#returntooffice

FYI coming soon

Req that was posted yesterday says “for all hires in Minneapolis, Virginia, Maryland, or Washington DC”. You will be required 4 days in office.

Has anyone heard for sure if exempt (professional and managers) are part of the 8 hour RTO requirement? It’s odd that exempts are not paid for working a specific number of hours, yet they’re requiring it by proxy through this RTO policy. I see that becoming a labor issue.

Let me preface this by saying that I understand and support that in the US everyone is free to look for a better opportunity.   I also support that the company needs to change in order to compete and drive value to the shareholders.  
Assuming an employee makes it to January and supports these ideals we haven't heard what that means to the employee.  The reality is more than a few must work for a living not just for their passion.  Right now, without any communication to that end, we are facing up to a 17% increase in health care costs (10% discount program removed and increased employee cost 7%) plus the additional cost of going to the office everyday.  When will you be able to communicate something in relation to the financial benefits of working faster and harder other than being lucky to work here? 

Have you heard any locations or organizations that are only required to come in 1 or 2 days a week? Shout them out so those of us that are required to do 3 can look for job openings.

To be announced to certain groups on Friday.

random team meeting scheduled for next week, no context given. curious if anyone has heard rumors

To get people to quit at first, then fire the rest that don’t follow the rules.

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

what's your department like? Any word of 4-5x/week back in office?

Why is it that the 5G Engineering and Technology team gets to stay remote in Washington when the rest of us need to work in Philly? They don't even have an office to report to there. Is it because they have an AVP that is also privileged and gets to work from home in Washington?

What's the current situation? "Asking for a friend."

This past week I know 2 people from different groups who were told they need to move to the same office as their manager for co-location. Thought it was random but now confirmed that this is the next big thing.
Not sure what happens if your manager is on the other side of the country but guessing some major changes are coming like re-orgs ??!!

Has anyone heard anything about the hours we need to be in office for RTO? Is there a dashboard with hours?

the RTO is so successful that they have already had to resort to bribery.

This week there are raffles for iPad, iPods, Grills/Air Fryers etc, what an absolute cluster

Hearing it's going to be big org changes. Also, all you publicly complaining about RTO and trying to protest coming into the office, you will get the response of finding out who is in charge.

Ah the results of RTO are upon us!

Look at all that productivity!

That’s a 20 Billion dollar loss. Way to go Stankey and BOD!

Get reports that are business critical? I mean there are so many things that are backwards but we’re focusing on keystrokes and badge swipes? Priorities seem a little backwards. If employees can’t deliver get rid of them for cause. If employees deliver and they aren’t in the office a certain number of hours what’s the difference?

If this is documented in Teamworks or somewhere else, let me know, but does 4 hours of PTO still count as a day in the office? And if we take 4 hours on two separate days during the week, does that count as two days in the office?

Have any other UGH/Optum employees taken a look at the manager center return to office documentation they've provided on Sharepoint? It's an absolute joke.

There, you'll find such gems as how to maximize your RTO with "group flow, the state where teams work in sync with shared purpose and energy." As if this neo-hippy BS concept weren't silly enough all on its own, half the document where this is found (amidst the other documentation that is supposed to soften RTO, mind you) is spent talking about how to best achieve this mythical state while working remote. They seriously spend half of a RTO document talking about best practices for when you're working remote. Just one more sign that this RTO thing is misguided and half-hearted. Makes me think the people who say they are simply trying to force resignations are on to something.

Another document, designed to help address resistance to RTO, contains features such as a super Orwellian discussion of "understanding the resistance" complete with a creepy rating system that has these awful color codes and faces that are all frowny-sinister on one end and stupid-silly happy on the other. Each face corresponds to a type of employee and tips are given on addressing them. There's even direction on how to "build support for change" by "exposing employees in the neutral category to those in the active supporter category" in order to sway them. SMDH...

This is going to go over like a led balloon. I've already had a couple of contacts from companies because people I work with have used me as a reference in their job search.

I am frustrated regarding the company's return-to-office policy with a disparity in its application. Employees are required to be in the office at least four days a week, with consequences for non-compliance, while some Directors are permitted to work from home. I know three Directors who work remotely, one of whom was recently hired back to Ford, with the other two working in Chicago and California. The upper management should lead by example and adhere to the same policies, advocating equal treatment and respect for all employees.

Do you really think hacking a few screens is going to make a difference when it comes to RTO? The decision has been made. The only way to avoid it is to quit, which is most likely exactly what they’re hoping will happen. That’s it. This kind of performative rebellion is useless.

I was thinking about this recently, about how many people said they would walk away if RTO was implemented, but I don’t know a single person who actually did. Goes to show why companies get away with the things they do. Most people are strong on words, but never on action.

I’ve seen some locations go all-in and others where people are basically ignoring it and getting away with it (for now). Lots of grey areas. Any hot-takes? Anybody know of anyone who’s been fired for not complying?

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!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JMFLC7IS4QA&list=TLPQMDIxMDIwMjUL_TeNWO39JA&index=6

Honestly I don’t understand why everyone is being punished for people who are abusing the system.

Those of you saying it is awful and filthy please snap pictures of it there are a lot of us documenting what the company is doing, their failed business practices, wanting to offshore American healthcare needs overseas to a country that is known to hack and scam people, and generally just expose what they have been doing all around. Not going to expose member data or anything that would bring harm to any one person at the top, but just bring to light how overall sh---y they are as a company. There are about 15 whistle blowers so far just waiting to post, so Filthy pictures on top of it will just add more proof this company is trash and only cares about what lines the shareholders and executives pockets. Not to mention half the staff can’t even afford the healthcare they offer.

So come November we have to do 3 days a week in the office. We must work together. Either a) none of us return to office or b) we all return at the office at the same times and really overwhelm the sites. The cafeteria can’t feed us all and there are not enough desks. What do you guys think

A survey of 1,500 US managers found that 25% of C-suite leaders admitted using return-to-office (RTO) mandates to prompt resignations, while 20% of HR professionals said their policies were intended to make staff leave. Nearly 40% of managers said layoffs still followed because not enough workers quit.

Amazon has faced some of the strongest backlash, with 30,000 employees signing a petition, 1,800 pledging walkouts, and many “rage applying” to new jobs.

Data showed 99% of companies with RTO mandates reported lower engagement, almost half saw higher-than-expected attrition, and 29% faced recruitment difficulties.

14% of the company has aligned to 4 days in the office, the other 86% said FU

I am a rehire and not updated in the system yet. Can someone confirm?

Curious if people have been termed for not being in the office frequently enough/ getting 3 badge swipes per week.

ADP doesn’t seem to enforce policies like attendance, punctuality, sick time day before or after holiday so is the # of days in office enforced?

Something to consider -

What this company is doing raises some serious red flags under employment law. When an employer sets rules that only apply to certain groups of employees—for example, requiring people who live within 30 miles of the office to come in while allowing those further away to remain remote—that can amount to disparate treatment or disparate impact discrimination.

Under federal law (Title VII, ADA, ADEA, etc.), employers can’t impose policies that unequally burden one group of employees over another unless they can prove it’s based on a legitimate business necessity and that there’s no less discriminatory alternative. By creating two classes of employees—one penalized for their proximity to the office and another exempt based purely on where they live—the company may be exposing itself to claims of unlawful, unequal treatment.

It sounds like 8 hours no matter where you are. In effect quashing the new policy

One had a picture of JF. All screens on DDL are off. Drop deets of you have em

New research suggests many companies have used return-to-office (RTO) mandates as a tool to reduce headcount. A BambooHR survey of over 1,500 U.S. managers found that one-quarter of C-suite executives admitted they hoped RTO policies would prompt voluntary resignations. One in five HR professionals acknowledged that their in-office requirements were specifically designed to make staff quit.

Nearly 40 percent of managers surveyed said their organizations eventually turned to layoffs because not enough workers left after RTO mandates were introduced. The report concludes that "RTO mandates are layoffs in disguise," echoing a sentiment long suspected by employees.

The backlash to rigid office policies has been well-documented. Amazon faced one of the largest employee protests, with about 30,000 workers signing a petition and more than 1,800 pledging to walk out in opposition to its RTO requirement. Many staffers described updating their résumés and job hunting immediately after the mandate.

Data shows that 99 percent of companies with RTO mandates have seen lower employee engagement, nearly half have experienced higher-than-expected attrition, and 29 percent are struggling to recruit. BambooHR’s research further found that about one-third of employees would consider quitting if forced back to the office, even if fewer ultimately follow through.

The findings highlight a growing divide between leadership strategies and employee expectations, raising questions about the long-term costs of rigid return-to-office enforcement.

https://fortune.com/2025/09/30/bosses-admit-return-to-office-mandates-meant-to-make-staff-quit/