#commute

Come on Comcast!! Folks are more productive when they can work office closer to home rather than commuting. Shall we start submitting gas expenses. Put your badging system as one system

I was laid off about 2 years ago and got a job somewhere else. Im being offered a very high salary to come back.

This is probably the wrong forum to ask this but looking for opinions of other high level leaders (lets say band 5+) on whether this is a good move. Im happy where I am and have a defined path to a very high level position but its a very far commute and significantly less pay than Cigna is offering.

All US staff back into the office in January, 3 or more days per week. Who cares that you were largely remote for 6 or more years, you have 60 days to change your entire way of life to pretend to get more work done at a temp desk.

Who cares if your entire team is in another state or country, you now need to sit in traffic and spend money to attend Teams calls from the office instead. An effective pay reduction for the entire US NG workforce. Great job!

Fidelity is forcing a team to relocate to the city centre, despite the existing office remaining open and the work being perfectly doable from there. Alongside reduced WFH, employees are facing significantly longer commutes for seemingly no good reason.

Why make life harder for employees when a perfectly reasonable alternative exists? Has anyone successfully challenged a forced relocation?

Results are in , ttus.
72 percent participation. I was the other 28 percent that didn't bother with the garbage.

80 percent are happy and plan to stay and recommend USBank as a great employer.

Top topic was compensation.

RTO is no longer important to UsBank employees as we are all happy to drive 3 hours a day to sit in cube, talking to other team members on Team.

The Results must be run by same people in White. House or North Korea where everyone is happy with dear Ole Leaders aka MC

Just one year ago, FLD told us that collaboration was fantastic. A tremendous success. The best collaboration anyone had ever seen. But now, apparently, one year later, collaboration has gone bad. Very bad. Nobody knows why. Nobody understands it. So naturally, the solution is to drag everyone back to the office. Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! Because nothing boosts productivity like spending two hours commuting to sit at a desk, wearing headphones, attending virtual meetings with colleagues sitting 10 metres away. Incredible innovation! And the best part? It's all about collaboration. Believe me, nobody collaborates better than people who are forced to be in the same building. We are going to make offices great again!

Why do so many people not use the EZTag to access campus? Every morning I have to wait for 10 people all slowing down, opening their window, fumbling with their badge, then finally opening the gate. We need to start each year’s NSI pool with these people

It’s only Tuesday and I’m exhausted from driving. The vibe is miserable. There is no point to coming in to talk to people in other sites.

Does anyone have insight what they are planning for Oakley Station Pulse Point? If they close it, any advice on how to avoid being forced way up to Mason which is significantly further from Cincinnati?

Kudos to ML for righting some wrongs with leadership. Just hoping he keeps the changes to personnel and doesn’t withdraw intentional flexibility. No one wants to deal with being in the office until 5pm and the 2 hour commutes in CLT and ATL.

From waking up to make this commute to sit in an office on zoom calls to talk to my team thousands of miles away. This isn’t sustainable.

Anyone hear about 100% RTO for everyone in Smithfield beginning in March? I have no idea where they would fit everyone but people in my organization seem to think it’s going to happen. Can’t wait for the 30 min + it takes to just get off campus to increase. My group in Institutional is incredibly micromanaged now and each change they implement undermines our ability to service our clients. It’s horrible.

My food bills have doubled from going into work every day now thanks for the cut in pay it’s great.
I don’t want to see my gasoline cc that should be coming this week
It’s almost criminal what they’ve pulled on us.
There just does not have to be a need for every single employee to come in every single day.
Oh wait.
I forgot only a few locations (boston) are getting the ROYAL SC--W JOB!!!
Wow how to totally disenfranchise 5000 employees.
Do you think your wealthy clients know you’re sc--wing the very people you depend on to carry the Fidelity torch?
I think not.
😡

Interesting survey from Inc.

• The ‘RTO tax’ costs workers time as well as money
• The average office worker is losing more than $6,700 a year to the "RTO tax,"
• For those who need childcare, the "tax" more than doubles to $16,538.
• If we’re asking employees to return to the office, we need to help them get there.
  https://www.inc.com/bruce-crumley/the-real-cost-of-rto-isnt-lost-flexibility-workers-pay-6736-a-year-just-to-show-up/91414492
  LinkedIn discussions https://www.linkedin.com/news/story/the-true-cost-of-rto-6700-a-year-or-more-7668724/

• I was already working from home two or three days a week before COVID.
• Dell had remote and hybrid work long before COVID.
• I was remote well before COVID.
• Gas, tolls, parking, and vehicle wear make RTO expensive.
• I was saving hundreds of dollars a month working from home.
• I am more productive without constant office interruptions.
• My home office has better equipment than the office.
• Most of my collaboration still happens on Teams even when I am in the office.
• There is not enough face-to-face collaboration to justify the commute.
• I reorganized my life around WFH.
• I invested in a dedicated home office.
• I have better control over my time working from home.
• I made major life decisions based on the previous remote-work policy.
• I bought a house based on being remote.
• I moved farther away because I was told remote work was permanent.
• I enrolled my kids in school based on where we moved.
• I sold a car because I no longer needed to commute.
• I can exercise at lunch instead of spending that time commuting.
• I have been fully remote for years. COVID had nothing to do with it.
• Dell previously encouraged remote work and then reversed the policy.
• Some remote employees do not even have an office to return to.
• I worked longer hours and was more available when I was remote.
• My commute is now two hours each way.
• I am not spending four hours a day commuting.
• Now I consider my commute part of my workday.
• The problem is not returning to how things were before COVID. Things were already hybrid or remote before COVID.

On top of the recent layoffs, they are forcing return to office, 5 days. In the middle of when gas prices soaring. People asked “are we getting adjustments, extra PTO for when we can’t afford to come in?” And they were berated for ridiculous questions because it “didn’t sound like it was for the students?” Joke of an answer. Gaslight their employees for asking HOW THEY ARE GOING TO SURVIVE!!! Keep in mind, they hired Florida wide. And revoked remote privileges/exceptions for them and said “come in with a 6 hour total commute or quit.” One even suggested their $20/hr employee just “up and move” because “Full Sail shouldn’t cater to you”. That came from a higher up male 6-figures. I know a few people truly affected because of pregnancies and cancers. And it was basically “too bad, so sad”. No remorse. And Garry “Sc--w You All” Jones. They told us that it was because parents were complaining that campus was empty (apparently that is worthy of giving people less than a month to find a job). But I know this will be a shock. It has been planned for years. They couldn’t find the right time and apparently their best option was $5 gas prices and groceries increasing every month was beneficial to all. THEY DONT CARE! Plus their accreditation for a few programs are being questioned (and probably revoked) unless they find a way to scam their way out of it. And I could be wrong. Maybe Garry Jokes will let his employees stay in his actual mansion that those people worked hard for him to get. That is not even the tip of the iceberg. The corruption and nepotism runs much much MUCH deeper.

Many people in this forum, told me not to follow the work and most may be right, but I ran out of all options (no payment for movement, couldn't land a job , no other income, no own home) . Anyone followed to work for similar reasons? How do you find the move and adjusting to 2 hour commutes?

I enjoy the work and have no problem doing it 40+ hours /week. What is quickly driving me insane is spending hours in traffic every day to do the same job I know I can do the same, if not better, without the drive when all of your work is on a computer. Gas is too expensive and Dearborn/metro Detroit su-ks to commute in. On top of that, shame on Ford for making all of their employees come in 4 days for over a year now without proper seating and planning.

Been wondering how many people got into a low mileage lease based on WFH & now are like ohhhh fxck!

Hearing layoffs next month in center city commute. Expecting certain percentage per org TPX?

Seriously considering telling Fido that I literally CANNOT absorb the extra financial cost of commuting to work every day when gas is projected to hit $6/gal. Is anyone else concerned about this? Sure, it’s fine if you live within a few miles but my commute is over an hour combined. How is this okay with Abby and why is no one doing anything about it?

Seattle's average commute time has significantly decreased, ranking third nationally. This improvement is primarily attributed to the rise of remote work and a substantial decline in public transit usage. In 2019, 25% of residents used transit, dropping to 15% by 2024. The article notes that solo drivers now average 26.5 minutes, while transit riders take 49.5 minutes. This trend contrasts with Sound Transit's efforts to increase ridership amidst budget concerns.

Seattle, Washington

https://seattlered.com/watch/seattle-ranks-3rd-in-america-for-shrinking-commutes-heres-why/01a08bb4-3c00-8008-f0fa-136d5b56ae80

I have a 2 hour round trip to Dallas HQ that I do everyday. I am looking forward to my commute on Monday morning. In the morning it gives me a chance to plan my day. And in the evening I get the opportunity to reflect on my day while driving home. I am too tired to do anything once I am home so I have no trouble falling asleep on time. I love working here. Thank you JS and RTO.

I don’t get this ft rto for some but not for all its arbitrary and unfair
So bc our area has the space we get to slog into Boston with our costly commute while other areas that likely cost less to commute get to wfh?!?
How does that build collaboration knowing some of your colleagues sets up a phone meeting just as you would like to leave for your commute all the while they’re sitting on their 🫏 at home with NO COMMUTE?!!!
How is THAT not a hostile work environment?!?
Yea I’m po’d

Just the beginning of Groundhog Day for us all?! This is the daily grind personified.
I just think after 6 years of ft wfh and then hybrid this is going to be a really difficult slope to scale after a couple of months with no let us except an errant holiday or vacation day?
What were they thinking?!!
I’m exhausted just thinking about how tedious this gets and how arduous it is after a long day.
It doesn’t help and it’s not political because gas dollar for dollar was higher under Carter obamma and even joe much higher but it’s painful at the pump. The average on today’s dollar would be between $5-6 on average.

I remember asking if there was a chance they’d reduce a day as gas prices climbed and was told no. Never mind how other people are abusing that but with prices going up I am pretty close to living paycheck to paycheck. I don’t want to bring it up again to the powers that be but it’s really getting hard. Every single thing is. The icing on the cake is the constant fear of a layoff every other week. Is anyone else going through this? I’m tempted to borrow from my 401K.

Any tips on making our daily commute to Tuas more pleasant? I don’t know what to expect

Oh, was that not motivating enough?
Well what if we completely fu---d you over and made you commute for 2 hours a day?

Oh well, I tried. I cannot figure out why the employees are not happy or motivated.

Time to give myself a 5 million dollar bonus for all that hard work!

There are absolutely times when people should be together, but in reality those times are few and far between. If the work actually benefits from being face to face, great. Get everyone in the room and get your sh-t done.

But that’s not what 5x RTO has become… We’re tracking badge swipes, building dashboards, calculating hours and obsessing over whether someone’s a-s was physically in a chair for eight hours. All for… what?

So people can drive to an office, put on headphones, open Teams and work remotely from the office?… Seriously, what the fu-k are we doing?

If my entire day is Teams calls, emails, spreadsheets and work with people sitting in different buildings or different states, then forcing me to commute to do it from a cubicle isn’t collaboration. It’s pointless theater.

I could do the exact same work from my house just like I did for a decade before Covid. I’d get more done, I’d be less burned out, and AT&T wouldn’t have to waste money supporting the office just so somebody can say we were “present.”

Bring people together when there’s a reason to be together. Stop confusing physical presence with productivity. They are not aligned.

If the end result of 5x RTO is that I commute an hour to sit in a building and work remotely from my desk, then congratulations, you did it (and nothing else)!

Way to go baldo! You just reinvented working from home - with traffic. What a joke!

Having to waste more than two hours on commute is certainly not making me more productive. What it is making me is resentful and slow and absolutely unwilling to go the extra mile, something I used to do all the time. I'm betting you RTO will turn out to be the biggest productivity ki-ler.

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.

Some people seem to genuinely need the office for their social life. Fine. Go in five days a week. Nobody is stopping you.

But I’m not going to work to make friends. I’m here to do a job. And we’re told loyalty is dead and we’re a market-based company, so let’s be honest about the relationship — I sell my time and expertise, AT&T pays me for it. That’s it.

I prefer working with people who can get their sh-t done without an adult babysitter watching over them. If you can’t perform from home, sitting in an office doesn’t magically make you productive. Now you’ve just added a commute and a day full of distractions.

We’re supposed to be here to work, not recreate a nursing-home social mixer five days a week.

If you need the office, have at it. Just stop making the rest of us pay for your social life.

• Show up at the office at 8am
• 8 hours of Teams calls with people in a different state/office or working from home
• 30 minute lunch break
• Leave at 4PM and drive two hours home
• Question the point of it all

It doesn’t get better than this!

This issue needs to be addressed before the new AT&T headquarters in Plano opens.

The Plano campus will have pickleball courts, which means employees may soon be competing against one another on a regular basis. However, virtual employees already have a major advantage: they do not have to spend up to two hours each day commuting to and from the Dallas headquarters.

While the rest of us are sitting in traffic, virtual employees could be using that time to practice their serves, improve their game, and prepare for the Plano courts. By the time the new headquarters opens, employees who have been commuting may be years behind in pickleball development.

This creates a serious fairness issue. The Plano pickleball courts should be a level playing field, but that will not be possible if one group has had significantly more time to practice simply because of where they work.

Leadership needs to act now, before the competitive gap becomes impossible to close. I am requesting that virtual employees return to the office so everyone has the same commuting obligations and the same opportunity to prepare.

We cannot wait until the first Plano pickleball tournament to realize that this problem should have been handled sooner. The integrity of AT&T pickleball is at stake and the time to act is now before it is too late.

When I was working from home during covid, I was amazed at how much work I got done. I was proud of how much I accomplished daily. It was a pleasure working every day. Now that I'm back in the office, the commute, the noise, distractions, bothered by boring id--ts has completely demotivated me. I only come in to do the minimum. They really miscalculated the whole opportunity.

I am a fool. I underestimated Dallas commute, Parking and the 8 hour requirement. What a mess. Door to door is 11 hours for 5 days a week. What the he-l? How are my fellow 50 year olds taking it?

I stay because the health insurance covers my kid's therapy and the commute is only 20 minutes. My manager is clueless, but my three teammates are sharp and we cover for each other. Why would I start over somewhere else that'd probably have the exact same issues and no seniority?

I do have to say that I am grateful that PNC let us work from home if we used the Parkway East. I would be so drained by the time I got to work and got home. You’re talking probably at least an extra two hours commute time plus spending more money on gas sitting in all the traffic. No matter which detour you took it was bad. I talked to a few few friends. I have in the medical field and it was a nightmare. Don’t let people tell you that it wasn’t.

So if the executives are reading this, I want to thank you for letting us do this because you didn’t have to.

Who is commuting 5 days a week, 60 miles each day. $25 per day in travel costs not including parking.

Aren’t you exhausted? Needs to be at least 3-4 years until Plano HQ.

Finding new employment in Dallas doesn’t help as commute doesn’t change. Those who work in Plano office are super lucky.