#returntooffice

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like some kind of exciting announcement, when for many of us even 3 days in the office already feels excessive and outdated.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

RTO was designed as an attrition playground from day one, that was always the point. It was obvious they'd keep tightening the sc--ws, and turn up the heat if not enough people quit on their own.

Please someone convince me why Oracle doesn't implement return to office policies. David Ellison has made his companies go back for 5 days a week. Most of the other big tech companies are at least hybrid. I feel like they want us to leave, and man this would REALLY make me leave. It's our only remaining unique quality :/

How can there be this many slackers still taking advantage of wfh? I hope the next series of cuts is purely for those that are not following policy. If management is serious about RTO, they should use their data to cleanly broom the folks that are not doing their part at this point and send a message. These cuts are long overdue. All of you real estate agents, photographers, off the books carpenters, and slackers in general could go and Ford would not miss a beat.

Everybody knows the abusers in their area - I personally like the analyst in our area that lives in a multi-million dollar house on the lake and comes into the office 2 days a week - Hey, she has a successful photography business to run!

Commute expenses just keep climbing. It's not only gas, everything is just getting more expensive. Only my paycheck is still frozen at WFH-era levels.

Unique among banks, U.S. Bank measures success, merit, and performance using a singular metric: The duration employees remain seated for eight hours in non-ergonomic office chairs at hubs. This approach contrasts with traditional metrics such as:

• Business Process Improvements
• Innovation
• Project Management: Management of Scope, Time, Cost
• Reliability
• On-Time address of issues
• Net Profit Margin
• Customer Satisfaction Score (CSAT)
• Revenue Growth Rate

The Top leadership do not have to worry about Child Care, Elderly Parents, Family Members with Special needs as THEY (MC - Senior Leadership) are rewarded and compensated with lucrative packages, including child care, luxury travel, and high-end accommodations near Minneapolis HQ.

Unlike an average Indian, Fun-an’s other half was born in a privileged class (called IAS) with ivy league education and background in mechanical engineering (worked at Caterpillar in 1980’s where it requires physical in person collaboration to manufacture and assemble construction, mining, and other engineering equipment to measure performance), but Fun-an’s other half strategy is not going to attract/retain/resonate with the average employee's challenges at a financial institution like U.S.Bank in year 2026, unless Fun-an wants to turn U.S.Bank into Caterpillar to manufacture physical goods or turn the bank into a sweat shop.

How many would actually quit over RTO? Upvote for yes, downvote for no. I'd just like to see if this really is a big deal to the majority.

But in US with $7 a gallon they demand driving around into office multiple times a day. Rich Americans can afford $200 more a month is the message.

Return to office, a fresh new start,
A chance to reconnect, to share, to spark.
The hum of voices, ideas in flight,
Collisions of minds that just feel right.

No more the silence of screens alone,
But laughter and teamwork, fully grown.
Quick chats that turn into something more,
Innovation waiting behind each door.

Morning routines with purpose and pace,
Seeing determination on every face.
A shared momentum, a collective drive,
Where goals feel closer, ambitions thrive.

So here’s to the days we gather again,
Colleagues as more than names on a screen.
Together we build, create, and inspire
In the office glow, we rise even higher.

80% colocation target

So why is it that some people feel this does not apply to them. Don't get me wrong. I was wfh the majority of the last 2 years, but I enjoy seeing my coworkers in person. There are entire offices and teams that dont come in even though this was a mandate from Global. Cameron and others, get your cr-p together. If you are going to enforce it than it should apply to everyone within a proximity of an office. While I enjoy being in the office, I am tired of being asked by others "why am I in the office, you are making us look bad" . Its not my fault your boss thinks shes special and these rules dont apply. I am just trying to do my job and keep it.