#worklifebalance

Part of the American dream is to get a job and earn an income. In reality this job is costing me more than the income can provide because of a RTO policy that the executives can’t even bother to acknowledge a single question about. (Remember the Q&A admin was removing them during our town hall) .

3 months in to this ridiculous RTO and I have spent so much money just to make ends meet. Daycare costs, a second vehicle just to get to daycare, gas, additional insurance, and time away from family have put me in the red week after week since mid May. Retirement contributions will probably stop soon. I have about 4 vacation days remaining because I had to use so many just to handle personal life. I never had to do that while remote. I can’t remember the last time I sat down and had a home cooked dinner with my family. Not a single executive is struggling from RTO side-effects. Regardless if their position is in-person only. They get the chauffeur and a security detail, if not they get a fat paycheck that makes up the difference. We are struggling. We are burning out. We are in debt. We are on the brink of collapse. Town hall was circlej3rk session about stock performance and a 5 minute q&a where we learned about one of bills favorite books. Recent tech all hands avoided questions like the plague. If you can’t provide us answers and solutions to your own policy then why should we comply? We will sit out RTO and become more productive doing what we were doing in our remote lives. We must band together and sit out as a whole.

Side note — stock price doesn’t reflect workplace morale/efficiency/product quality.

Why are people in their 40s looking to get out of Cisco? I am told Cisco has a very chill environment and people are happy to work there. I am seeing posts here on people voluntarily leaving and it’s scaring me, as I am currently looking to join the company. Do you guys still recommend Cisco?

We'd need three days off in a row every week just to recover from the daily bullsh-t here. Maybe then management would actually have to do some of the work themselves.

I’m seeing only 10 paid days for new employees in Cisco. Usually other companies offer 14-28 paid days based on joining time and service. Is this correct or am I mistaken? Also is the work life balance in UI/UX teams any good?

Should I take a role in Uncon? I hear ranking is brutal there. Any tips to survive / thrive?

I was certain that once most of the things were wrapped up, I'd be able to enjoy my weekends again. Yet here I am, still unable to let go and relax. I guess we've been under pressure for so long that some of us have forgotten what it's like not to have to worry, at least for a few months.

Name me another company where folks like this could thrive?

You don't own Wells Fargo. You don't run it. Why are you letting it stress you out?

Hypothetically if we started posting elsewhere, what would be the top 3 other companies you would want to work for? Asking for a friend.

Is oddly different. gone are the days of ppl posting about "holy sh-t am I losing my job today?" to.. "TAKE ME PLEASE!!" or "Dear god, wtf hasn't my # come up yet?" or "man I hope tommorrow had a 15m 1:1 when I wake up!"

To ensure fair and objective decisions, review system/login data for attendance, leave, WFH, and actual work activity. Use verified records and job impact rather than assumptions or personal relationships.

For those that were offered a rebadge in the past and accepted it, I'd like to know:

1. How was the transition?
2. How long was the initial contract?
3. How long did it actually last?
4. Did you train your replacement?
5. Did the consulting company expect you to work 60+ hours / week?
6. Did the work life balance change?

Thank you.

It is becoming quite population take a leave of absence and focus on finding a new job during the leave

Looking to transfer to a different team within IT. Decided to browse the internal job board to see whats out there. Mainly concerned with WLB/limited stress. Is Cyber fairly laid back? What about infratructure/OCC? Or maybe being a DBA? Or working with the Workday team? Appreciate any thoughts!

I just paid $4.29 for gas and dreading returning to office full time. Why isn’t Fidelity addressing this giant elephant in the room? This combined with everyday living expenses, how are people making it work?
If they want us back in full time, fine. But is now really the best time? They could let the dust settle, let prices come down, and then require full time back in office; we could continue our schedule we’ve been following for years now until then. It just seems completely tone deaf and I am sick of pretending this is fine and the new normal.

What is the longest amount of time you have gone with no raise?

Could someone please clarify how the “4 good weeks out of 6” policy is measured? If it is tied to the 3‑days‑in‑office requirement, does that mean I would only need to be in the office 12 days over a 6‑week period (4 weeks × 3 days)?

Our team provides 24/7 global support, with all communication conducted electronically and no in‑person interaction required—especially for my role. My workday does not begin at 8 AM nor end at 5 PM, and weekend coverage is a regular part of the schedule. Despite consistently meeting or exceeding performance expectations, I have not received a meaningful salary increase in years, and I cannot afford to live near the office.

For me personally, the 40‑hour monthly commute is unpaid, non‑productive time that could otherwise be spent on work or on personal recovery. As a result, the in‑office requirement feels fundamentally misaligned with the remote, round‑the‑clock nature of the role.

Anyone have any anecdotal information on people leaving due to RTO. I know a few people that have but nothing outside my business line.

My health insurance is the only thing keeping me here. I have a preexisting condition so I truly can't take a risk with a new company. That's it. The only reason I'm still here.

I realize these types of questions get asked a lot. Searching for previous posts is ok but usually yields a variety of responses that made it difficult to determine the actual policy/practice.

Before I got laid off no one was enforcing 8 hours in the office for 3 days a week. So I went in for a bit then did most of my hours at home because I had literally no co-located coworkers.

Is there reporting now that shows if you left early to finish at home? Is it still 3 days a week (this role I applied for is in CSBB).

Assuming there's at least some leeway with Dr appts etc I don't mind being in office 3 days a week. But I thought I heard rumors of 4 or 5 days in office for some groups before I got laid off - usually investment employees.

I've seen people move to positions with more money and more prestige, and most regretted it because in the end, it cost them their families. Fiserv is not kind to anybody, and the higher you are (outside of the C-suite, of course) the more you're expected to do. I'd rather have my time than their paycheck.

Hi everyone! Been in seat for a couple of years in the sales side. I’ve been dreading work, and frankly want to be part of the layoffs. How can I position myself?

Forged Fiber is hiring for remote positions. AT&T’s own careers site currently shows remote and virtual openings.

So apparently remote work is good enough for some parts of the company, but the rest of us need to be in the office five days a week.

Same company. Same technology. Same Teams calls. Same internet. Yet two completely different sets of rules.

I guess they finally figured out that telling candidates they have to report to an office five days a week isn’t exactly a great way to attract talent. But somehow the employees already here are still being told that five-day RTO is essential.

If a job can be done remotely when you’re trying to hire someone, why can’t it be done remotely after you’ve hired them?

This is exactly why people don’t buy the BS argument that 5x RTO is about productivity. It’s a policy choice.

And apparently even AT&T knows when it needs to make a different choice to get the talent it wants. This place is really a joke.

I keep reading these posts about Verizon having once been a utopian workplace and a pure meritocracy. I joined in 2010 and it was anything but. It was more profitable and had a better network than its competitors but it was no meritocracy. There were lots of incompetent "leaders" and DEI had nothing to do with it because they were not minorities. It was also very cliquey.

So when was this mythical golden age that I missed out on?

When I started here, I was always willing to jump in and help when someone needed coverage. I figured taking on extra work would show that I was dependable and committed. Instead, those temporary tasks slowly became part of my regular workload, with nothing taken off my plate. I've definitely stopped volunteering as much.

The company has me in a state of mind where being laid off seems preferable to staying here. Just imagine how bad things are if somebody who's been here for over a decade is thinking that way.

I'd like it even more if there were fewer cuts, but I can't lie that it's not a good job. I think there are many of us who feel the same way, and only mind the frequency of cuts, but otherwise enjoy our jobs (decent pay, decent benefits, great folks to work with, what's not to like?)

I am considering a job opportunity at L3harris Amityville, NY. Does anyone know the future outlook of this site and how the work culture over there is? I am seeing there was a building that closed down there this year but what about rest of the buildings? Any insight would be highly appreciated. Thanks

The hardest part is still having to work. Why. You don’t want me here, let me go.

Stop sitting around and letting a company steal your peace.

Update your résumé. Network. Start looking. Don’t wait for a company to value you when their actions show they don’t.

I recently resigned from UHC after nearly 30 years. After decades of dedication, there was no “thank you” or “job well done”—just “go ahead and sign out; we’ll pay you for your two weeks.”

I found a fully remote job making more money than I was after nearly 30 years. That taught me something: your job is not your life, and your employer does not own your peace.

If you’re miserable, stressed, or sacrificing your health for a company that doesn’t appreciate you, start making your exit plan.

Stop being their puppet on a string. Take control of your life back. Your peace, health, and happiness are worth more

Stop sitting around and letting a company steal your peace.

Update your résumé. Network. Start looking. Don’t wait for a company to value you when their actions show they don’t.

I recently resigned from UHC after nearly 30 years. After decades of dedication, there was no “thank you” or “job well done”—just “go ahead and sign out; we’ll pay you for your two weeks.”

I found a fully remote job making more money than I was after nearly 30 years. That taught me something: your job is not your life, and your employer does not own your peace.

If you’re miserable, stressed, or sacrificing your health for a company that doesn’t appreciate you, start making your exit plan.

Stop being their puppet on a string. Take control of your life back. Your peace, health, and happiness are worth more

Here’s a cleaned-up, more coherent version that keeps your original tone and meaning:

Rumors started about 60 days ago of a possible CEO change, a bonus for employees after a record quarter, and Mondays working from home.

I’d been hearing the CEO-replacement rumor for a while and was hoping it would happen, but it looks like a big fat no. So when I first heard whispers about a bonus, my reaction was “Oh he-l no… HE-L no.” I was pleasantly surprised when that one turned out to be true.

As for Mondays working from home—I’d be surprised if it actually happens, but I don’t think it’s completely off the table. The company is global and we aren’t needed in the office every day, so it could be a real work-life-balance perk. The whispers about it are growing the same way the bonus rumors did, so we’ll just have to wait and see.

Still, I’m disappointed the CEO is still here.

(And glad you can use an AI agent after having an IT person come in and type it in for you.)

Complain and stay miserable. Grind and get nothing. Build skills and leave. Choose wisely.

Isn't it magical to work at a place where we only have one day to worry about every two weeks? Like, how lucky are we? /sarcasm

I hate this place.

I get the anger, I've certainly felt it myself, but I don't understand people who want to see Dell crash and burn. What good would that actually do? It would saturate the job market, leave thousands upon thousands of families scrambling, and solve nothing. I want things to improve, not explode. I'm not sure what hoping for destruction is going to achieve for any of us.

I'm strangely indifferent to it. I guess I've given all the fu--s I could give up until now, so now I'm in a "whatever will be, will be" frame of mind.

Does anyone have manager-level insight into the new WPE policy? My manager gave a presentation that was clearly built with Copilot based on what they learned in manager training, and the rules seem pretty aggressive. For example, even if your kid, a dependent, or a pet is sick, you’re still required to come into the office — no exceptions carved out for that. On top of the inflexibility, we’re expected to absorb whatever extra costs come with that (childcare, pet care, etc.) on pay that’s already not great.

When we tried to ask clarifying questions, my skip-level shut it down, saying that asking questions suggests you’re trying to get around the policy rather than follow it.

I’m not looking to fight this — I want to understand it well enough to actually comply, without getting flagged as difficult just for asking how it works. Has anyone found a way to get real answers without triggering that reaction?

I honestly don’t know what to expect at this point. Centene has been great to me, and I can genuinely say that working remotely here has given me the absolute best work/life balance I’ve ever had with a company.

I’ve been able to raise my twins, be present for them, and navigate motherhood without a large village of support, while still making sure my career and work remained a priority. That kind of flexibility has meant more to me than I can really put into words.

If this is it and it’s time for me to move on, I’ll walk away perfectly fine. I’ll always be grateful for what Centene has allowed me to do, not just professionally, but personally. Whatever happens next, I know I’ll be okay. ❤️

Just make an educated guess when asked. Who knows where anyone will be for the holidays, it feels like a long ways away.

Thar she blows.

Enjoy your labor day weekend and even longer displacement period.

We just arent growing so we need to shrink some more. The last AI Agent running will shut down the bank.