#morale

It feels like working in limbo. Everyone’s just waiting for the next round of cuts, going through the motions. It was never fun here, but it used to be friendly. Now nobody talks, everyone’s just waiting for the other shoe to drop. It’s so draining that getting laid off almost sounds like a relief.

I was so proud to say I worked at Cisco. Now I just change the subject when people ask where I work. The place has turned into such a train wreck I can’t even defend it anymore.

The so-called leaders play politics and mumble through meetings and promote people who don’t even understand the work. Things are getting worse every day and nobody seems to care. Sometimes I feel like I'm watching a slow collapse of a once great company in real time.

Anyone else feel the same?

I just hope no one still here is taking this place seriously anymore and that everyone’s looking hard for other options.

Great. That’s really going to do wonders for morale.

Verizon is a train wreck stuck in mud. They have not improved or learned anything in years. Different year same leadership mistakes. They need a Maga like shake up and stop being cheap on infrastructure. From network to systems they cheap out and customer and employees live with the failure. Taking the cheap road has allowed T-Mobile to pass us and customers lining up to leave. Our credo is fake news. We run from success. We hide from challenges. We strive to be cheaper today than we were yesterday. We blame our employees. We removed job satisfaction and replaced it with fluff and selfishness. News flash: This isnt changing so su-k it up buttercups.

I was wondering if they were going to cook the books on the engagement survey. Either folks were scared that any negative reviews would be traced back to them, or they only took the survey results from Sr. Management. I don't know a single person who gave them a good response. Complete sh-t show.

Recent org changes have made long standing structural and leadership issues worse. The problem isn’t the teams it’s a pattern of short-sighted leadership decisions that keep adding inefficiency and ki-ling morale, SP and MM ARE NOT the right path. Both too self-important and ego driven for any clarity possible. The number of people on this page alone is an indication of how bad it’s gotten as MM has been a topic on this page for years, those who openly questioned aren’t here anymore, not a coincidence.

Structural & Leadership Gaps

• D&D expanded under leadership with weak technical grounding and poor operational judgment.
• Decisions are based on optics and “culture first” over scalable, efficient delivery.
• The result: redundant tools, unclear ownership, and wasted spend doing the same thing.

Talent & Morale Erosion

• Many skilled hires walked into instability they didn’t cause and can’t fix.
• People are burned out, disengaged, and blamed for inherited problems.
• Leaders who manage up well but not down are driving the decline blaming everyone but themselves.

Culture & Reputation Risk

• Morale is at a breaking point.
• Expanding the remit of a leader with no relevant knowledge or skills tied to these issues sends the wrong signal.
• Continued inaction risks more and operational instability at a critical time.

What EMT Needs to Do

• Launch an independent review of leadership effectiveness and technical capability, ask the staff in a truly anonymous way because trust is gone.
• Simplify tools and processes stop paying for redundancy.
• Rebuild trust with transparency, consistent engagement, and measurable goals tied to outcomes, not self-serving politics.

The situation is still fixable only with top-down action. EMT needs to step in now to stabilize the org and restore credibility. If not, the erosion will only accelerate.

Things are so bad that people who used to care now just do the bare minimum to get through the day. And management is somehow shocked that productivity is dropping. Who would have thought that a toxic work environment goes hand in hand with mentally exhausted employees who barely give a damn.

Anything? I'm so tired of only ever hearing about layoffs and shutdowns and PIPs and lost benefits and who knows what else.

When Mike dumps all over the employees does he at least wipe? We all know he doesn't flush unless the company or employees are in the toliet!

They have mastered the art of rewarding cuts instead of effort. Executives keep cashing in while employees lose benefits and customers lose patience. Every quarter it’s the same flashy story for investors while the rest of us deal with the fallout. It’s hard to see where any real future fits into that plan.

Just seeing how fast MN and his admins jump to downvote this!

This new 8-hour presence requirement is wrecking morale on my team. This is worse than what we had 20 years ago.

Need to pick your kids up from school? Forbidden unless you badged in at 6:30 AM.

Need to go to a doctor's appointment? Better not come into the office then or you'll lose your 8 hour average.

Want to come in an extra day this week to briefly support a team event? Not unless you want to get put on a PIP and lose your bonus.

Imagine thinking that hybrid "flexibility" is choosing which three days to sit in traffic.

All this, not because it improves performance, not because it helps clients, but because some crusty old executive can’t stand the thought of people being trusted to work like adults.

Mike laid down a massive log on the employees. Is he done or is he going back for seconds?

another program that didn’t do what was promised to string us all along again. I am going to just start calling myself a new title and see if anyone notices.

State Farm has turned into the neighbor and neighborhood that you move out of because your housing values are going down, school system has now been taken over by the state and your car has been broken into twice this month. The cops are always down at your neighbors house and every one on your street does not mow their yard, has painted their houses purple and has a broke down Tahoe or Malibu sitting in the driveway on 24s! You hear g-n fire every night and you rarely go out after dark. Most of the houses are now rentals, all the old people are scared for their safety, and black Jake is selling more and more SF policies! 2040, the future looks so bright!

well.. the good options anyways, gone are the good options like the airline/hotel giftcard, tiffany's jewelry, or even a giftcard to cdw itself (giftcards to anywhere are no longer an option). 10 years at the company (my friend who had their 20 year also had the same options) gets you the lovely options of: a two way radio, a dvd player, a golf club set (junior sized only, there is also a singular golf club..), and my personal favorite: a paperclip necklace.

So anyone approaching their milestone anniversaries get ready for those hot ticket items. "You Deserve IT!" the pamphlet says, but I'm pretty sure they left out an 'sh' somewhere..

He thanks everyone for an incredible year and all the hard work.

He also says not everyone will receive their full, earned bonus. Some will; others will receive less.

Let me put this plainly, Mr Chief Executive: if employees receive anything under 100% of their earned bonuses, we will lose critical talent with irreplaceable institutional knowledge—losses compounded by past redundancies. They’ll vote with their feet.

Others may stay on, but if they’re paid only 60% of their bonus, expect about 60% effort going forward. Think very carefully about the next move, PD. Can Avaya really afford to lose more legacy talent? Won’t that hobble the plans you and the Board have—plans that reward specific leaders with bonuses tied to a single target?

Think. Very. Carefully.

Has anyone heard anything concrete about more layoffs coming?

If someone is telling you not to talk to those of us who were laid off because you might “catch” whatever we have, please ignore that advice.

We’re not contagious. We’re just people who got caught in a business decision.

Getting laid off is socially strange. Suddenly people who were friendly colleagues start treating you like you have a disease they don’t want to catch. They were work acquaintances, not real friends, and layoffs expose that pretty quickly.

Here’s the thing: your loyalty and tenure aren’t going to save you if your number comes up. The people who distance themselves might be on the other side of this tomorrow. The ones who step up and stay human through this? Those are your real friends - remember who they are.

If you’re being told to avoid us, ask yourself what that says about the culture you’re working in right now.

I have been here for more than ten years and it feels like nothing has changed. No appreciation, no respect, and the same toxic setup year after year. People who care end up burned out, while bad behavior gets ignored. If anyone is thinking of joining, look somewhere that values its people.

Placing engineers—especially those expected to think deeply, design complex systems, and solve nuanced problems—in a call center-style environment is typically a recipe for reduced productivity, poor morale, and suboptimal work quality. Here's a breakdown of what you might expect:
🔇 1. Disruption of Deep Work
Engineering requires focus. Complex problem-solving, debugging, architecture decisions, and coding often need extended periods of uninterrupted concentration (aka “deep work”).
In a call center-like environment—loud, crowded, constant interruptions—engineers will struggle to reach that mental state.
Expect more errors, slower progress, and lower code quality.
😤 2. Morale and Retention Issues
Engineers typically value autonomy, mastery, and purpose.
A call center setup implies surveillance, noise, lack of control over the environment, and potentially even micromanagement.
Result? Burnout, disengagement, and eventually attrition. You may lose your best talent first.
🧠 3. Shallow Thinking Becomes the Norm
When you're in a reactive environment—like one focused on pings and constant chatter—people naturally start thinking short-term.
Instead of proactive design and long-term systems thinking, engineers will fall into reactive, band-aid solutions.
📉 4. Decline in Innovation
Innovation thrives in environments where people have space to experiment, reflect, and collaborate thoughtfully.
The call center model is built for throughput, not thoughtfulness.
Expect fewer new ideas, missed architectural risks, and weaker long-term planning.
🤝 5. Poor Collaboration
Ironically, while open or call center-style setups are often justified as “promoting collaboration,” in reality:
They often increase distractions rather than useful conversations.
Real collaboration requires intentional, focused communication, not random drive-by chats or overheard meetings.

🛠️ Putting engineers in a call center environment is like asking a concert pianist to practice in a food court. Sure, they might play something—but it won’t be their best work, and they probably won’t stick around.

Isn’t it or shouldn’t it be illegal to force managers to rank employees and making sure at least one or more are below a meets? Between layoffs and firings departments got rid of low performers now only to leave the existing employees to pick up the departed employees work and now some to be hit with a not meets. and if managers don’t do this then they get the not meets.

Something seriously needs to give. We get they want to get rid of tenured skilled knowledgeable and possibly higher paid employees so they can bring in lower paid college grads but do they seriously not realize the risk they are opening themselves to? It’s a matter of time before the regs hit again and this time it’s bc of the lessening of controls and people working that have no idea what a control even is let alone fix a problem. Then they will want to bring back all the knowledge that the let go.

The people who run this company are AMAZING! Thank you Mike, Srini and Deeanne! We Love you! ❤️ ❤️❤️

The people "leading" this company are some of the worst people I have ever worked with in my entire career.

Sometimes I look around and realize this place has turned into a waiting room for people hoping to reach retirement before the next round of cuts. The younger ones are already planning their exits and who can blame them? The middle group is stuck trying to decide if it’s worth holding on or if it’s finally time to jump ship before things get even worse.

Meanwhile, the executives keep cashing in and talking about strategic realignment while the rest of us carry the weight and worry about the next reorg. They’ll be fine no matter what happens. The rest of us are just line items on a spreadsheet waiting to be erased.

I know the usual peeps on here will say it is your fault for staying, but it does make me angry and sad how the EC and senior leaders show no humanity to employees. They may have tough business decisions (yeah, yeah, I know as a result of their stupidity) to make but they can’t be decent or kind at all. Basic stuff like asking how people are, 1-1 sessions, managers remembering your kids name, at the start of a conversation or meeting asking what people have been doing (before launching into their script) bla bla bla ….. it just normal human behavour. You do this with your neighbours at home so why can’t they manage it at work ??? Very sad 😞

It’s been a literal bloodbath, with little to no official information, and people are reporting layoffs basically everywhere. The US seems to have been hit especially hard. This tells me we’ve been in worse shape than anyone thought, and that this round is just the beginning of more chaos. If the rumored numbers are true, there’s no coming back from this to anything even remotely resembling BD as we knew it.

It feels like every few months someone else is being shown the door, and it’s taking a real toll on what’s left of the team. We lose skilled people faster than we can train new ones, and the work keeps getting shuffled around until no one really owns anything. Morale is at rock bottom because nobody knows if they’ll be next, and that kind of fear makes it impossible to do your best work. What’s worse is watching all that experience walk out the door straight into our competitors. If leadership doesn’t stop treating layoffs like a fix-all, there won’t be much of a company left to rebuild.

I have been here long enough to see how much things have changed, and it is hard not to miss what Oracle used to be. I still try to find reasons to stay, but each year it gets tougher to feel proud of the work. I keep hoping leadership will turn things around, yet the same issues keep showing up. Maybe it is me holding on to what was, but I am not ready to give up just yet.

I don’t want your Loyalty.

They don’t do anything with the results anyway.

Imagine how bad the Q3 results are. I was pi---d and I'm not happy to be in these cuts and scrambling for work, but I am happy to be out of that toxic mess. Please let us know who were cut what a mess the next town hall or the earnings call is.
Soulless pricks in this leadership team that has buried a 120 year old company. What a bunch of complete losers.

We are hearing inside whispers that some on the board, executive committee, and rank and file are starting to lose confidence in "T" Brown Duckett. She came in 2021 on a DEI high with lots of fanfare to replace Roger Ferguson who was snake bit at the end by mounting scandals and lawsuits. Now, with outflows at record highs, massive over spend by the Frisco experiment, and mounting legal and PR challenges, some are contending that Duckett step aside so that a turnaround artist can take charge of the helmless sinking ship to right it's course. We are hearing decisions will be made in the next 18 months on a possible sea change of direction.

RTO is just one of them. I hate this company and my job. If there were any real opportunities out there right now, I’d be out the door in a second. As things stand, we’re all just at the mercy of swelling corporate greed.

I can’t wait to be one of the “chosen ones” in the upcoming cuts. But I’m truly sorry for my younger colleagues, especially those carrying heavier burdens than most and now facing the possibility of losing their jobs. It’s brutal out there right now, and for the sake of the many good and decent people I’ve met here over the years, I really hope things improve soon. When they do, never tie your entire career or self-worth to one company. Your true value is yours alone, not defined by corporate expectations.

In Penny's Page dated 10/13/25 it talked about the concept of Ikigai. For those who do not waste their time reading Penny's garbage anymore Ikigai is the intersection of doing what you love, doing what the world needs, getting paid for what you are doing, and doing what you are great at. Penny has either forced people into the unemployment line or has demoted people who once obtained Ikigai. Let's review this for a second. Those people no longer do what they love as they are either unemployed or are now working for a firm and leaders they do not trust and no longer love. The ones who have been laid off are no longer doing what the world needs. The ones who have been demoted are still doing what the world needs as they are still serving their clients who they love despite the failed leadership. The people who Penny has laid off are no longer getting paid for what they do. The demoted people are no longer being paid what they deserve for doing what they do. The people Penny laid off are no longer doing what they had become great at after years of perfecting their craft. Many of the demoted associates have been placed on teams without any direction as to what their function will be due to poor restructuring leadership. I find it laughable how Penny's Page is talking about Ikigai when Penny is doing anything but promoting Ikigai. I also noticed company cheerleader (that is all she is good for), JK, was on the panel talking about this false concept at Edward Jones. The article also brings up that if you feel like you are too small to make a difference you have not spent a night with a mosquito. Well, that is absolutely true. The mosquito is the most deadly animal on earth to humans. At Edward Jones Penny is the mosquito.

I have a feeling that announcing layoffs then making us wait and not saying when is intentional. They're creating a stressful atmosphere where everybody is constantly worried and some might even decide to quit if it goes on for too long. Or maybe I'm just being paranoid, but it feels intentional.

Don't forget everyone, its national bosses day. While employees are faced with WFRs, little to no raises, no promotions, evolving job responsibilitiesand last years RSU bonuses are worth considerably less than what they were issued at. Make sure to give your boss a thank you.