#returntooffice

Is that officially happening?

I've been offered a position at CDK, four years after I left because the culture was falling apart. Has morale and the work environment improved any since then?

When is the last date to return the laptop? Is there a strict deadline? Still haven’t returned it because I didn’t get a box from ups yet.

Is there going to be a change with the full time 5 days in office policy or not what is with the constant decision making delay and teasing about changes. Absurd policy.

Mine was wrong by 1 day. Who knows why

Does anyone have any information on the expanded RTO plan for Optum for the remainder of 2026? I know there will be more layoffs and more jobs pushed into offices, but are there additional cities or states being targeted for RTO?

For those doing RTO, how many days do you actually go into the office? I’m guessing it’s less than 4 days per week.

https://finance.yahoo.com/small-business/articles/fortune-500-bosses-demanding-staff-070000467.html

Enforcement ratcheting up?

The hr requirement is 50% for in office time. I’ve seen the policy in writing.

I’m so sick of managers lying about HR saying how terrible they are. I honestly think managers bonuses are tied to the in office attendance.

Fortune 500 bosses demanding staff return to the office share one trait: Narcissism, research finds

https://finance.yahoo.com/small-business/articles/fortune-500-bosses-demanding-staff-070000467.html

anyone have insight into what the terms are when it comes to returning to the organization and paying back the severance? is it the same terms for everyone regardless of the amount? thinking I might be able to swing taking a year off.

I think it's possible for the organization to do what they need to do (restructuring, restabilize) and then I can see how things are a year from now.

also are there non-competes? I would hope they wouldn't tell us that we couldn't go to UHC, Cigna, Humana, etc... personally I don't feel like an organization should dictate what my next career move is.

I’ve been hearing rumors about a 3 days in-office requirement, with Mondays and Fridays remote. Any truth to that?

Fiserv has an opportunity to modernize how it thinks about work, productivity, and employee accountability.

The return-to-office model is being sold as “collaboration,” but for many employees, the actual workday does not support that claim. A large amount of the work still happens through Teams calls, emails, shared documents, workflow systems, and digital handoffs with colleagues, subject matter experts, developers, reviewers, and leaders who are spread across different states and locations.

That is not true in-person collaboration. That is remote work being performed from an office cubicle.

The issue is not whether employees should be accountable. They absolutely should be. The issue is whether physical presence is being mistaken for productivity.

Fiserv is a technology and financial services company. If the company wants to lead in innovation, artificial intelligence, automation, client service, and operational excellence, then it should manage employees by measurable outcomes, not outdated assumptions about “butts in seats.”

A better model would be simple:

Set clear productivity benchmarks.Set clear quality expectations.Set clear deadlines.Track cycle time, accuracy, responsiveness, client impact, rework, missed handoffs, stakeholder satisfaction, and risk reduction.Hold underperformers accountable.Reward employees who produce excellent work.Require office presence only when there is a legitimate business reason for people to be physically together.

That is a more mature operating model than blanket attendance rules.

Many employees were more willing to give extra time and discretionary effort when working from home because commuting was not draining hours and energy out of the day. When people are forced to commute to an office just to sit on virtual meetings with people in other locations, they become more protective of their time. That is not a lack of commitment. That is a rational response to an inefficient work design.

The company should ask itself a direct question:

What business outcome improves when an employee drives to an office, sits at a desk, and collaborates with remote colleagues through the same digital tools they would have used from home?

If there is a real answer, define it. Measure it. Apply it only where it makes sense.

But if the answer is vague language about culture, collaboration, or visibility, then the policy is not really about productivity. It is about control, optics, and habit.

Fiserv should not confuse visibility with value.

The future of work should not be built around where a person is sitting. It should be built around what they produce, how well they produce it, how reliably they deliver, and how much value they create for clients, teams, and shareholders.

The new CEO has a chance to reset this conversation. Not by eliminating accountability, but by making accountability smarter.

Measure the work.Measure the quality.Measure the outcomes.Measure the impact.

Then let high-performing employees do their jobs in the environment where they produce the best results, within legal, ethical, client, security, and compliance requirements.

That would be a real innovation culture.

The biggest difference between the two companies isn’t technology. It isn’t strategy. It’s leadership and culture.

At SpaceX, employees are working toward a clear mission. People know the goal, understand the direction, and believe they’re building something important. Here, the only mission we’re working on is RTO and presence reports.

At AT&T, many employees increasingly feel like they’re being blamed for problems they didn’t create.

One of the most common traits of failing leadership is scapegoating. When results disappoint, instead of asking whether the strategy is wrong, leaders look for someone else to blame. Employees become the problem. Feedback becomes the problem. Dissent becomes the problem.

That’s why the 8/1/25 email struck such a nerve and why everyone here is checked out. His message to the employee base was “You don’t matter”.

When employees raised concerns about morale, flexibility, retention, and RTO, the response wasn’t introspection. Employees were told “loyalty is dead” there “might be a disconnect between you and your current professional choice.” Concerns were dismissed as “more outliers than we’d like.”

Many employees read that and saw a leader more interested in defending their bad decision than understanding why so many people opposed it.

Another hallmark of poor leadership is rigidity. Strong leaders adapt when the facts change. Weak leaders treat every challenge to their strategy as a challenge to their authority and it damages their ego. They double down, no matter how much evidence piles up around them that they made a mistake.

Then comes the most dangerous stage, isolation.

Because of the fear of retaliation for pushing back or telling the truth, leaders stop hearing bad news. Dissent gets dismissed. Feedback gets filtered. Executives surround themselves with people who tell them what they want to hear instead of what they need to hear. “Yes men”

A bubble forms, and Inside the bubble, everything is working.

Outside the bubble, morale is collapsing, talent is leaving, recruiting is harder, and competitors are pulling further ahead.

Employees aren’t asking for miracles. They’re asking for basic respect and leadership that listens, adapts, and accepts responsibility when something isn’t working.

Instead, many feel they’re being asked to sacrifice more, commute more, give up flexibility, and then accept blame when the outcomes don’t improve.

The most dangerous thing a CEO can do is become so convinced of his own correctness that he stops hearing what everyone else is telling him.

That’s the disconnect employees have been talking about all along and why another company will soon pass us by.

When will other cities start RTO? It's not fair. We're suffering here in MN :( It's been nearly a year since the 4 days/week announcement was made and revoking remote status based on address for MN and DC. They've said they would likely be adding more office locations where 4 days a week will be mandatory however I've heard nothing besides for us stuck in MN and DC.

Laid off in Nov 2025. Haven't been asked to return computer and haven't been sent boxes to ship them back. What to do?

Groups are scaling back on 5 days, is this happening in other areas? 2-3 days is enough

For the 8 hour mandate, are the hours averaged over the course of a week, over two weeks, or over monthly? Any other information you could provide on this would be appreciated. Thanks.

A few years ago I was in an office and passed by a conference and saw a Google Slides presentation. I looked closer and saw it was a presentation about feedback from Card Services employees about return to office and stack rankings. I took a picture of the slide and it was hilarious to see. I haven't shared it with anyone because it's too funny. The employees were complaining about low wages too. They said stack rankings are subjective and causing a lot of stress. Having to come into the office just to use Zoom, Slack, and Google Docs, Slides, and Sheets to collaborate.

Well that was about 2.5 years ago and things haven't changed. Except that for the next 1 it will be an inferno of stack ranking, performance calibrations, PIPs, and firings.

Is this return to office in September an attempt to get moreee people to quit? Anyone able to get out of this?? How???

Columbus: Mandatory 3 days a week starting Feb 2027
NY: Mandatory 3 days a week starting October 2027

Live far away? Commit to HR by July 17 to relocating or leave effective 1/31 2027. WILD

So leadersare now expected to be in office 5 days a week to set an example for their direct reports so they also return to office 5 days a week, with assigned sitting.

When does all this change become effective??

I am being let go today at 10am well I think at 10am there is a random meeting with myself and the wonderful people team and my manager set for then. I haven’t been here long , was out of the Boston office told to go to Everett for time being. Only been with company for 4 years, so I’m not too upset. The way they went about it was just unprofessional in my honest take. My grandmother died last year and I will admit I didn’t put In for bereavement right away due to I was very close to her and had to travel to California for services. They got me with failure to meet RTO because I was in fact red for that time period so I guess it’s my own fault. Just to me seems dastardly to get me for that when I’ve gotten all meets or above since I have been here. I told my manager I know it’s not his fault and he apologized but I guess that is how they are doing things now. Just be careful with your days in office or any tiny hang up they can get you on. Wish everyone good luck in finding new jobs away from here.

K.L

At least not that I know of. If the whole ploy of being forced back into the offices to thin out the workforce (we all know that's the real reason) doesn't work out, are we looking at another major round sometime soon? How long are they going to wait to see if their plan is working?

If the answer is yes, did you receive any blowback so far?

Besides basking ridge and hidden ridge, how many people still have offices to report to for GNT? So sub markets still have hub offices? I think it’s ridiculous those that live near office have to go in 3 days week and some people are fully remote (same teams//same roles)

I mean if you were in office before Rona... why is it such a big deal to go back to that?... I understand there were alot of remote workers who started during the covid period and its not feasible but if you did it pre covid then what changed?

I chose freedom over compliance, flexibility over obligation, and peace of mind over RTO. Feeling retired, paycheck intact.

When does it take effect?

It was to go RTO full time.
You cannot go half a decade and blow it up like that.
It’s a cauldron of bad mojo and stupidity sprinkled with greed.
Bad corporate decision made my dei and fools.

Whats stopping us from collectively and politely saying no, collectively staying home, and forcing their hand? They are doing it in bits because they are scared of p*ssing off everyone all at once.

In all this mess, good thing is that no one is controlling if you work from office 3 times a week for a long time. So stay home, learn new skills, and send those applications

How do I tell on someone in the business who is taking advantage of RTO and ruining it for everyone else?

This person in particular is taking the kids to the pool everyday during work hours and still counts it as working.

I believe she will falter and rethink the FT RTO. It’s a bad decision it’s creating animus and very bad publicity which isn’t good for the bottom line.
People don’t like seeing their accounts handled by newbies outsourced and disgruntled employees.

Forcing employees into an office while our entire executive team and most of our upper management is remote has to be the most hypocritical thing this company has ever done. At least under Mike, he and others were actually in the office.

If RTO were really about collaboration and face to face time, our execs would relocate, open more offices, and ALL employees would be mandated to go to an office or risk being made redundant, just like FAANG did post-COVID. So what's the real reason here?

As others have said, most likely hoping for natural attrition, especially since they did this while gas is at an all time high and increases/equity are at an all time low. If they don't get the reduced headcount they hoped for by the October deadline, you can bet there will be another big lay off in Q4.

Hi Wells Fargo friends,
I am with Edward Jones and here for some info & advice.

As a remote employee (not in St Louis), I feel that my days are numbered because Edward Jones put in place 4 day return to office.

As Wells has had return to office for longer, wondering how they had handled remote employees. Were all remote employees terminated? Did they run a survey to ask who would relocate and terminate those who said no? Or was there a different criteria?

I appreciate any insight you can share. My sense is Edward Jones will copy Wells and other industry peers in how they handle remote employees.

Does anyone know whether badge swipes are actually being tracked and if they are to what extent?

I’m not trying to call anyone out, and I certainly won’t be naming names, but it’s getting increasingly difficult to justify coming into the office five days a week when the building feels emptier by the day.

The communication around RTO has been incredibly vague. Other than the dry a$$ generic email that went out in January, there hasn’t been much clarity on expectations, enforcement, or how compliance is being measured.

If badge swipes aren’t being tracked, what exactly is the point of complying and coming in?

PP is cutting again - this time is massive almost a quarter of all employed. It's going to be about 300 people which in the grand schema of things is not that big but for us at PP it's the biggest round ever - the impacts are massive. JH got her promo, kudos girl, but you are responsible for the mess as much as anyone else. this time they are not blaming it on ai cause by now everyone knows that story is all bs. i shall be back with a rant on RTO and all failed promises the execs sold us over last few years. well done jill.

Hey California ,any update on you guys going rtm q3 ,or any other region updates ..
Let’s keep the nation informed

Are you guys still doing 35 days per quarter? Disclosure: I work for a competitor and was just curious (comparing it with 5/wk that we have)