#morale

After the merit inconsistencies last year, some groups losing bonuses, and now the 401k match being reduced, it feels like employees keep taking the hits. And during the town halls, the leadership messaging doesn’t seem to land anymore. There’s a big disconnect between what’s being said at the top and what people are actually feeling day to day. A lot of us don’t feel understood or valued. Morale feels low, people are tired, and many feel disconnected from the mission.

Good point, @af+1kc2cc38k.

I’m hearing some people got moved from exempt to non-exempt (ie hourly pay instead of salary) Is this true? I can’t imagine people being happy about it?

I have been at this company for 5 months and it’s nothing like it was sold to be in my interviews….. the promise of hybrid work just to be forced back into office. The promise of an upbeat environment just for it to be dull most days. I’ve heard through the grapevine that so many people aren’t happy….. Granted it’s better than Wells in more ways than not lol, but Man!? Am I the only person hired in the least year that feels like I was lied to?

The atmosphere at Verizon is now marked by unprecedented hostility and desperation, reflecting the deep impact of organizational change. The coming months will reveal the true nature of workplace relationships under duress.

To those departing, you were part of Verizon’s most successful years. Be grateful for the skills you acquired and view this transition as a funded escape from what will likely be the company’s darkest period. Leverage this moment to build a new, appreciative career or, preferably, establish your own business, which may offer greater long-term stability.

To those of us remaining, Dan Shulman’s business decisions are necessary to stabilize the company, but the full collateral damage is not yet understood. November was the start of sweeping changes that will test the character of your peers.

Remember this fundamental truth: the workplace is an exchange of time and talent for resources. Morale-boosting efforts are irrelevant against the cold reality of corporate restructuring.

Your mandate is self-focus: Secure your finances, deliver maximum value, and prioritize your personal well-being and family. Get your money. Build your empire.

God speed.

I’m a TDP who’s been with AT&T for two years. I’m proud of the work I do, I enjoy my team, and I came into this program excited to grow here. But after two years of watching wave after wave of TDPs walk away, I’m convinced leadership needs to hear this whether they want to or not.

Here’s the reality from inside the program:

Most TDPs enjoy the work. Most enjoy their teams. And most came in valuing the opportunities AT&T could offer.

But the 5 day RTO mandate is the single biggest deal breaker, by a mile.
Not culture. Not pay. Not opportunities.
RTO. Five days. Every week.

The average commute for TDPs is 30–60+ minutes each way, often longer for those assigned to Dallas or Atlanta rotations. That’s 10–15 hours a week spent commuting just to sit on Teams calls we could’ve taken from home, using the same AT&T network we sell to customers for remote productivity.

And us TDPs see what leadership refuses to acknowledge:
Almost every competing employer offers hybrid or remote flexibility with higher pay. Once people finish the program, they leave. Not because they want to, but because staying means burning out.

Culture is not slogans or emails, you can’t speak it into existence. It’s what people feel every day.
And right now, we feel exhausted, unheard, and disillusioned.

That August CEO email laid out “values” that many of us don’t recognize in the company’s actions. The takeaway among TDPs wasn’t alignment, it was the sinking realization that leadership has no intention of returning to hybrid work. Morale tanked after that message and any remaining hope went with it.

If leadership wants to retain talent, real talent, the next generation of engineers, analysts, PMs, and leaders then you need to fix what’s actually broken.

TDPs aren’t leaving because the work is hard.
They’re leaving because the system is broken.

A rigid 5 day RTO policy in 2026, at a telecommunications company that literally sells the ability to work from anywhere, is not just outdated it’s self inflicted brain drain.

You don’t have a recruiting problem.
You have a retention crisis… one that’s absolutely solvable. And if you decide not to change then eventually you'll have no one under 40 working here.

Return to hybrid.
Respect people’s time.
Align actions with the culture you claim to value.

Because here’s the part leadership should really pay attention to:

If you keep the 5 day mandate, you will lose the majority of your young talent.
Not gradually, but all at once.

And I say this as someone who wants to stay. But I, like many others, will be exploring other options next year if nothing changes.

I know this forum may not be the “official” place to say this, but it is the only place where employees feel safe being honest. So I hope someone high enough up reads this and does something before this program and the talent pipeline it feeds collapses under the weight of decisions that never needed to be this rigid.

There is no business case for 5 day RTO.
There is no cultural case.
There is only the cost, and you’re already paying it.

I'm a current wells fargo employee within risk in Minneapolis who is looking to jump the stagecoach. The amount of layoffs, lack of salary increases, and overall team morale is getting to be too much.

Is US bank worth looking at or is it really bad there as well?

Merry Christmas, everyone! Even Clark received a Jelly of the Month Club subscription! And let me tell you, giving us a T-shirt feels like a consolation prize after you decided to downsize the 401(k). We deserve better!

Thank you HMP

They’ve made the conditions so difficult that we either leave on our own or stay completely miserable, and at this point it feels entirely by design. They’re not even subtle or creative about it anymore. What’s next?

They do only if you care exclusively about the short-term bottom line. We’ve been losing good people and destroying well-established and efficient teams. And it doesn’t really matter that it’s happening right before Christmas. That fact just makes the greed, incompetence, carelessness, and disregard even more jarring.

Just out curiosity how many locations where treated to a holiday party?? As mine didn’t have one yet? Savings or just more deterrents to not stick around!!??

Who still works at HQ and is actively looking for a new role outside of Target? Just hit the up arrow for yes and down arrow for no. Just curious on overall perception of Target right now.

In my 15 years at PEP they've been beating into my head that "we've got to beat KO". Well, look at PEP vs KO stock performance over the last 5 years. PEP has no strategy and schmucks like Elliott can boss it around and tell it what to do. What a humiliation for clueless Ramon. If he has any dignity left at all he would resign. All he can do now is what Elliott tells him. Fire people, consolidate, cut brands. A schmo from the street have come up with that plan. Running a huge CPG company takes real smarts as Warren Buffett found out through his huge loss in Kraft Heinz. At PEP the entire ELT needs to go. They have proven they have no clue how to run a company like PEP. And Athina, my G*d, she has zero experience running strategy for a company like PEP, just like these Brazilian clowns that ran Kraft Heinz into the ground. They never learn. A clown show,

Think you had a good party? You don’t know what you are missing. Even in past downturns when they cancelled parties for us and best we could do was a potluck that you had to pay to attend at some neighborhood HOA clubhouse they continue to party like oil is over $100 a barrel!

Just wait when the low low merit comes and the lowest AIP you have ever seen get communicated. Wont be long

Why do we keep these big guys with fancy titles, big egos and broken personalities around?

These walking jokes doing menial work that can be done with AI could save some bucks to pay out royalties instead of being insulted by some hillbilly day in and day out.

Ge-z, they even avoid hiring competent people because they will get the job done compared to their endless string of lame excuses.

Is still this place being managed by anybody with integrity?

Maybe I’m naive, but I joined UHC in the BT era and my first town hall was one where he announced everyone was getting $50 to the UHC store to buy some swag. Then it was the new floating holiday. Just felt like the all employee meetings had energy and excitement and I felt like UHC was a great place to work.

Since BT’s death, it’s felt like a black cloud over the entire org. Like we’re in a free fall. Constant layoffs. Cutting employee benefits. RTO handled so poorly. Never accepting questions at the town halls and all employee meetings.

Was it always such a sh---y place to work, or was last December the catalyst for all this?

Because first we had to spend it on penalty.
Next year, because we had to spend it on restructuring.
Next year, because we were not done with restructuring yet.
Next year, because it was tough year.
Next year, because we need to restructure again.
This year, because we URGENTLY NEED A NEW LOGO and another AI bull...

This is comedy gold

Just a reminder to all of us during these uncertain times.

It means there are no more layoffs. Or there are no more employees to layoff.

What a f ing joke, Drum on a Town Hole says i know what everyone is asking about pay, so to get rid of the question, if applicable to you be paid sometime in March dont know dates speak with jenny ragger. Youll fall of your chair if you listen to the replay.

Wtf doesnt know dates not interested, knows employees have voted up the issue to the top.

Who gives a shiite about the new brand and AI pipedreams when you dont give a f about employees.

This company is now trying to b5ll its way as a AI outfit, good luck..

There are postings I see this week of roles I know 100% were a pay grade higher which is now lower by one level.
So take away our bonus, lower 401, lower raise, more workload, less people and now downgrading roles.
Fu-k you optum.

2 days into the ridiculous new Pepsi plan. 3 to go.
Hey, how are we going to hit plan next year. I’ve got an idea that I think is great. Announcement goes out on Monday about a Reorg. Then let’s fire 15 to 20% of our employees, doesn’t matter if they’re good or not. Then, make people wait up to 5 days to find out their future and offer them a take it or leave offer. Destroy moral and motivation to move the company forward.
What a great idea. That’s why they make the big bucks!

Sometimes I don't know what holds it together

No one at the rank and file level even seems to be aware of the cliff approaching in January. They just keep scurrying around like rats while the ship sinks. Amazing dissonance going on. 😂

I would welcome being laid off. I'd leave on my own if there were jobs available. Getting laid off with severance is the second best option. And I'm not the only one feeling this way, I know that for a fact.

I’m in my late forties, I'm already drained, and the idea of pushing through another decade or more of the same feels suffocating. I’ve put too much of myself into this job to walk away easily, but some days I catch myself almost hoping they make the choice for me.

I’ve been here for a bit now and it’s almost funny to go back and look at the original job posting when I first applied for this job. It’s criminal how badly they misrepresented the role here. You do the elaborate, unnecessarily long training, and then bo-m, you’re in an absolute grind of helping old people with tech problems and being a punching bag for frustrations for most of the day. You quickly realize that this is nothing like you thought it was, and even different than what was presented early on in training. Very different from the image that was presented in the interviews and offer letter. Just fun to reflect on this sometimes.

I used to enjoy working here, but that faded over a decade of slow decline. None of this happened suddenly like some people like to claim. It was a long and steady erosion from one bad decision after another. I miss the Dell that used to feel like a real community.

I’m not convinced anyone new will do wonders for my team, but watching him leave after all the damage he caused was so, so satisfying.

The "it's not all bad" folks seem to be quick to condemn all the negativity, but when you ask to share what's so great about Intel right now, it gets very, very quiet. They should just keep their mouths shut about those of us complaining if they can't come up with any examples.

From everything I’ve seen, the only real criterion was the bottom line, which usually means we’ve lost a disproportionate amount of talent. A lot of teams are going to be even more crippled than before. I’m not exactly looking forward to all of us having to pick up even more work to cover the roles that just disappeared.

We simply can't. My group is already stretched thin, and losing even one more person would wreck everything. We’re barely holding things together as it is. How can they even consider more layoffs?

So rumor has it King Kobi will grace us with his presence next week. And of course we have to look our best, appear professional. Why? He literally zooms through the office in his entourage of sycophants, without a glance, smile, or nod to the ACTUAL workers. Why do we have to "dress appropriately" for someone who has zero interest in looking at us? He really doesn't see us at all.

0.5% raise AFTER being an exceptional performer????

I got much higher raise when I was SP last year.

Yes the higher bonus was something I expected.

But negligible increment seems like a strategy to keep employee on their toes and live in uncertainty about their future bonus.

My manager seems to be the biggest snake, how the he-l does base pay raise work????

Well, another Edward Jones long standing tradition has met it's end.

Regional award ceremonies will now be conducted during a week day morning instead of a nice ceremony where you can bring a spouse.

Maybe its too expensive now for the little people to be honored? Wonder if TAP trips are next?

It seems that hope for next year is scarce. Looking at the chatter around 2026, optimism seems nonexistent. Most people don't expect any improvements, on the contrary. No wonder morale has never been lower.

Why does Wells Fargo continue to promote managers who run teams through intimidation? It makes no sense to me that people who rely only on yelling and threats are seen by those higher up as high performers, but apparently they are, because it keeps happening.