#worklifebalance

I’m a TDP who’s been with AT&T for two years. I’m proud of the work I do, I enjoy my team, and I came into this program excited to grow here. But after two years of watching wave after wave of TDPs walk away, I’m convinced leadership needs to hear this whether they want to or not.

Here’s the reality from inside the program:

Most TDPs enjoy the work. Most enjoy their teams. And most came in valuing the opportunities AT&T could offer.

But the 5 day RTO mandate is the single biggest deal breaker, by a mile.
Not culture. Not pay. Not opportunities.
RTO. Five days. Every week.

The average commute for TDPs is 30–60+ minutes each way, often longer for those assigned to Dallas or Atlanta rotations. That’s 10–15 hours a week spent commuting just to sit on Teams calls we could’ve taken from home, using the same AT&T network we sell to customers for remote productivity.

And us TDPs see what leadership refuses to acknowledge:
Almost every competing employer offers hybrid or remote flexibility with higher pay. Once people finish the program, they leave. Not because they want to, but because staying means burning out.

Culture is not slogans or emails, you can’t speak it into existence. It’s what people feel every day.
And right now, we feel exhausted, unheard, and disillusioned.

That August CEO email laid out “values” that many of us don’t recognize in the company’s actions. The takeaway among TDPs wasn’t alignment, it was the sinking realization that leadership has no intention of returning to hybrid work. Morale tanked after that message and any remaining hope went with it.

If leadership wants to retain talent, real talent, the next generation of engineers, analysts, PMs, and leaders then you need to fix what’s actually broken.

TDPs aren’t leaving because the work is hard.
They’re leaving because the system is broken.

A rigid 5 day RTO policy in 2026, at a telecommunications company that literally sells the ability to work from anywhere, is not just outdated it’s self inflicted brain drain.

You don’t have a recruiting problem.
You have a retention crisis… one that’s absolutely solvable. And if you decide not to change then eventually you'll have no one under 40 working here.

Return to hybrid.
Respect people’s time.
Align actions with the culture you claim to value.

Because here’s the part leadership should really pay attention to:

If you keep the 5 day mandate, you will lose the majority of your young talent.
Not gradually, but all at once.

And I say this as someone who wants to stay. But I, like many others, will be exploring other options next year if nothing changes.

I know this forum may not be the “official” place to say this, but it is the only place where employees feel safe being honest. So I hope someone high enough up reads this and does something before this program and the talent pipeline it feeds collapses under the weight of decisions that never needed to be this rigid.

There is no business case for 5 day RTO.
There is no cultural case.
There is only the cost, and you’re already paying it.

Gotta make sure you stay on the right side of management

mas Reviews
Category Pros Cons
Work-Life Balance Some report flexibility and work-from-home options in certain office roles. Generally poor; long hours (often 60-80 hours/week), inconsistent scheduling, and difficulty taking time off are common complaints, especially for field technicians.
Management & Leadership Highly supportive managers are found in some individual teams; safety is often prioritized in the field. A recurring theme of disorganization, lack of support, poor communication, and high turnover among local management.
Pay & Benefits Good benefits package (healthcare, 401k, PTO) and weekly pay are frequently mentioned as positives. High pay and per diem for traveling roles. Many field roles are "piece work" or commission-based, leading to inconsistent or low pay, especially during slow seasons or with job cancellations.
Career & Growth Opportunities to learn valuable trades and gain hands-on experience. Career growth can be stunted by a lack of clear paths and favoritism; high employee turnover rate is a notable concern.
Customer

It means there are no more layoffs. Or there are no more employees to layoff.

Anyone else required to do handoff work all the way through the 19th? So much for giving us time to look for another job.

Not sure about others. Nothing says Happy Holidays like a pink slip...nice.

#iworkatdelluntilthestockstartstodip

A good post from “Neo” in the Citrix Systems forum:

https://www.thelayoff.com/t/1kc3j9256

You work for wealthy people that invested 16 billion dollars to make a substantial profit using whatever playbook is at hand. That's just business.

Clearly and contrary to the vision of the founders of Citrix, they are just interested in low effort approaches because they are efficient money wise. Making everything cheaper and simpler to manage in order to pursue a financial Eye Candy effect, for an eventual sale or a return to the public space, is an example.

There is no interest in keeping strong teams or long term plans for product innovation, its just paint. Layoffs are not personal (and not particular to these guys), they just don't care about keeping you because you are the negative term in their growth/profit equation. So they will minimize you (head count) with all the techniques available in the book (forced % of layoffs, silent firing, colleagues competition for forced rankings, internal divisions, fear, you name it)

So where are you positioned in this game? You are the exploited employee they (or any other company) will squeeze until the product is at visible risk. You will willingly accept recurrent extra loads of work, cause you are scared to loose you livelihood and you have no other choice. Also you are the next person to be laid off (its about when, not if) On the other hand you also have free will, knowledge and skills (don't buy into the AI BS, you are needed), and dignity.

Now, if you know the game, the players, and the rules, you would likely be better off using this platform also to bring ideas on what can be done to make it a bit more fair to you and your colleagues and to minimize irrational expoitation, unethical meassures, and everything else everyone has been posting here. (Never forget this is Corporate America, don't expect miracles)

Complaining, and spreading subjective fear (distict from useful info and heads up) will only work against you as that is the expected behavior.

There are problems, bring ideas to help solve or make them better.
After all, you were all hired for your problem solving skills and intelligence.
Use it!

PD: This post encourages fairness and ethics. Expect pushback, misleading statements, and attacks from some players in the comments section.

You work for wealthy people that invested 16 billion dollars to make a sustantial profit using whatever playbook is at hand. That's just business.

Clearly and contrary to the vision of the founders of Citrix, they are just interested in low effort approaches because they are efficient money wise. Making everything cheaper and simpler to manage in order to pursue a financial Eye Candy effect, for an eventual sale or a return to the public space, is an example.

There is no interest in keeping strong teams or long term plans for product innovation, its just paint. Layoffs are not personal (and not particular to these guys), they just don't care about keeping you because you are the negative term in their growth/profit equation. So they will minimize you (head count) with all the techniques available in the book (forced % of layoffs, silent firing, colleagues competition for forced rankings, internal divisions, fear, you name it)

So where are you positioned in this game? You are the exploited employee they (or any other company) will squeeze until the product is at visible risk. You will willingly accept recurrent extra loads of work, cause you are scared to loose you livelihood and you have no other choice. Also you are the next person to be laid off (its about when, not if) On the other hand you also have free will, knowledge and skills (don't buy into the AI BS, you are needed), and dignity.

Now, if you know the game, the players, and the rules, you would likely be better off using this platform also to bring ideas on what can be done to make it a bit more fair to you and your colleagues and to minimize irrational expoitation, unethical meassures, and everything else everyone has been posting here. (Never forget this is Corporate America, don't expect miracles)

Complaining, and spreading subjective fear (distict from useful info and heads up) will only work against you as that is the expected behavior.

There are problems, bring ideas to help solve or make them better.
After all, you were all hired for your problem solving skills and intelligence.
Use it!

PD: This post encourages fairness and ethics. Expect pushback, misleading statements, and attacks from some players in the comments section.

Year end is approaching, 5 day RTO mandates are looming, and some of the most experienced, high-impact members of our team are choosing to leave for roles elsewhere. Not lazy, quiet contributors bootlickers were most concerning about committing "fraud. But, the people who have held this division together for years, and have constantly pushed the company forward. Turns out, when people know their worth, they look for companies that know it too.

Our manager talks about work/life balance, but cuts and voluntary departures mean the workload just keeps growing. Its becoming exhausting and nobody seems to care. I don't know how the rest of you are dealing with it, but I'm this close to walking away, and I don't even have anything lined up.

I have been giving Sabre only what is necessary to keep my job. With so much stress and uncertainty, going above and beyond no longer seems worth it. The environment is unsustainable, and they will have to face the fallout, and sooner seems more likely than later.

Let that number really sink in. I always rolled my eyes when people told me to "just be happy you have a job" while I was complaining about all the issues we face day to day, but seeing numbers like this makes me understand, at least a little, why they say that.

This is not getting better. Time to get out and cut your losses. Nothing is going to change for the better. They have had their chances to do this. Never happened.

At least over the Christmas / New Years holiday you have time to retool and reassess what you want to do.

There is no logical reason under the sun to stay here. Because sooner or later you will be affected and simply be a casualty of this industry.

Make the decision to leave, your decision not theirs. At least you get out with that decency.

Not the place to be guys. Times up totally. The writing has been on the walls for a long time. Sometimes it just takes someone to tell you to read what was written and understand it.

No gold medals for staying here. Just swift kick in the head with an iron boot.

Discussing a potential offer with a recruiter for a 3 days in office role. It is in Dallas. Can this role eventually become 5 days ? That’s a deal breaker.

Mostly because of special circumstances, which I know the vast majority don’t enjoy. I get that it would be a blow to most people. In my case, I’m close enough to the base that commuting isn’t an issue. One perk of coming back to the d-mb office? I fully intend to never, absolutely never, be available outside office hours. People forget WFH flexibility cuts both ways. That is, of course, assuming my job isn’t merrily eliminated before I even get to enjoy the fresh air and tranquil office environment.

Is this everywhere?

Got laid off earlier this year and initially felt like the rug was pulled from under me. After months of grinding job-search, I landed a more flexible, less stressful gig. Fewer perks, but more time with family, less pressure, better work-life balance. I won’t say I’m totally healed, but some part of me feels like I’m finally breathing again.

With all the uncertainty, my productivity was lower than ever. It wasn't even intentional, I just couldn't concentrate on work.

No dedicated employee deserves to have their job threatened on a consistent basis for a year or longer. Leave them, they have no loyalty to you. There are better jobs. I went back to an old employer and I'm so happy again. I was miserable worrying over job security. Start looking at other companies and jump ship. Your mental and physical health will benefit. They don't care about you anymore and we all know they don't care about the customers. They are just focused on lining their pockets. Best of luck to you. You are worthy of an employer who values you.

Most Spring employees between the age of 40 and 55 are dead weights and holding onto a capsizing vessel for their dear life as they know that they cannot find any other job and ExxonMobil is the only place where their BS existence gets tolerated.

If the company fires each and everyone of them, it will not make any difference. Most have been rotten by the poor core culture by working under toxic reward conditions once they have worked more than 5-10 years. It is a point of no recovery.

Those who worry about BTC, let's be clear.... BTC only recruits the worst and from the bottom of the Indian talent pool. Do not expect virtue from that place. Only expect grinning yes men and women who will do anything to get your or anyones money in their pocket.

Principles do not matter to both these classes. Virtue is an unknown word and greed is the only motivation.

Enjoy your weekend everyone and come Monday may the odds be ever in your favor! For the survivors make sure you add on at least 2 peoples work load to your overstuffed plate to help your work life balance! Toxic wasteland!!

So I went to my morning meeting. We all joined. Some were still waking up (west coast) and others had already consumed multiple cups of coffee.
"good morning!" said the scrum master.
"mmmmm" said we all.
"OK so we are going to go through the tickets now and start with you, Bob"
Ummm...OK so I'm not Bob, but I have to say, I started multitasking right away. Why you say? Well because what Bob does has nothing to do with what I do. In fact, all members of the team work on different things that really don't overlap.
But wait! We need Agile! Agile will improve lead time, cycle time, WIP, and other things (unmentionables)
In this team, nope. No one cares. Each is in their own world. Step back say 5 years, and everyone was trying to help. We all crossed lines. Now? Nope, all I care about is my tickets and their due dates.
So now we have a scrum master, a product owner, a manager, and then.....the rest of us. So we went from our manager (one person) to now 3 people all trying to manage the rest of us. And, did I mention, 4 of 7 got laid off? So now 3 of us are being managed by 3 new bosses to get more done with less.

This is the WF implementation of Agile. Read it and weep.......

Is block scheduling going away ?

Just FYI- pregnancy is a valid reason for an in-office exemption. It's called an "accommodation request" and extremely easy to submit the form. I submitted the form at 3pm and I was called the next day at 7:30am and it was approved by 9am and took effect immediately.

Even though I'm still employed, the constant wave of cuts keeps my nerves high all the time. It's really hard to shake the idea that I’m next. Saving aggressively and keeping my resume ready has now become routine. Strange how normal this mentality feels now.

So no Christmas tree, no Menorah, no Kwanzaa decorations. Just a random reindeer and sticks with lights and poinsettias.
I guess we don’t want to offend anyone.

Anyone’s guess how much money has been spent on constantly renovating corporate over and over again? And why? Everyone hates going into the office.

As an homage to all FiServants who are sl@ving away this holiday season I wrote y'all a poem:

A FiServant drags through the halls where joy becomes “out of scope,”
Holiday cheer gets audited, repackaged, and shipped out with no hope.
The tree looks like it’s begging for someone to pull the plug, too,
Even the ornaments whisper, “You deserve someplace new.”

Happy Holidays and remember you are more than this job...

Working at Walmart is a better job than working at mondelez

So one of my close friends is a manager and he showed me what he sees: how many days per week in the office and total hours per day in the office (badge in/out or network connection, he is not sure know how the hours are actually being tracked). Well the report is very real saw it with my own eyes.

Chevron is a great company to work for if you want to impress others with your résumé. Do not work for Chevron if you want job satisfaction. You are not a human. You are just a number and you are disposable when they want to pay the stockholders more. Great company to invest your money in, but definitely not your time as an employee. My time here will only be as long as it takes me to secure a better position elsewhere.

I think every single one of us should be doing it.

And when? I'd like to see how things have changed over the years.

I met him here before his 2023 layoff, and we ended up staying close even after he found a new job, only to get hit with another layoff six months later. He bounced back again and landed something new, and now he's been cut for the third time this week. He's living my greatest nightmare. How do you even deal with something like that? There's something deeply broken in the way this whole system works.

✊ Key Reasons for Tech Unionization
Tech workers are increasingly turning to collective action to address several core issues:
• Job Security and Layoffs: Despite being highly profitable, the tech industry is prone to volatile labor markets, resulting in large-scale and often sudden layoffs. Unions are sought after as a safeguard for fairness, transparency, and long-term stability in a capricious industry.
• Burnout and Work-Life Balance: The "move fast" ethos of many tech companies often leads to extended work hours and burnout. Workers are unionizing to advocate for better work-life balance and reasonable working hours, challenging exploitative work conditions.
• Wages, Benefits, and Transparency: While some tech salaries are high, the industry features significant pay disparities and occupational segregation (e.g., between core employees and contractors). Unions work to improve compensation, ensure equal pay for equal work, and establish open and fair processes for promotions and pay decisions.
• Ethical and Social Issues: Unlike traditional labor movements focused solely on working conditions, 21st-century tech unionization is often driven by a desire for a voice in company decisions regarding ethics and the societal impact of their technology, such as the use of AI in surveillance, military projects, or other contracts.
*
• Workplace Democracy and Accountability: Unions provide a mechanism for workers to democratize the workplace, giving them a meaningful say in decisions that affect their daily work, and holding management accountable for issues like discrimination, harassment, and lack of diversity.
• Impact of AI and Automation: As companies deploy increasingly sophisticated AI-enhanced technologies for monitoring, evaluating, and potentially displacing workers, unions are seen as a powerful tool to ensure workers are included in the design and implementation of AI to protect their job quality and rights.
📈 Changing Perceptions
The old narrative of the "pampered tech worker" is eroding, leading many, including mid-career engineers, to reevaluate unions not as a hindrance to innovation, but as a necessary tool to establish fairness, transparency, and a sustainable work environment. Tech workers are realizing that their collective power is necessary to secure their rights and ensure their expertise is used for equitable and beneficial purposes.

So, now that the limitations have been lifted, now that we've started minting money, would it be possible for the execs to stop playing games with us and just pay severance pay for the roles they no longer need? They may as well stop to overwork us, make us work insane hours, play games and give us fake write ups just to make us quit. Sooo.... Pay severance and let's part ways.

Interesting - folks posting within minutes after CW and MD announcements. Nothing else to do? Like do your work?

Friends at Fannie said they got new company holidays - December 24 and 26.