoritarian Workplace, not a collaborative one.

Rethink control. Rebuild trust.
Employees will spy, lie against each other.

#FutureOfWork #WorkplaceCulture #TrustOverSurveillance #HybridWork