OK this isn't about layoffs (or maybe it could be, depending on the company's policies concerning this), but I am enormously upset by the company wanting us to return to the office. I don't care if it's in waves, I don't care about safety protocols. Why would they even want to risk it? What is the motivation? To show shareholders that everything is hunky-dory...even as Fauci and Birx and others warn of very very scary scenarios to expect in the next few months? All it would take is for one person to be asymptomatic, but in the blink of an eye lets one droplet escape (masks aren't foolproof!) and suddenly you'd have dozens, hundreds, who knows how many people infected. I think it is unconscionable for a healthcare company that "cares" so much about its "human capital" to be implementing return-to-work at this moment in the pandemic's mysterious, unpredictable and merciless life cycle. And what if school doesn't open? What are parents supposed to do? I just don't get it. I'm sure that the proposed "no corporate liability" measures sound just peachy to UHG. Yes, I'm very very upset and curious to know if others feel the same way.
20 replies (most recent on top)
COVID 1984
What is the boomer fest of micromanaging, frequent watching, and weirdo obscessions with tracking their employees (corporate slaves). Corporate cringe. We shall not return if the work can be completed at home. The bottom is they do not trust us. So why work at a US corporation that does not trust you and cares so little abt your wellness.
If you have no childcare, they can't make you come in.
Refuse to go back. Who in their right mind would go back and risk getting sick from that virus? To risk their health for this cesspool of a greedy sleezy corporation? NO WAY!!!
Optum is selling a return to work as a benefit to other companies. Optum needs employees back in the office in order to not look like hypocrites trying to sell this benefit.
Not hurting my health for the american corporate cesspool. No way. Let someone else get Tom Hanks disease etc. Not for the poor salary and joke 'benefits' no way. How much are the hustler 'leaders' getting?!
I think it’s a little of both things:
1) We (UHG/Optum employees) are the test data for the ProtectWell app. Remote or in-office they want us to be the beta test group without telling us that.
2) I think they’re playing hardball with getting people back into the office so folks will quit and they don’t have to lay them off and provide severance.
Opt Out if you can and be productive as a WAH employee until you can find another opportunity.
I think it's all about the Protect Well app. We need to use it when we come back to the office each day. I bet they want to market it in the future. But first they need data to show customers it works in large organizations. WE are the data.
The benefits of co-location are far outweighed by the negatives of sitting in an open floor plan. We had a great remote culture when I first joined the company. World-class in fact. I don't understand the pressure to get back in the office. Optum leadership is so detached from the reality of modern software development. They want us to go back to the 70s when they all came of age. Your flowchart templates are in the mail.
What does human interaction have to do with working at Optum? I've never seen more zombies in a building than I did in my time at Optum HQ. To anyone worried about being laid off - the world is a kinder place than Optum. Get out and enjoy your life again.
Refuse. They can do the us empire thing and monitor, watch etc...their slaves (employees) left and right. Vile sickos. No way are we putting our health on the line for this capitalistic feces pit.
I refused.
Glad I'm not the only one who's puzzled by this untimely push to go back to the office.
As for pushing back on leadership for their rationale, I've gotten nothing from my manager except a repeat of the talking points. It's BS–there's something afoot. You KNOW the company is doing this for a self-serving reason, and we're supposed to be willing to risk it all. If someone really wants to go back to the office–have at it. But there's no way they should be telling us to. 90% jump in cases in children in the last two weeks?? And we're supposed to put kids back in daycare so we can come to the office? Terrible.
Maybe the goal is to make employees refuse & not be eligible for unemployment?
Maybe they want us on site for when layoffs continue?
Maybe they’re just twisting screws to get more resignations?
Socializing? No.
One other thing that needs human interaction is the novel coronavirus
We need to keep asking leadership why the push to go back to the office. The answer so far has just been a bizarre series of talking points about needing human interaction. No one is buying this. It makes no sense as we already have a large portion of permanent telecommuters.
I got Coronavirus at the TECH 2 MN office in March from a mo–n just coughing in my face at my desk. No way in hell im going back in there ever again with this company half a– approach to everything
COVID 1984
If you think otherwise you are wrong.
Did they tell people they expect them back? I left late last year so don’t know.
Wow, no responses.
Afraid of retaliation?
Are you willing to be a guinea pig for this company? NONE of the other major corporations in Mpls are making people go back to work–not Boston Scientific, not Target, not General Mills and I'm sure there are lots more.
Working from home is working just fine.