Thread regarding AT&T layoffs

Yeah, too many execs playing golf and going to sporting events during the day ruined it. Ran into some at Costco’s during my food runs.

Like others said, working from home was never, ever intended as a means of dependent care. Like another poster said, this is what ruined it for everyone. People using it as a daycare and working their side hustles.

In ATS those exemption requests have been denied.

RTO was a scare tactic with an agenda to retire or quit. Now a days it’s not consistent or enforced. Initially we couldn’t find a parking space or a desk to work at and most groups backed off to just one day a month.
Next was force you to move to a hub and leadership took care of the ones with knee pads and sc--wing the others.
OP. Take care of your family since it’s clear att has a sla-ghter agenda.

We need to return to the days where it was unprofessional to take personal calls at work.

First of all, when was that? Because it was never during the last 40 years I've worked here.

But sure, let's. And with that, we will return to the days where business ends the second we walk out the door. No more nighttime calls or outage bridges.

Of course that would require getting rid of the low rent offshore support people who couldn't bounce a ping pong ball without breaking it, much less a complex software application, and going back to employing qualified long term AT&T employees in those roles. You know, the ones who actually know how stuff works, but don't work for curry.

So no, as long as there is no block of time in my day which is guaranteed to be exclusively personal, there will be no time during the workday that is exclusively for AT&T.

That doesn’t compute because there are plenty of people that have been doing it for a while. RTO is being applied unevenly and unfairly.

"Why are so many allowed to work from
Areas that others had to move??? Execs
using “critical needs” in disguise for protecting favorites?"

Maybe they are high on the list to be surplussed within the next few rounds. In that case, it wouldn't be right to let them relocate if it's known by management they won't be employed by t much longer.

Keep in mind, even the most legitimate understandable reasons for exemptions are for 6 months only and have to be reapplied for.

Here’s the real question we all need to ask!!!!

Why are so many allowed to work from
Areas that others had to move??? Execs
using “critical needs” in disguise for protecting favorites?

Company needs to address this for fairness before it becomes a larger issue for morale and equality

Post ID: @1grf+1rk7RAEQ

Caretaker seems like an odd word b/c what you really mean is “caregiver”

Good luck!

Honestly what amount of meaningful work would you be contributing while caring for your special needs adult child all day. Seriously???

Other options, is FMLA, up to 12 weeks a year and the company offers some leaves too, for various situations. If approved, they will protect your attendance.

@1rwh+1rk7RAEQ how are we supposed to support the local sandwich shop if we are all working from home? The company can't allow everyone to stay home and provide care for their family members and all of us have a child or senior citizen that needs a little help during the day.

We need to return to the days where it was unprofessional to take personal calls at work. Nurses and doctors aren't expected to handle personal issues while on the clock, so why should we? How would you feel if the $300/hr plumber working on your issue started texting family members about issues, while on your clock time? That's how we feel as shareholders about you not focusing on your work. Now get back to it and make me some money!

May the odds be ever in your favor.

You wouldn’t be able to focus on the primary job you are tasked with if having to take care of a dependent on a longterm basis. This would be abuse of telecommuting and never what it was intended for.

I wouldn't count on that at all. I have a disabled family member and am the primary caretaker (what an odd word, but whatever). The VP for the group I was in would not approve work from home for people with disabled family members. I was told to go through HR and file for an accommodation. HR denied my claim, as accommodations are for an employee with a medical issue, not for a family member.

So, try. But make sure your resume is current as you would need your veep to approve it. And they won't. You will get absolutely nowhere asking for an accommodation.

Heavy on the statement “We are no longer a company that values family.”

My situation is, in no way, as dreadful as needing to, but not being able to be home to take care of a special needs child or being around during a loved one’s hospice stay, but I did used to spend so much time with my family in the mornings. I have very young children. I am a mom. We’d all laugh together and get that much-needed quality time together that working parents fight so hard for. Now I have to leave the house before the kids even wake up in order to get to the office before my first meeting (on Teams of course). Everyone yearning for lost time with your families - you are not alone. I’ve been trying to find a new (remote) job, but it’s so tough out there right now.

They don't want a lawsuit for making exceptions. I just finished my 4th heart procedure for cogestive heart failure. Waiting to get a pacemaker. Even that was not a good enough reason for an exemption.

Let us know if it works for you. Then I'll use that excuse too.

Whatever you decide to do, I would solicit the advice of a trained medical professional.
AT&T HR is not known for hiring the brightest or the most educated.

I'm sorry to hear about your situation but honestly this company doesn't give a cr-p! I told them about my br---t cancer and was let go anyway so if you think they care, think again. Best of luck.

Do you think your son could work? Many businesses and organizations make a point of hiring people who have special needs. And many cities offer free transportation.

I'm really sorry about the predicament that you and others are in. Uprooting one's family, especially with extenuating circumstances, is not something that many families can easily absorb. In some cases, these means not only uprooting the immediate family, but moving away from extended family members who provide a much needed support system. If I were in your shoes, I would certainly try to get an exemption from the move requirement and get a TW status. It can be tricky. I wasn't offered the option to move (so possibility of severance if declined) but was given TW with the requirement to go in once a week. The office is over 300 miles round trip, and even making the weekly journey is starting to be too much for me, and I don't want to spend money to get a local apartment or hotel room - those are not cheap options and I don't want to leave my spouse, who has some medical issues, alone at night on a regular basis. We have also recently had a change in leadership so I am not even sure my TW position will continue to be available to me, even in the short term. For these and other reasons, I'm leaving the company in April for a different opportunity. I wish you the best and hope it will all work out.

Op here. Thanks for all the replies. Just a little more detail for the people that don’t understand. My son does not need to be watched every second, but he is mentally delayed and does need occasional attention such as making him something to eat. But mainly he has seizures so someone has to be around to make sure he doesn’t hurt himself. Also I do not plan to move to Dallas. I am just considering my options. Thanks again!

Job accommodation is for your health issue and have to be reevaluated every so many months. You will not be approved to not have to relocate due to that. I have a coworker with a special needs child and they were required to move to Dallas regardless of the situation including the loss of a caregiver in the move and the specialists their child sees. WFH exemptions to not have to move are very few and are temporary. Another RTO is in the works to eliminate the previous exemptions now that many backfills are done.

Child/elderly care is not something you should be doing while you’re working from home. That way of thinking is largely why we’re in this mess of RTO. It ruined it for the rest of us.

Another d-bag similar to soccer coach guy.

Glad to know you put the blinders on when you go in the office, leave your phone in the car so relatives can't call you with problems, etc.

There's zero reason someone can't work from home and be there to deal with the odd distraction. If an issue comes up, then he takes time off and deals with it, without having to drive an hour to get there.

It's only a conflict in your small jealous mind.

OP, best chance would be if your immediate leadership was supportive and came up with a work related reason why you can be a teleworker while saying nothing about your son. If they aren't willing to make that case it's not going to happen. Even if they do, at this point, that request is going to come in for some serious high level scrutiny. Everything does now. Sorry.

Best to go work for someone who is not a sc-mbag, i.e., someone other than John Stankey.

That’s wetarded.

Working from home has NEVER been a substitute for childcare (except maybe during covid). That said, no harm in trying, but you should probably start looking for adult daycare if you need to continue working.

I think your bigger issue is being required to move to Dallas.

A Job Accommodation is for the employee's health condition only as it impacts them to perform the essential functions of their job. Accommodations do not cover commuting issues or care of another person, may not always be granted if the request is deemed unreasonable to the business, and is ultimately up to your department to approve/deny. It just happens to be the law, not an AT&T policy. Google it for more information to learn all the FACTS. You should also know that if you file the required paperwork that your physician must fill out, most every physician charges for their time to do this (approx $100 not covered by ins).

AT&T should accommodate anyone with a need. People and corporations should be giving more to less fortunate.

I regret to be the messenger of unfortunate news, but I understand your situation all too well. I also have a son with comparable special needs, as he is both physically and intellectually disabled. Last year, I encountered a similar dilemma regarding relocation, and unfortunately, AT&T proved unhelpful in accommodating our circumstances. However, on a positive note, I managed to find a job outside of AT&T within my local area that paid a little more

Child/elderly care is not something you should be doing while you’re working from home. That way of thinking is largely why we’re in this mess of RTO. It ruined it for the rest of us.

Determine if the in home care costs make sense for your situation.

I feel your pain, as I am in a similar situation. I was told that “babysitting” doesn’t apply to accommodations. The best I get is using care giver for medical and physical type therapy appointments, and sickness as mine is a dependent. If you are able to get help with HR, please post back, and I may try again. We are no longer a company that values family.

T should not be allowing you to babysit part-time during working hours. Hire a caregiver.

I think you would be looking for a job accommodation not an exemption. If you have a disability you stand a good chance of getting an accommodation. Normal accommodations under EEOC guidelines pertain to situations other than caring for a special needs son. Situations likely caring for a relative fall under the family and medical leave act which I don't think cover your situation since you aren't requesting an extended absence. Good luck but I think your time is probably better spent trying to find another job.

Sorry to hear that. As others have stated, the exception is for medical reasons only.

I ... will be required to move to Dallas in wave 3

Just my two cents, but I don't think it's worth moving for AT&T. This company does not respect their workers, let alone their needs.

Take care of yourself first. If that means working on your resume during work hours, do it. They will sc--w you over sooner or later, so sc--w them over first.

not saying to not try.. but your chances of TW due to personal family issues such as childcare.. i would say is zero. This whole RTO is a company down-sizing exercise. Not to make people stay.

"Depends on how well you’re liked by the folks at the top. Worth a shot, but not likely."

This seems like the truth. There are 4 total members of my team in my city, three of us at the same level and our direct manager. The manager and one direct report who has the most interaction with the AVP were granted remote status, while the other two of us were designated FTO with no discussion. The remote folks definitely live within 50 miles of the office, do not appear to have any major health issues, and in fact are regularly able to travel to other cities for PI sessions etc. I've seen my manager twice since RTO started, and have not seen my "remote" coworker at all.

Unless you can scare up grounds to sue or are sleeping with a VP, you are most likely out of luck.

Depends on how well you’re liked by the folks at the top. Worth a shot, but not likely.

To my understanding, RTO exemptions are based on the employees' health providing documentation from a doctor as to why you should be exempt from working at an office. Also, you have to update your health records every 6 months to HR to continue to qualify. Taking care of a family member does not qualify you under the exemption rules.