It's been 1 month since ELT decided this was the most effective way to make us quit. How is everyone doing with it so far? I can't help but wonder how much more $ we spend to keep these buildings full of bodies vs have them empty? The energy costs alone make me scratch my head. The whole thing seems so backwards and short sighted. It would almost be like discovering electricity, then the government taking it away because it 'feels' that people did better without it, while showing no actual data. Just "trust me bro" talking points. Or air conditioning, the greatest thing ever for st louis and tempe. Imagine having that and then it being taken away because a handful of low iq malicious government officials wanted people to move out of their city. A demonic calculated move is what that would be chalked up as. That is what RTO feels like. A tech advancement that was shown to work for the whole firm for almost 4 years (any way longer for many HO associates), but got taken away with zero offset for compensation. For you slow learners on here who think being in a cube for 4 days is great, how would you feel if your pay was cut 15%? You would suddenly be singing a different tune wouldn't ya? You might hate HBAs and remote work, but for many of us, it was a major perk/benefit and reason for staying here. Now it is gone and after 30 days of this cr-p I see absolutely zero + impact. In fact, it almost seems like productivity is moving the opposite direction. 2 days max in office will get you all the in person "collaboration" one needs. If you want more, come in and enjoy your toxic dystopian sh!thole. Why do office junkies care so much where other people do their jobs at if at the end of the day the same work is getting done? HBAs dont care how many people fill up the cubes or who clocks in a what time. Seems like only the micro managing doofuses of ELT and GPs care about such a stupid concept.
6 replies (most recent on top)
@cd This is an excellent summary. I can't wait to see the ELT bootlickers and trolls down vote it but not offer a counter argument. Not once have seen anyone from that camp attempt to make the case for why they continue to double down on failure.
The collaboration narrative is d-mb. Sure I spend more time talking with my teammates. I like them, and we all seem to get along. Most of the conversations tend involve our lives outside of work. We sometimes chat about work stuff.
However they framed this collaboration to be a good thing. It would be better if senior leaders, directors, GPs made more time to collaborate with us, get to know us, form professional relationships that can help us move up. But they all segregate to themselves in conference rooms all day. How are we suppose to network when we do not even see them. Sure, I suppose I could put 10 minutes on their calendar a month out. That just doesn't seem natural.
I volunteer for projects and working groups, but they're filled other associates. So unless of of them gets promoted. The exposure of in office is pointless
There one reason and one reason only why ELT is insisting on RTO. CONTROL.
PP is watching Edward Jones - the firm she wanted to “transform” upstream into a modern wealth management powerhouse, losing share (and quickly) in markets they traditionally owned (Midwest) and failing to take share in expanding markets (the coasts).
I have no doubt she tried. But two decisions seeded her failure:
Not aggressively enough upgrading talent around her ELT. Leaving weak, insecure execs in role that couldn’t ever hired in any comparable firm (like KC, LD, KJ, SM, DC, HM) has resulted in a transformation that has been steered very poorly.
Leaning largely on the advice of the above weak leaders, instead of channeling the EJ culture as an advantage, she chose to go to war with it, criticize it as a liability, fight it versus use it as an advantage. She turned her back on 100 years of strength, trust and momentum.
So here we are, year 6 of the “transformation”, falling behind. Her execs need an excuse for why EJ is well behind its plan - and associates are an EASY scapegoat. The firm has lost “control” of its workforce, associates are inherently lazy, not working full hours, not giving the “hustle” that is expected. AHA - that must be the reason!
So we double down on the “war” on culture by moving away from working in partnership to working under autocracy, ditch trust for oversight, replace investment in associates with layoffs and rehires in India, and so on.
This is how transformations (and companies) fail - watching culture eat strategy for breakfast. If this was a public company Penny would have been ousted by a board years ago based on consistently poor decisions informed by poor talent around her.
This is a war. And unfortunately the enemy is you.
@c6 omg hahahahaha this is so accurate
Why Four Days?
Simply put, four is twice as many as two.
As a result, employees should expect approximately twice the collaboration, twice the innovation, and, where practical, twice the culture.
While these projections have not yet been validated, they remain directionally encouraging.
The Value of Presence
Research consistently demonstrates that employees working in close physical proximity are more likely to:
Ask if anyone has seen the conference room adapter.
Spend fifteen minutes determining whose turn it is to reboot the meeting-room computer.
Participate in spontaneous conversations that begin with, "Quick question..." and conclude forty-three minutes later.
These are the kinds of high-value interactions that cannot be replicated through purpose-built collaboration software specifically designed to replicate them.
Visibility Matters
Although employee evaluations will continue to be based entirely on performance and results, it is important that those results occur where they can be observed.
This allows leadership to appreciate the effort that accompanies the work, such as walking briskly between conference rooms while carrying a laptop.
Building Culture
Many employees have indicated that they already feel connected to their teams.
This is encouraging, but incomplete.
Organizational culture is strengthened through shared experiences, including:
Searching multiple floors for an available meeting room.
Listening to someone else's conference call while attending your own.
Discovering at 11:58 a.m. that everyone had the same idea for lunch.
These experiences build institutional knowledge that is difficult to quantify, which is fortunate.
Addressing Productivity
Some employees have expressed concern that additional commuting time may reduce the number of hours available for focused work.
Leadership recognizes this possibility.
To offset the impact, employees are encouraged to become more efficient.
Frequently Asked Question
Q: If my team is distributed across three states and we still meet on video calls, why am I commuting?
A: While your meetings may still occur virtually, it is important that they occur virtually from the office.
This reinforces our shared commitment to flexibility.
Looking Ahead
We recognize that organizational change can be challenging.
History shows that every meaningful workplace innovation—from mandatory password changes every sixty days to replacing assigned desks with "collaboration neighborhoods"—was initially met with questions.
In time, these initiatives became accepted, if not entirely understood.
We are confident this one will follow the same trajectory.
As always, Human Resources welcomes your feedback.
Please continue submitting your comments through the Employee Listening Portal, where they will be carefully categorized, summarized, and presented to leadership in a deck titled "Themes We Have Already Considered."
Thank you for your continued professionalism, adaptability, and willingness to embrace evidence-adjacent decision-making.
Together, we remain committed to creating a workplace where every employee can be seen contributing, regardless of whether anyone can explain why.
Would anyone from the ELT cult or GP side like to make an argument for why 4 days in office is better than 2? Or, are you guys so deep in the kool aid that your brains don't even knkw how logically process this question?