#rto

Bonjour les amis.

Ever since the original post on 12/3 and the news attention that followed, there has been an influx of bad faith posters (executive leadership) on every subsequent post addressing the RTO situation. I wanted to take this opportunity to organize and present my fellow employees with some facts about PNC, its leadership, and the financial aspects of this move.

It is no secret that many large corporations have been enforcing RTO mandates as a "soft layoff," hoping that these no-exception policies reduce enough headcount to avoid the potential bad press of an actual RIF. With PNC specifically, there are some additional financial benefits they are kind enough to pass the cost off to you!

Out of the 55,000 people employed by PNC, 11,000 are local to Pittsburgh and its surrounding areas.

They own a large chunk of downtown Pittsburgh between Tower, One PNC, Two PNC, Three PNC (like a Dr. Seuss book of tax evasion!), and Firstside.

Additionally, they own many of the parking garages, which cost nearly $20/day or $180/month, and the food courts ($10 salads, yay!). PNC also receives a kickback due to its role as the primary bank of nearly every business in the area.

Simply put, there is a direct financial incentive for PNC to enforce an RTO mandate on all employees in the Pittsburgh region.

I mean, can you blame them? With the economy the way it is, they must be taking such a loss just supporting our poor souls.

In 2022, total revenue was $20.64 billion; $20.75 billion in 2023; and $20.77 billion in 2024– a 10.77% jump in Q4 of last year alone. Any "loss of productivity due to remote work" is a classroom rumor rather than anything based in fact.

Let's take a look at employee experience. We see a stagnant wage growth with 1-3.5% raises and pitiful bonuses, leaving us poorer year after year as we watch cost of living costs skyrocket; additional stipulations being put on employees to reduce rising through TSR levels; terrible health insurance that costs more out of pocket than any job I have worked in my life for the lowest high-deductible plan; and a worse 401k match and retirement plan than any other bank.

How are our fearless leaders doing? Well, in 2024 (public information disclosed by PNC filings)

William S. Demchak - 23.7 Million

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Robert Q. Reilly - 6.8 Million

Exec. VP and Chief Financial Officer

E. William Parsley, III - 7.8 Million

Exec. VP and Chief Operating Officer

Deborah Guild, Exec. - 5.4 Million

VP and Head of Technology

Alexander E. C. Overstrom - 5.3 Million dollars

Exec. VP and Head of Retail Banking

As you can see, they are also struggling to get by.

The question is posed: What is there to be done? Do we just shore up our resumes and start applying elsewhere?

If that is an option for you and it leads to a better life, absolutely. But for those of us that can't nor want to give PNC the satisfaction of a successful soft layoff to compliment their acquisition of First Bank, there is a better way.

Unionization is the only way we will ever take back any control over how this org treats us. Complaints to management fall on deaf ears because at a certain level those complaints will always be drowned out by another multi-million dollar stock option. HR is there to protect the company, not you. They will not give a damn about your life situation or even doctor-recommended accommodation to continue your WFH lifestyle.

Management is getting scared; they are avidly searching for people interacting with this site or posting about the RTO policy online. While you should protect yourself, remind yourself that this fear stems from the effectiveness of unions and the bargaining power that can be gained from a collective.

Don't suffer alone. Don’t fade off quietly as you watch what you have claimed back for yourself and your loved ones be su-ked away by a pointless commute. You do not live to work for these people. You work to live your life. The conversations that have taken place online over the last 2 months have gotten the attention of union organizers for Better Banks.

Copied from an earlier post:

"https://www.thelayoff.com/p/@1f9+1kbjhrba6
Comment: 1f9+1kbjhrba6"

Even for those that do not care about this mandate, I urge you to join your peers and take back the profit of your labor. You have nothing to lose but your chains.

Unionize now, solidarity forever.

I have been at 3 banks now, where I was hired fully remote and was eventually RTO5'd. All 3 happened after a large acquisition. Let me tell you, it's not fun. Here's the thing. Over the last 5+ years, these banks have hired great talent all over the country and have all done well. Look at PNC for example. YoY increase in profits, productivity, and stock price since being fully remote.
Here is what happens:
You drive ~1 hour round trip to commute (if you are lucky), with more expenses, less flexibility, and less sleep / mental well-being.
They haven't invested any money in the offices in years, so you sit in a run-down office with half of the amenities it may have once had.
You take team calls because your team and other teams you collaborate with are spread out all over the country, and do the same exact thing you did from home, but now from an office cubicle / open floor plan desk.
The objectively worse work environment + the lack of being able to take a mental break/reset eventually drives you mad.

This is not for collaboration or culture.
This is not going back to what it "used to be". As a matter of fact, most people in technology were hybrid long before Covid and NEVER worked 5 days in the office.
This is not "were going to see how this works out and maybe..."

Nope.

I don't know what the reason is. Maybe it's a soft layoff, and they want people to quit. Maybe it's from outside forces. Maybe it's because of the acquisition, and certain people want to continue to line their pockets more. It's probably all of the above.

Whatever it is, this is not what the employees wanted. Don't believe me? Check out the results from the end of year survey.

I am already hearing "this is what people wanted.", "The people who have already RTO have loved it.", "This is just an experiment, and no one knows what's going to be the outcome.", "People have been doing this for years before covid with no issues."
It's all BS.

What some of the downvoted comments on here have said are correct. If 5 days in isn't for you, then look for a new job or simply don't comply and get fired / inevitably laid off. Or suffer until one of the above happens.

I would really love to think that we the working people can do something to change this but it is painfully obvious that they do not care or have ulterior motives, so they are probably not going care about any counter efforts. They want some employees to stay and some employees to leave.
If the ones who they don't want to retain leave - great!
If the ones who they do want to retain leave - well, they can always be replaced.

We all want WFH just like we all want paid more, and how many companies have ever paid their employees more out of the kindness of their hearts?

They do not care about us and it's not just PNC it's 99% of all companies in this country.

This is what I would say…respectfully of course.

Your employees have stood behind you helping PNC stay successful. Without us, it could not be done. Every single one of us contributes in some way. You are getting a lot of heat regarding your decision. Is this the legacy that you want to be remembered by? A CEO who didn’t care about his employees? I know you have heart, Bill. I’ve seen it.

You were so upset about not being able to reach several direct reports. If your directs can’t be reached, I’d be upset too. But hold them individually accountable, not the entire bank.

Your children are grown, I believe. If I’m wrong, I apologize. This company has alot of single moms struggling to support their children. In most families with two parents, they both have to work. Trying to juggle getting them to school and back home, daycare costs and keeping food on the table has become more challenging than ever. Most of us don’t make enough money to hire a nanny. We want to have enough time with our children to raise them well. Our children are the future businessmen and women of this country. Nothing can replace that valuable time with our children to help them grow into successful adults, make good decisions and always be open to other people’s perspectives. To always be respectful to everyone, because you never know what they may be dealing with. And when you can help someone less fortunate, you should. Be loving, be kind, be supportive.

Those that are happy with the return to office decision are ones who can afford to do so. We aren’t pushing back because we’re lazy people or big babies! Maybe there is a very small percentage that seem to take advantage. Hold those people accountable, not the employees who produce and do their jobs effectively.

Put yourself in our shoes for 1 day. Partner with a single mom for a day and see the challenges. Having to choose between paying the gas bill or putting food on the table. Do you know what that feels like? The cost of commuting whether by bus or car 5 days a week is expensive.

You’ve said how successful we’ve been before & after covid, now all of a sudden it’s hurting the company to work from home. It’s contradictive. We know there are other reasons behind your decision.

I’m asking you to consider coming out and saying you have heard how your employees feel, and maybe have us come in 3 days a week. Inform your management team not everyone can’t wtf mondays and fridays. It should be well coordinated for coverage purposes. For department meetings, everyone in person. That little bit of flexibility will go along way, Bill. Going back on a decision doesn’t make you a weak leader, Bill. It shows everyone that you are a human being who cares about his employees. That you recognized after the fact, this decision was going to cause more hardships than you anticipated. I guarantee if you did that, your employees would be much happier and so appreciative. When employees are happy at work, they tend to go above and beyond more.

I overheard someone talking about how rto is going to change and it’ll be 2 days per week in office and up to the department(s) on which days you need to come in? Anyone know anything or know if this is something that’s going to be released?

Apparently has been put on hold . I was initially informed that I would be released at the start of the second quarter. However, today I was informed that this decision has been reversed. While I am grateful to retain my position, I must admit that I was looking forward to the relief of not having the threat of displacement looming over me, and I would prefer to receive a severance package should they decide to terminate my employment. I am now concerned that I might receive an IM or one of those unnecessary RTO reports, which they could potentially use as justification for my dismissal. This marks the third occasion on which I have experienced a similar situation.

To all the people on here complaining about RTO—you are wasting precious time and energy. Don’t waste your efforts whining on here to a group of people who, to be honest, 90 percent don’t give a damn about your problems and the other 10 percent is glad you got you got ‘em. Don't live with the dogma of other people's thinking. You decide what your limits are, or if you have any limits at all.

My cousin’s company issued an RTO mandate a while back. Do you think he took to an internet message board to complain and seek pity? Nope. Not a chance.

He mocked up a concept for a small mechanism for his desk. I think it was a printed circuit board with a slot for his work access badge, connected to a small remote radio unit (it was a cheap RRU from the web) and some kind of signal repeater with a diffuser which made the system think he was on site 24/7.

When they asked him about it, he played d-mb. Then instead of complaining, again he went and improved it with an integrated I/O switch, a battery backup unit with uninterrupted power supply (BBU/UPS), and a linear encoder so the signal output run time was limited to a max of ~65 hours weekly. He tweaked the battery size and a few other design features so that he only has to go into the office once a month for routine maintenance.

My point is sometimes it is better to tap into your creative side than it is to moan and whine on the internet. With the time and effort some of you guys have invested complaining and ruminating here, you could have had 2 or 3 prototypes assembled and tested.

Update: They made him a partner/principal at the firm about 2 years later.

"The issue isnt the RTO. Its the inconsistency of the how it's applied. Some entire teams and some teammates remain remote despite the mandate. Others have assigned desks and don't show up at all? Yes this is still happening. Others coffee-swipe and are back at home by 9:00. Some leave (they don't even sneak out) at noon. MEANWHILE other teammates are required to RTO 5 full 8-5 days"

All the silly posts in this site talking about "staging a protest" with picket signs and masks and cr-p is honestly so cringe and stupid.

In years past when they attempted to enforce a RTO policy, everyone just collectively ignored it, and it went away. That's it. That's all everyone had to do, and it required absolutely no extra effort. Whether that happens again this time around or not, I really don't even care, but I'm not complying regardless.

They can go ahead and fire me, I am not at all worried about it. Ya have until May to have a different option lined up anyways. I'm sure they already expect 10% of the workforce to quit and/or be fired, but probably not 25-50%.

Either way, I'm going to do what I've always done and just ignore it. Not really a big deal.

Because RTO just put 100,000 extra cars back on the road every single day. That’s millions of unnecessary commute miles, burned fuel, congestion, and emissions just so we can sit in offices on Teams calls. For a company that loves to talk about sustainability, this might be one of the most environmentally irresponsible decisions imaginable.

Five-day RTO didn’t improve collaboration, but it did massively increase AT&T’s carbon footprint for no measurable business benefit. If leadership wants to posture about ESG and climate responsibility, they should be prepared to answer for policies that directly contradict it.

When the protest happens, I imagine the signs would write themselves:

Chants:
• “What do we want? REMOTE WORK! When do we want it? NOW!”
• “No more traffic, no more gas — stop the fossil-fuel farce!”
• “Hey hey, ho ho, RTO has got to go!”
• “You said climate, you said care — why are we driving everywhere?”

Signs:
• ‘RTO: Return To Oil’
• ‘More Commutes ≠ More Collaboration’
• ‘Teams Calls, Tailpipes, Hypocrisy’
• ‘Climate Pledges Don’t Count If They’re Emails’
• ‘This Could’ve Been an email’

You can’t claim climate leadership while forcing mass commuting for optics. If culture is about values, this policy says exactly what leadership values and it’s not people, productivity, or the planet.

Atlanta is in the beginning phases of planning mass relocation letters to Plano once the new campus is open. It may make sense to start looking for a house ahead of the forced relocation!

Let us get some idea about how many people got discouraged and have left the company. Only like the post if you left the company or are in process of leaving because of OPO closure.

Has anyone thought about the increase of expenses with having all these people in the office? Everyone washing their hands and using the restrooms all day (I drink a lot of water and use the restroom at least seven times a day), using tons of toilet paper and paper towels, drinking lots of water, coffee and tea, keeping the building warm enough or cool enough for everyone in the office… needing more supplies like copy paper, pencils, pens, notebooks…. I’d imagine the water and sewage bills would increase significantly. Thoughts?

I received a warning because the only place to park at 10 AM is designated as a fire lane. It's well over 100 ft from any structure. There were 9 other vehicles parked in the same area but only 2 of us were tagged. Too many people assigned here. How difficult is it only assign as many people as there are parking and workspaces available?

I've never been more productive in my entire career than while working from home. That's about to change. I have no intention of answering any more mails after working hours once RTO starts. Something urgent needs to be addressed as I'm about to leave? It can wait for the next day, I have to go home. And so on.

I've read several articles last year in which executives from companies that instituted RTO admitted that was their way of getting rid of people without having to pay them severance. They know we don't want RTO. They know that full well. That's not a bug, that's a feature. They're hoping we'll quit. Please don't do them any favors.

I doubt there will an abundance of employees wanting to engage/volunteer in PNC Grow Up Great activities going forward due to the announcement today. I will no longer offer my personal time. It must be on company time, if I even decide to continue to do it. Who has time to volunteer when you’re spending hours during a 5 day work week just to commute to work!? I will no longer contribute to the United Way either. Why should PNC get the recognition for my donation? I hope you all will stand with me on these topics.

Will this apply to all teams, or will some remain fully remote? I’ve heard it applies across all departments.

Procurement employees I know are being asked if they live within 50 miles of L3Harris location. It won't be long now.

Time to make our voices heard folks. Let's pick day(s) to gather outside The Tower at 5pm. Wear a mask, bring your signs. Let's let the a--holes know.

Let’s stop pretending this five days a week RTO mandate is about collaboration, culture, or productivity. We already proved, clearly and measurably, that productivity increased while working remotely. During the pandemic, employees kept PNC stable, profitable, and operational under extraordinary circumstances. That wasn’t leadership from the top, that was workers carrying the bank on their backs.

Now the “reward” is being forced back into offices to sit on Teams calls all day, while absorbing thousands of dollars a year in new costs - gas, parking, commuting time, childcare, daily life friction - in an economy that’s already on fire. Wages haven’t kept up with the cost of living in years, people are stressed across the board, and somehow the solution is to make life harder for the people doing the actual work.

Let’s be honest about what this really is: empty buildings, tax incentives, sunk real-estate costs, and executive optics. Cities are upset. Balance sheets are uncomfortable. And instead of adapting to a proven, modern way of working, PNC chose to protect assets and executive compensation - at employees’ expense.

This decision makes one thing painfully clear: PNC doesn’t care about its people, its so-called “family,” or the reality employees are currently living in. It cares about making top tier executives even richer, no matter the cost. That isn’t leadership. It’s greed wrapped in a RTO memo. 🖕🏻

There it is folks.. May the 4th be with you!!

Question in title

Yep. turn ur camera on Folks!!

There is no reason in the world that a full 5 day in office, no exceptions, for every employee mandate needs to be made. Much less so quickly AND during a bank merger. With all the money baby billy dimon is making he just wants more. mgmt likes to make it about collaboration and culture, but really they are just further ruining PNC's culture by forcing this on everyone. PNC already doesnt pay well and is now making everyone incur costs they werent before. PNC had a ton of remote workforce before covid and is now going back on all of that. A lot of people were hired as remote or worked as remote for years before all of this and they are told to go in.... for what? to make sad little billy happy to see people in his offices. The offices su-k! have you been to any of them? what is the incentive for anyone to come in? There is none! pay for parking, additional childcare, food, travel, vehicle maintenance, etc. PNC cant even bump pay a little to compensate when they are making billions each quarter.

Bumping this up for visibility. OP: @ea+1kes6rfnt

I expect conditions and requirements to get worse over time. It was never about productivity, in-person cooperation for efficiency, or god forbid the benefits of thriving office culture. It was always meant to push as many people out as possible on the cheap, making compliance so irrational, inconvenient, or impossible that we'd just quit.

If it's not going as planned, meaning not enough people are leaving on their own (which is understandable in this job market and economy), it will just become more inconvenient and unbearable. That's the playbook.

So, I drag my a-s into the office every day since Jan 5. Yet since last Wednesday, the building has been pretty much dead. Yeah, there were people on every floor, but it's not full. I was on 27 today, and I spotted 4 people. 4!!

So, where are u and how busy is it? Has your boss told you to work from home again?

holy cow.

i thought the missing vending machines posts were a joke. you should be ashamed if you removed food and drinks and slapped up a sign that says it saves energy.

you should be ashamed that none of your ev chargers work. you should be ashamed that none of your monitors is our disgusting open concept zero privacy dynamic desks work. you should be ashamed at shrinking cafe hours and saying it’s to “better serve us”. you should be ashamed at having only one way in and out of multiple building towers and the rest roped off. you should be ashamed that lights don’t come on or stay in large areas of all floors. what is wrong with you? why are you such cheap skates?

have you no shame woodcreek decision makers? i hope i never meet you, i am truly repulsed. you call for RTO and can’t handle things like lights parking and food. you better be the next cuts.

After giving the return-to-office mandate several months to be fair and well-intentioned, it’s clear this policy creates significant friction without delivering any meaningful benefit—particularly for employees who were hired explicitly as full-time telecommuters. We are now expected to spend personal time getting ready in office attire, commuting, badging in, navigating parking ramps, security checkpoints, and elevators, only to sit alone in a cubicle all day with no teammates in the same state, let alone the same office.

On top of that, there are no assigned desks. Employees routinely arrive to find reserved desks already taken, workstations missing basic equipment, and time wasted simply trying to locate a place where they can do their jobs. This is not collaborative or productive.

Requiring people to sacrifice hours of personal time and incur additional costs to sit alone on video calls all day is not improving productivity, engagement, or morale. It is creating widespread frustration and disengagement. Employees are openly unhappy with this change, and when asked by peers about the policy, they are candid in sharing how illogical and counterproductive it feels. This approach adds inconvenience and resentment while delivering no measurable value.

Is Houston completely unassigned seating now in both towers? If so, brutal to absorb that and RTO 4 days all at once. How is it going for everyone? Strong reactions?

stock is in a free fall again, and they are awarding stocks as retention to their 40k employees. what does it mean? buy backs?
also they are asking people in BH to be in the office all 5 days again, what a joke!

So how is the new RTO 'mandate' going for everybody ?
So far nothing has changed at our office and management seems to not enforce it either.

Also what is the RTO announced for Canada and Ottawa in specific? Are we required to go in anytime soon?

So I left the company last year, but am now considering returning due to pay. But I want to know the exact in-office requirements I would be committing to. I left for remote but I want to consider if the pay raise to return is worth being hybrid.

Can you WFH for now until you wait and start reporting to the new location? Is there any chances you will get terminated since you answer “YES”

Anyone noticed there hasn’t been much more talk about this? Has this stopped? Also any word on why they closed the Middletown NY office?

Well the long awaited 5-day RTO announcement finally came and in PNC fashion it was an email instead of being covered by the executives at their all hands. Obviously they didn’t want the questions or responses. Demchak is so disconnected from reality it’s comical. Good luck to folks that have been hybrid remote since well before the pandemic, a detail most in leadership seem to forget. Can’t wait for the talent to leave in troves to get paid what they’re worth.

Company wide email to come later this week. Only managers received the communication for now.

50 weeks left. Hang in there.

Is the week of the RTO memo drop supposedly?? Wonder how it impacts people who have been in a virtual job for. Few years.