#culture

I noticed recently a lot of messaging lately about how great it is to work at T, how everyone loves it and the benefit are fantastic (hooray for Lyra). Even our screensaver now tells how great it is to work here. Then I read this article and thought that's T.
https://www.shrm.org/topics-tools/news/linkage/hidden-cost-of-positive-vibes-only-at-work
Forced positivity comes with the unspoken expectation that employees should stay upbeat regardless of stress, fatigue, burnout, or team challenges. And while maintaining a positive environment is key, forcing a culture of unrealistic optimism isn’t grounded in reality. It creates a false environment

Does anyone else find it odd and totally insensitive that the group of people handling offboarding of VSP'd and ISP'd associates is named the "Execution Team"? Is this just an insensitive error naming the team or is it some type of twisted psychological play by one Penelope Pennington? Either way, very strange and off-putting.

"talent" is a just another annoying office word to describe anyone sitting at a table with a plastic box saying "pivot" and "bottom line" over and over

I would love to see Employees results by line item starting with Director up, AD’s we already know kiss the ring. Folks should propose that since it is (ha ha) Anonymous. Then I bet 100% not one has the kahuna’s to say the truth and be all butter cuz they live to the standards of my house is bigger than yours, my new Benz is better than your Bentley. My kids college costs me 250k a year.God forbid they told how they really feel because then their kids in college about to get hired by ATT would not. No different than the obvious ethnic pulling in, even married in the same org.

I find it ironic that Cisco who’s known for layoffs has these sales leaders who are well off preaching about supporting the homeless when they directly contribute to the issue. Many people who get laid off have families and houses and losing their livelihoods can directly impact their ability to provide for their families and potentially lose their means of shelter. Look the mission is great but doing this at a company like Cisco feels tone deaf

or Disneyland like experience. Is that idea still being floated? or project on hold or moving forward?

I am not in campus so I don't know! Appreciated if you can give me your update

Being ex Nike man, I think that if someone wants to send me to he-l for a day, that would be Nikeland. LOL

Anything good?

From Entrepreneur

Michael Dell Encourages Leaders to 'Make a Crisis' — Even If There Isn't One Already. Here's Why.
The 60-year-old CEO of Dell Technologies says crises motivate employees and bring about necessary changes.
——
This is the fastest way to create burnout. Apply pressure with no end while the CEO is on a private 787 jetting between on vacation spot to another. I’m sorry Michael, but this is not playing nice.

You may need an Apple News account. (Sorry)
https://stocks.apple.com/AupLrQI_HQ3OSCKZKzPUuHw

https://www.forbes.com/lists/worlds-best-employers/

The bottom 5% out of 900 companies. How is that possible.

The company is widely hated by the public due to their bad cell service & customer care.

How does this SLT look itself in the mirror? Long time, bleeding red Xerox people let go today while all the C level execs grab a raise and pad their exit plan. Congrats to Steve, Pastor, Mirlanda etc for running an icon into the ground. Re-invention is horsesh*t. Xerox is dead.

what's the use of working from office where most of the products make no money, no one is happy getting 2k increments per annum, Leadership shake up at the Top and the stock falling down exponentially ? do they learn something from these indicators?

After all the feedback, the Speak ups, the expressions of discontent- nothing changes. The CPO, VP of Operations and snakey HRBP (we all know who …k.a.) — still there. What a shame. AMN used to be a company that cared about its employees but those three have spread their greed and power tripping attitudes and toxicity wide and far. No longer am I proud to work at AMN. I’m disgusted and am biding my time until I can leave them high and dry. I have no desire to be associated with those three and am ashamed to even be a part of the HR team. I don’t know what more can be said before any action is taken. Probably take a lawsuit…. Well, be ready because that’s coming.

You folks need to go like Stankey said, plenty of hybrid and virtual. They say a hub but San Ramon is what, what about Missouri, etc and why are AVPs not all in Dallas that was the big press that went under the carpet to which they are not even in hubs, why how did they get the pass card. The company is going to the 1980’s punch card style basically and they don’t care. This SBC style outsource and project managers is underway., you do know ATT was basically bankrupt and SBC bought the name. FACT!! The glory and fixing some locations is a fools game otherwise they know folks would leave in bunches, so out with old and in with book smart maybe that. They hire someone that’s says they have a bachelor degree from a third world country that’s behind armed guards but it’s an accredited school but not USA credited since cost is cheap and so are getting degrees by sliding some local currency to the professors. What has happened to your company and who is really running it since most leadership are less than 6 years from other companies so they left or booted out

1. Salaried employees who stroll into the office over a half hour after everyone has arrived and leaves exactly at 5:00. They know their boss doesn’t keep track of their whereabouts, so they come and go as they please. I know for a fact that particular ones are not putting in hours online in the evening and weekends to make up for this time.

2. Untrained or lazy employees who forward an email to random people / departments looking for help, and the subject matter has nothing to do with what our department handles. They CC others on the email to make it look like they are doing something, then the CC people bombard us with angry replies because we haven’t responded. So, it’s our problem to deal with since the original sender decided to punt the ball over to us.

I have great empathy for victims being let go. Ageism is alive and well. No one will claim to have lost a good job though. You lost a job with high stress, little chance of success, zero training, impossible deadlines, plenty of unhappiness all around. A management team who hates their own jobs and all their subordinates. A kiss a-s culture wrapped in total incompetency.

So true, @gy+1k7g0fqf8. I was let go today, and strangely, I feel relieved. Even with the uncertainty ahead and the sting of being discarded after ten years as if I’m worthless, the overwhelming feeling is one of finally being free of this place.

I am not sure how some of these so called leaders make it to the top. But, that is one issue. What really boggles my mind is how so called leaders make decisions at one company. The first company turns around and reverses mistakes that leader made. Then a second company hires this leader to come to the new company and do the same thing. For example, Citi laid thousands of people off under DC's "leadership". Citi found out his vision was not sustainable. Citi has since reversed many of his decisions and hired people back. Some people have already moved on. Then what mystifies me is why does Penny Pennington and the powers that be at Edward Jones turn around and hire DC who has proven himself to be a failed leader? Penny Pennington has brought DC into the flock knowing full well that he is a wolf in sheep's clothing. DC is doing the same thing at Edward Jones that he did at Citi. I have seen many really good people who are really good at what they do get laid off to an extent that this model is unsustainable. After DC packs his bags and moves on to the next company to do the same thing Penny Pennington will have to rehire many people she and DC laid off. DC is a mercenary who goes from company to company cutting people and doing things that most people cannot do and be able to sleep at night. The first time I ever saw DC he was having a TED Talk moment in the South Campus Auditorium where he was talking about the movie Zoolander 2 of all things. He was also lecturing us about the culture of Edward Jones (people who had been there for 25-30 years). He said his favorite movie was Zoolander (that should tell you how deep of a thinker he is). He was using some salty language when he was speaking about Zoolander 2. The thing was he was saying it in front of the empty chair on the stage. As we all know the empty chair represents the client. We all have been taught to not say anything in front of the empty chair we would not say in front of a client. But, there was DC lecturing us all about Edward Jones' culture and how bad Zoolander 2 was. It was so surreal having been in the auditorium in the past listening to past managing partners like JB, DH, and JW. On the same stage years later is DC obsessing about how bad Zoolander 2 was. It was the strangest thing ever. But, this is the man Penny Pennington has hitched her wagon and her legacy to. It has become bad. It is going to continue to get worse. The Penny Pennington era at Edward Jones will be looked on as a dark time in the firm's history. When DC has done all the gutting Penny Pennington has hired him to do he will pack his bags and move on to the next company prepared to destroy the lives of the very people who built it. That is just what DC does. I guess he can sleep at night. I do not think anyone with a soul could sleep at night though. You knew who DC was when you brought him on. Shame on you, Penny Pennington, shame on you.

The mail from Gina just came in.

I will focus on my team and my manager. I cannot really say much about upper management or board, as I am too new.

But it is a good sign that SAP offers the opportunity to provide feedback. Hopefully people will have lots of good ideas how to improve the company.

Every time someone posts about working insane hours like it’s some badge of honor, I cringe. You’re not impressing anyone. You’re just proving that the company can take advantage of your loyalty without paying more. When will people finally wake up and realize this?

Yeah, Ford’s had its share of rough patches — nobody’s pretending otherwise. EV delays, reorganizations, the usual noise. But every once in a while something cuts through all that and reminds you why this place still matters.

Back in May, the Mustang GT3 owned the streets of Detroit, taking GTD-PRO victory on home turf:
👉 https://www.imsa.com/news/2025/05/31/ford-mustang-gt3-finds-gtd-pro-victory-lane-in-detroit/

Five months later, it crossed the Atlantic and made history at the Nürburgring with an overall win — one of the toughest tracks on earth:
👉 https://fordauthority.com/2025/10/ford-mustang-gt3-writes-history-with-hard-fought-nurburgring-win/

Two continents. Two legit wins. That’s what composure under pressure looks like. Feels good to see a Ford doing what it was built to do — win. 🔥🏆

I’m in the process of interviewing at Humana with a panel scheduled soon, in the Quality space. What is the culture and vibe like? Humana used to be the market leader in Medicare, the envy of all payers and after looking at this job board, stock prices and Stars ratings I’m surprised to see that things have not been as stellar? Any insights would be appreciated.

In recent interactions, I’ve noticed a shift in leadership approach where supervisors are prioritizing directive control over collaborative friendliness. This manifests as micromanaging daily tasks, decisions, and workflows, which can feel overly authoritative rather than supportive.
While clear guidance is appreciated, this “bossy” style risks demotivating employees by limiting autonomy and trust. It may lead to reduced creativity, higher stress levels, and lower job satisfaction, as team members feel their expertise isn’t valued. For instance, constant oversight on routine matters can stifle initiative and make the work environment feel restrictive rather than empowering.

Name anyone.... Bruce Lee and Elvis are OK too.

Why are these guys in such a rush to receive all of the negative feedback they’re going to get through this survey? Pushing to have 100% completion in the first week and giving drps to the first teams to do it. I can’t wait to get my free shirts after trashing the company in every question like I do every year since mission one started! Maybe we’ll even get another useless team morale building cookout!

A few years ago, I joined the PMIC located in San Diego with a sense of excitement and optimism. The interview process had gone smoothly, and the role seemed technically aligned with my skills. The recruiter was persistent and enthusiastic, and that consistent follow-up played a big role in my decision to accept the offer.

Early on, things seemed fine. The technical work wasn’t particularly challenging, mostly basic bench testing, but I was eager to contribute and learn. Over time, I noticed signs of favoritism and occasional exclusion, including colleagues using their native language during meetings, which made collaboration difficult at times. However, over time, I began to notice some underlying issues; a subtle subculture that didn’t sit right with me. There was clear favoritism among certain members of the group, and at times, colleagues would speak in their native language during meetings and in the lab, which excluded others from the conversation and undermined collaboration.

Despite these red flags, I stayed professional. I treated everyone with respect, including those who weren’t particularly kind to me. I chose not to engage in office politics and instead kept my focus on work. I participated in discussions and meetings when needed but otherwise kept to myself.

Unfortunately, that approach didn’t go over well with certain individuals who seemed to be on a power trip. Some began bad-mouthing me behind my back to upper management with the intent on undermining me. They started nitpicking my work and creating conflict over petty issues. I maintained my composure, but deep down, I knew this wasn’t a healthy environment for me.

For the past 15 months, I’ve been actively applying for new roles. I’ve had a few interviews, three phone screens and one onsite, but none felt like the right fit. In fact, the onsite interview was with a lower-ranked company where the interviewers seemed unprofessional and insecure because someone who works at Qualcomm is interviewing with their low rank company, one of the interviewers said that to my face! The hiring manager even took personal calls during the interview, which was a clear red flag. I declined the opportunity, I won’t jump from the frying pan into the fire.

Meanwhile, the job market has been rough. Fifteen months of consistent effort hasn’t yielded the right opportunity yet.

More recently, my current manager, who was born and raised in the US for a reason that will be clear later, began pressuring me to engage in small talk with coworkers about personal matters, like the details of what I have done over the weekend. I was surprised when my manager requested that, and I explained that I prefer to keep my personal life private, especially my time with my wife. and I don’t see that as a requirement for professional collaboration. For context, I do attend all team-building events, even though they’re outside work hours and take time away from my personal life. I respect team cohesion, but there are boundaries.

I recognize that in some cultures, people spend the majority of their time at work and see coworkers as family, often placing their personal families second. But that’s not how I was raised, and come on we live in the US.

When my manager told me that failing to engage in more casual conversations could negatively impact my performance review, I felt that line between professional expectations and personal boundaries had been crossed. I feel like manager is just breathing down my neck constantly. It is unbelievable that he sold his soul to those foreigners. He is so weak, useless and I have lost all respect for him. At this point, I’ve chosen not to involve HR, most people know how that typically plays out.

I know I am on my way out forcibly, I am just here to vent and see if others have had similar experience and could give some tips on how to navigate through this tough situation.

I hope you're all doing well. Have you noticed how our Chief People Leader (er... Eater) recognizes World Mental Health Day by celebrating our contract partnership and collaboration with Spring Health and how this is powering our culture? Spring Health, for its part, is also quick to point out the partnership and how wonderful it is that BNY recognizes and prioritizes mental health concerns by offering employee coverage.

What's truly astonishing in all of this corporate speak, though, is that BNY senior leaders fail to publicly acknowledge their role in contributing to associate mental health challenges caused by a toxic BNY culture in the first place. Something's definitely wrong with how the narrative is being framed.

We should be celebrating our people and sharing stories about what the company is doing to provide further assistance. Celebrating our vendor relationship with Spring Health and bragging about facility unwind rooms on social media is simply not the best message for what is being done to create an 'amazing work culture' for our associates.

Quoting @fx+1k79fcw84

Centralized control is the result of inexperienced leadership, lack of accountability, resources that aren’t qualified, and resources unable to learn and grow because of the revolving door of people coming and going, along with being in a continuous state of re-organizing. Culture is throw bodies at it —- very, very wrong. Speed comes from quality, and quality comes from experience, experience comes from learning … and over arching it all is having people that care. Currently caring about doing things right, calling out what’s broken, what’s not working, what’s costing the company $’s - is very much discouraged because anyone perceived as rocking the boat is somehow ‘bad’. If everyone just follows the party line, things will not turn around. Wholesale changes? Above my pay grade, but leadership inspires, it does not degrade, denigrate, or make high performing individuals that are experts at their jobs feel like sh-t every day as they see the waste, inefficiency, incompetence, and their colleagues discarded like cattle. Is a lot of people that care, but their hands are tied. We can be so much better. Focus on Sport? Awesome… but let’s focus on our Customers, fixing what’s broken, and treating employees like what they are - the single most important resource. How are people going to be inspired when they see 1-2 people laid off from a team that are replaced by 30-40 outsourced resources, that do nothing, fix nothing, and dump their issues on the fewer & fewer resources remaining that can actually get stuff done, understand both Tech & Business, etc. Is like having a soccer team full of stars & journeyman pro’s, and replacing it with your cousin’s brother’s middle school rec squad. Cheaper isn’t better - nor is it ever really cheaper, because is just shifting the work somewhere else.

Lately, there’s been a noticeable lack of leadership and engagement from management. The tone and approach in communication often feel short, dismissive, or lacking in encouragement.

Our senior leadership were visibility angry when they shared the results of last survey, we've even were told to leave SAP if we weren't happy and not to fault them as leaders. This survey I am not going to even bother answering. They have a target on the number of responses and I am not going to help them. As per the comments, they are worth nothing, I've hold roles close to leaders in the past and leaders didn't do a single thing rather than making calculations and trying to guess who answered what. If I am still here by when the survey is launched, I am going to ignore the email and the 200 reminders I'll receive after.

Everybody should do the same as @bp+1k7bwjdxa. I certainly plan to.

Employers say they want people with integrity, loyalty, and to become really good at their jobs in order to serve the clients/customers with exemplary service and products. But, they reward people who do whatever it takes to advance. They tell FA's to push products that are fee based when those products are not in the best interest of the client (lack of integrity and ethics). They preach loyalty yet they bring in people from the outside and pay them more than paying long tenured employees because they know the current employees will stay without a competitive merit increase. They also preach customer service and job performance. Yet, when they think they need to restructure to be more competitive they just run analytics and cut with a machete instead of doing research to keep top performers with the plan to hire people back when they have finally decided what roles the firm will need. I understand this is what most employers do. However, this is not what Edward Jones has ever done. Penny and the rest of the ELT has decided to do this and therefore has made Edward Jones just another run of the mill employer. Edward Jones used to be a destination employer. A place where quality talent wanted to get to and stay. That is why Ted decided to have your profit sharing vest one hundred percent on day one unlike most employers. Now, Penny has decided to just run the company like any other. Top talent will not choose to come here. Top talent will not choose to stay here. Penny has decided to destroy the culture of this company from the inside out. The fall of this firm will not come from an outside threat. It will come from the inside. I believe the time is now. I believe her name is Penny Pennington.

Wells Fargo is such a different company now under Schart. Managers don’t truly care about their teams. Last minute assignments. Nitpicking. Lack of employee engagement. Worthless middle managers that don’t do anything. Huge disconnect between India employees and U.S. Employee surveys but no changes just town halls that make it look like it for optics. It’s a $hit show. I don’t really know anybody that’s truly happy at Wells Fargo, just comfortable.

https://techrights.org/n/2025/10/12/Weekend_Discussion_About_How_IBM_s_Bluewashing_of_Red_Hat_Will_.shtml

I left Wells Fargo, and now that I’m at another bank, I can really see how weird things were there. No constant process changes, people aren’t as burned out, and managers actually care. If you’re feeling drained, maybe look around a bit before you start thinking that’s just how it has to be.

The tech team’s culture is a masterclass in exploiting the need for networking in the field while treating actual engineering like a thankless chore. Most “management” here are too busy kissing up to non-engineers and flaunting their “connections” like they’re auditioning for a C-suite reality show or getting a millionaire customer on the books. The company leans hard into the field’s obsession with who-knows-who, we-ponizing it to reward political players at HO over producers. Meanwhile, engineers who grind out solid code and keep the systems humming? We’re just background noise, expected to bow to the schmooze gods. Skip a “networking” DEI event to debug a critical issue? You’re “not strategic.” It’s a ridiculous game where pleasing non-techies and chasing clout trumps building anything real. Time to value the code that drives the business, not the connections! 😅

Good expose on the mistakes that have led to stagnant growth and culture. Geoff comes across as dismissive and defensive, nothing is his fault. Do you think it’s true in your group that engagement scores are up since 2019? I’m not seeing it!