#returntooffice

My department has a lot of deadweight and has been toxic/hostile since the start of the pandemic. I was hopeful there would be some clean up with the RIF but it doesn’t seem like we’re part of it since most of us are low level.

The head of my department appears to have been publicly demoted but that seems like the only impact. We’re back in the office full time but we’re not developers or project manager. What’s the point of us going back full time if the in office weeks will stay the same?! It’s impossible to get work done in the office because of how bad the culture is.

I’m kind of devastated. I was honestly hoping for better days after how much of an impact the last few years have had on my health.

Abby, you win. I am going to try to leave. I woke up thinking about how bad things are.

Hi, I don’t work at the firm anymore. I heard that phone positions only need to come to the office one week a month. I am unfamiliar with what phone rep people deal with, but I know they deal with a LOT of crazy stuff. So, salute to you guys.

That being said, assuming what I heard is true, why do phone rep people only need to go one week? What is it about their work specifically that they can go in just one week? Why not all the other positions, like software engineers? Will phone reps continue to only need to go in one week after 2027?

Thanks

Coming soon to an office near you: widespread layoffs dressed up as “performance decisions.” Don’t expect generous severance packages or smooth exits. Companies are increasingly looking for ways to avoid those costs altogether. Instead, they’ll build a case against you.
Return-to-office mandates, shifting performance metrics, evolving skill requirements, incomplete trainings ... Anything &everything can become the justification. The bar will keep moving, and the reasons will keep changing. What used to be acceptable yesterday may suddenly be labeled inadequate tomorrow.

This isn’t always about individual performance and it’s often about reducing headcount while minimizing financial and legal obligations. The strategy is simple: create enough documented “cause” to make departures look justified, even when the real motive is cost-cutting.

In this environment, job security isn’t just about doing your work well. It’s about staying alert to how the rules are being rewritten around you.

It's just a matter of time my friends.

This talk of going back everyday, it’s simply trying to downsize the firm. No way around that.

What if the Johnson Je-k Circle realizes this is a really painfully bad idea some time into 2027 when they’re already executing it. There’s a reason only certain places are executing this first.

Let’s say they finally make their alignments exactly how they want them to be organized. Be it making teams colocated, or whatever else they want to do. Then they realize “hey, some of these teams work better remote, and we’re impeding their ability to work”. Like software engineer teams. And then you have other positions who need an office to perform to the best of their ability.

The vast majority of us can say this is a grave mistake Abby is making. What if this is the mistake they need to make to realize that they need to go back to the old way, where there was more freedom for people who only had to go to the office for legitimately boosting work output?

If it took us all one year of doing this experiment, then for the overlords to get their ducks in a row… then the remainder of us who survive the layoffs could be allowed to work to the best of our ability, be it being remote or in the office if we need to be… then, maybe that’s what we just need to power through, if we have the ability to power through it.

It’ll be incredibly annoying of course, but, what if this is what it takes for them to let us go back to a work environment that’s accommodating to all of our individual needs?

RTO - Return-to-Office.

It should be (Mandated) for Everyone (without a Viable Exception) now.

Back-in-the day, employees are (expected) to be at work; not doing other things at home (during work paid hours).

Always has been. Now with a side of gas price misery.

Tuesday/Wednesday/Thursday

Starting 9/26 employees are told to be in office 5 days per week. No doubt BNY will follow the same mandate as they they are always in lockstep with the other financial companies.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/04/29/business/fidelity-return-to-office-five-days-boston/#:~:text=Fidelity%2C%20which%20employs%20more%20than,immediately%20after%20the%20Great%20Recession.

Why are we letting leadership make unilateral decisions without pushback? The push for full-time office work feels unreasonable and out of touch with what many of us actually need to do our jobs well.

It seems like a culture of fear has been created where people don’t feel comfortable speaking up, so whatever is decided just goes unchallenged. Is there a way for us to collectively raise concerns or push back in a constructive way

Rumors are rampant on why the changes to number/hours in office have not been communicated. I’ve heard they want to wait until after the survey, or I’ve heard it’s because there’s some employment/legal issues that need to be addressed first. I’ve also heard it’s on pause until they have more data and what / who needs to be addressed (like coffee badgers) But does anyone have reliable information?

Has anyone been flagged for not coming enough?

I am one that was lucky enough to be in the “remote pilot”. I saw the layoff targeted remote roles away from PHK to some degree. I was told that an RTO is coming up but the date isn’t set. I assume this is to get people to leave prior to possible severance discussions when it’s official.

Who else is hearing this or is your remote role still to be intact? I am wondering if we can negotiate this or if remote is done for.

I’m in GaME.

The company culture is in the toilet and it doesn’t seem like it can be fixed, there are too many unqualified people in too many roles because Abby was too terrified to lay anyone off during the pandemic.

It’s annoying to not know what is going to happen but a massive layoff would be the only thing that could save my group. Managers won’t even show up in the office but then nag and put people on PIPs because of their attendance. Sorry, typo there the “leaders” are leading others to not come in, by example.

#LifeAtATT

“5 DAYS. ONE TEAM. MORE SOON.” WTF... seriously? It’s being framed like some kind of exciting announcement, when for many of us even 3 days in the office already feels excessive and outdated.

If this really means pushing to 5 days, it’s not going to strengthen the team. It’s going to do the opposite. The best people will quietly start looking elsewhere, and those who stay? Don’t expect engagement or extra effort. You’ll get the bare minimum, because that’s what this kind of decision signals back to employees.

And honestly, if last year’s VOE survey results were already bad, just wait for this year’s after this kind of policy. It’s hard to imagine them improving under these circumstances.

Personally, I’m already planning my coping strategy: books on my phone and tuning out as much as possible. Though that might be difficult with coworkers who treat zoom calls like they’re shouting across a stadium instead of speaking at a normal volume.

It’s frustrating to see something that impacts people’s daily lives so heavily being communicated with vague slogans and zero transparency.

By this time next year, should we expect it to move to 5? Anyone jumping ship?

Cats out of the bag boys and girls. If you’re in certain sites you’re going back 100% from September.

Work at a different bank and curious how your RTO5 (return to office 5 days a week) is going? Are people doing it? Coming in late/leaving early? Any modifications or messages from sr. Execs? Thanks for any info.

Say it ain’t so! Are the rumors true?

Makes no sense.

Gross. Supply chain/procurement.

I hear that KTD managers were told that their local employees need to be in the office a certain percentage of the time. And if the employees don’t hit that that quota the manager must explain why.

This leads me to ask, what is the percent that will trigger the need to report on an employee? And what are the consequences for the employee? Because up to now there has been 0 enforcement of this policy.

Same playbook, different reason.

"An estimated 7% of Microsoft’s 125,000-person U.S. workforce, or about 8,750 employees, would be eligible... Microsoft itself laid off more than 15,000 employees last year and began requiring workers in the Seattle region to return to the office three days a week."

-- https://www.geekwire.com/2026/microsoft-will-offer-voluntary-retirement-to-thousands-of-employees-in-a-first-for-tech-giant/

I’m exhausted. The commute, the cost, five days in a seat for work that still happens on a laptop and on calls with people who aren’t even here.

Let’s stop pretending this is improving anything. It’s not driving better results, it’s just draining people. Then leadership turns around and wonders why effort drops.

People aren’t checking out for no reason. They’re burned out from a system that makes zero sense.

This isn’t better for employees, and it’s not better for the company.

Roll it back to hybrid and start measuring output instead of presence.

from the FAQ on WFH mandate

Looks like it's sooner rather than later

I work for US Bank's competitor and out of curiousity checked this site. I see a lot of uproar about RTO...believe me, we also went through it in 2022.

My advice to all of you is to be careful.
If they aren't checking your in network office time, they will be. A bunch of our employees got fired over swiping badges and leaving or minimal office network connectivity.
A bunch of others got fired because they were in non compliance.

Sadly, you won't win this fight. We have also tried everything and the push back was immense. Corporate America is all copying each other and they want people back in offices.

Wish you all the best.

https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-employees-layoffs-artificial-intelligence-return-to-office-tech-jobs-2026-4

Got the RTO communication and this line stuck out:

“Seating is prioritized for employees first, with unassigned areas and seats an option for contractors on an as-available, first-come, first-served basis”

Read that carefully. They aren’t saying there’s plenty of room and contractors just get second pick. They’re saying contractors get whatever is left over on a first come first served basis. That’s not a seating policy, that’s a disclaimer. They already know there aren’t enough seats.

And FTE seating isn’t even assigned, it’s open within neighborhoods. So the “priority” is theoretical. A contractor walks in, sees an open desk, sits down. Nobody is checking IDs at the door.

The part nobody is talking about: are contractors even on a 5 day mandate? Because if FTEs are legally obligated to be there every day and contractors are not, you’ve got people who’ve worked there for years eating a full commute while embedded contractors log in from home.
This email answered nothing and accidentally raised three new questions.

Anyone else getting actual clarity from their managers?

With or without set daily schedules?

How many in here moved to Dallas and what decision led you and your families to do so? My family is going through a forced relocation. We are choosing to move to keep the job, for some social life and probably better opportunities for jobs.

I know that would personally make me feel much better about my Phase 2 colleagues being excused from RTO, while the rest of us are required to be in the office doing the same exact job. Maybe some motivational posters? The kitten dangling from a tree branch that says “hang in there”?

Leadership is clearly on an attrition drive, and making people quit on their own has been a main goal of RTO from the very beginning.

How is this legal? So 11 days was good, but now they say it’s no good because new rule is 14 to 15 days, depending on the month. Applies retroactively since January since expectations was to be in office…but for 15 days????

In email or mail?

Just wanted to vent on the whole connect week policy for regional centers- I'm quite frankly embarrassed to hold client zoom meetings when in the office- that clients have to hear the background noise of loud talking, laughing and coughing. I understand the loud talking as we are all raising our levels to ensure our clients can hear us over our colleagues. I wonder what client's impressions would be if they could actually see behind the scenes. All the negativity I see & hear from co-workers on the fact they have to go into the office isn't helping my morale either. At the end of the connect week I continually ask myself why did I need to go into the office? Not only did I not gain anything from it other than another cold/ flu virus but feel demoralized & with less money in my pocket after filling up my car.

What is this nonsensical RTO mandate going to cost you? Is RTO really all about foot traffic to justify the real estate investment? Are we secretly being used as pawns but told its for culture and collaboration but at the same time becoming a huge monetary and time burden while being reinforced its for the collaboration and growth of employees while at the same time helping the company justify its use of a building just for tax benefits? Like for real I'm facing an added $2500-$3000 in expenses every month as a result of this RTO mandate. The office I've been assigned to is over an hour away without traffic. So in a perfect world I am losing at least 10 hours per week in commute times. I actually expect this number to be about 22 hours/week based on our traffic. This is not work life balance. But hey at least that 1.5% raise I was GIVEN should cover the costs. I felt I should have EARNED more after exceeding all expectations again but I guess you get what they give you since performance and attendance mean nothing apparently. Would've been cool to get a 30% compensation boost like CEO.

Also I must point out there has been zero follow-up to Bill's email from mid January. The latest ethics and culture survey asks nothing about RTO.

I am the only one from my team in this state. What can I do in the office that cannot be done from a remote location? Besides playing workspace roulette when trying to find a quiet area to handle 5-7 hours of calls per day. I've tried to look at this from different angles but I can't get past this idea that the property valuations have been blamed on us and because of that we are being required to RTO 5 days/week to justify the use of a building. They do not care about the time, money, and tax burden this is causing thousands of employees because when you're worth tens of millions these burdens don't influence you or your decisions.

People leaving adds more pressure on the people who stay. Vacant positions aren't being fulfilled as quickly because of this RTO decision. Talent goes out the door. We have to work more hours. We have to spend more time and money. We have to train and onboard new people and hope they don't abandon ship or get pulled to a different team. This is a lose-lose scenario for tens of thousands of us.

Just a rant!!

Earlier, 11 days used to do it but now 61% is 14 days. Makes no sense. My entire team is remote, I was hired remote but forcefully transitioned me to an office. I come here just to attend meetings and work alone with no in office interaction all while bearing additional cost of gas and parking