#rto

For employees who were hired as remote, how are they being handled? Are SVPs/EVPs given the opportunity to prove why they are valuable? Or are top leaders just making the decisions? Understand this will be addressed in Phase 2, but if a remote worker lives in a state where there is no Paramount Office to report to, are their leaders able to fight for them or are top executives just making the call to let them go say in Nov?

I mean if you truly want to be on safe turf just relocate and follow all the rules to the T. Actual work? - do as little of it as possible until you reach the exit sign.

for anyone working on the customer service side and taking phone calls or working as an OE, starting this month they are making impossible to meet metrics mandatory, you need a 90%+ adherence rate, and all your survey statistics from members need to be above 90%

If a single metric or survey statistic is not meeting, you will be sent to the office at least 2x a week, if more than one is not meeting or you do not get it fixed within a month, its 5x a week.

Also, if a single member calls in and their inquiry is not resolved, you need to go into the office 2x a week.

The analysis and expectations from WFM are that the peak season will not be peak at all and barely anyone will be calling in due to how many people are leaving all plans across the board, they want people to quit because they know that people are not at fault when members give everyone bad surveys but they force them to go into the office anyway. Tons of time off is still being offered because they have far more agents than demand and it keeps getting worse.

https://www.geekwire.com/2025/microsoft-sets-new-rto-policy-requiring-employees-in-the-office-3-days-per-week/

It’s been used as an attrition tactic everywhere else, and there’s no reason to believe it will be any different here.

What if you were hired as fully remote? Does RTO apply to you? How will these situations be handled, on a case by case basis or will remote employees be let go in November?

scoop: Microsoft has just announced a return to office policy. Three days in the office will soon be the new norm for Microsoft employees in late February. "This update is not about reducing headcount," says Microsoft's chief people officer.

https://www.theverge.com/report/774414/microsoft-return-to-office-policy-announcement

I’m hearing rumblings that we are moving to a 4 days in office. Is it true and do you think it’s for a short period of time

Use your brains people. If RTO was truly for the reasons DE said - would they still hire off shore? Will LTI contractors and other vendors be relocated to US? How about teams that have members in multiple locations? What about Poland office? Don’t fall into illusion. You are being asked out, not to return to office. It’s a trick.

https://www.businessinsider.com/nbcu-severance-package-details-rto-mandate-four-days-week-memo-2025-9

Leadership says....
We need to work together more. ...
As the intro to the Return To Office sales pitch. Which came-off as not very convincing. So, how's that gonna work if there is not 100% RTO? Can teams/teammates huddle in one space on- premise at a Humana office? What are they trying to solve?

So, lost my position October 2024. Su-ks, but adapted. New banks wants you in office 5x/week. Trying to be diplomatic, but COVID is done. For those of you who concerned about returning to office, you can whine, but most are doing it (https://www.startribune.com/target-downtown-minneapolis-office/601470398). If you don’t like it, leave, but you are gripping on the inevitable. Your return to office, while you are being paid full time, is inevitable

If you are in San Ramon, schedule time with your boss. They should have all the information now. Looks like no flying back and forth will be allowed. Houston is now home and the time in office will be monitored and working remotely from San Ramon will not be allowed. Good luck my friends.

NBC Universal just issued out a 4-Day RTO mandate starting in January, so those starting to do their job search will likely face similar challenges as more companies require RTO.

https://www.businessinsider.com/nbcuniversal-rto-order-four-days-week-memo-paramount-amazon-microsoft-2025-9

Understand remote workers are part of Phase 2, but do we think any exceptions will be made for those who where hired into a remote position OR will they be given a choice (maybe with a relocation package) to move closer to an office. I’m asking because I’m hearing others at the company say if exceptions are made, they would rather relocate out of state and ask to work remotely. For the record, I am fine going back 5 days as long as I have a job.

RTO either has a lot of no shows, or 3M cut that many! Hearing some avoiding RTO because boss and co-workers are in other states or countries, so why RTO? For those that are in office, most are just on calls with global employees anyways. It makes no sense to push a RTO

Are they tracking how many hours we are in the office? Or it just the number of days?

Did anyone else get a final written warning after taking maternity leave, being sick, or vacation this summer? Or even after being told to stay away because there were no desks?

A new low for Ford.

1. You can perform your job remotely to the same extent you'd perform it at the office
2. You're spending $30 on parking and walking miles, paying tolls, etc to sit on teams and do the same thing you'd do at home. I still haven't, to this day, met in person with anyone since RTO started.
3. Your allocated to a sh---y shared space, without any of the tools you have at your home workspace, in a sh---y office, with tons of people on calls at the same time, screaming, doing work unrelated to your department and it's so distracting you just know in office days are basically 50% productivity maximum. I just expect that I'm never going to get anything of value done at the office.

They want collaboration yet it’s impossible to find desks together (if at all) or a conference room. Everyone is just on top of each other.

It’s beyond frustrating that we have to spend this much effort just to find a place to work. Lots of attitudes in these buildings these days too. Is this the long term strategy? Hard to see how this gets better.

Seems other groups are. Will tech?

I was forced back to the office and I’m doing my best to comply, even though the commute is barely manageable. From how RTO was rolled out and is being managed, it feels like leadership hoped people affected would be the first to bail. But most of the folks I share space with are hanging on to their jobs for dear life. Not surprising, given the job market. Looks like the RTO-driven attrition plan isn’t really working out the way they wanted. I don’t know the numbers, but that’s how it seems to me.

Hey guys.

Whatcha hearing around the office? People in Salem are saying 9/30 or 10/14. Share the things!

SOOOOO sick of explaining this so please try to follow along … it isn’t the commitment to sit at a desk 5x8 (even though the guarantee of an actual desk would be a reasonable expectation in that case) it is the forced moves and policing under the guise of collaboration as we sit on Teams with employees in different hubs and the unspoken few who have somehow skirted RTO and remained virtual. It’s a LIE and the only standard this form of RTO aligns with is the new corporate standard of mistreating, overworking, and violating employees, taking advantage of at-will employment terms for gains that only those influencing policy will enjoy.

If you are fortunate enough to live in a hub, celebrate the toxic T culture, and are somehow benefiting from being in the office, great. But the people who were adversely impacted have a right to be pi---d. Leave it at that and stay off these forums.

400 Summer street.

Suuuuuuper.

How fu--ing done deaf could he be:

"For many, especially those in Rhode Island, the move brings real changes: I want to acknowledge that some of you will now have longer commutes and more daily complexity for you and your families"

No - ALL of us in RI will you donut.

If you are a HBA - time is limited. Going forward in office roles are preferred and HBA roles will only be allowed to apply internally if approved by ELT. What a terrible experience for those of us who were hired as HBA. I would’ve stayed with my prior company had I known this would be the direction. The opportunities for HBA are gone.

Wow, everyone, stop the presses! Apparently the entire future of AT&T hinges on whether you can beep your badge at a turnstile. Forget customers, forget results, forget innovation… it’s all about that sweet, sweet swipe. Truly world-class leadership right there.

Nothing says “cutting edge” like forcing people back into cubicles to sit on the same Teams calls they could’ve taken from home. Genius move. Productivity? Down. Morale? Dead. Attrition? Through the roof. But hey, at least the parking lot looks full!

And the relocation ultimatum? Chef’s kiss. “Move to Dallas, Atlanta, NJ or else.” Brilliant way to show your employees how valued they are by treating them like disposable furniture you can just drag around the map. Who needs decades of experience and institutional knowledge when you can hire cheaper replacements who live within badge-swiping distance? Or better yet, hire them overseas and let them work from home. Collaboration only matters domestically I guess.

“Working from home is a privilege.” Yeah, so is still having a job after Stankey’s email circus. Remote work kept this company afloat during Covid, but now suddenly it’s “lazy” and “entitled”? Please. The only thing lazy here is leadership’s inability to manage without breathing down people’s necks.

So congrats to all the cube warriors out there. Keep flexing those badge swipes, the rest of us will be busy actually producing results while you polish your chair indentation.

Is there anyone who can confirm whether CRG will adopt a four-day work week starting in January, as we have heard from other business units? I know some Markets are in 4 days but will this mandatory for all others?

I am sick of all the whining about RTO. Either return to the office 5 days a week and do the work or leave as Stankey has stated. They are paying good salary and benefits for in-person collaboration. Working from home is a privilege, and is dictated by the business needs.

If you are outside of Dallas, Atlanta, or NJ - our core hubs - either relocate or leave as Stankey has stated. They are cutting down on hub locations so that they can invest better in the hubs that make sense for them. Your work location is dictated by the business.

Employees have no control over RTO and work location - these are dictated by the business. If you cannot be onsite 5 days a week in Dallas, Atlanta, or NJ - then leave as Stankey has stated. Yet yall stay and ruin it for those who do follow the rules.

• US employers are hiring fewer workers, and some are looking to get rid of existing ones.
• Business leaders cited RTO mandates as one way they're able to reduce headcount without layoffs.
• The acknowledgment confirms a piece of what some observers have long suspected about the RTO push.

https://www.businessinsider.com/rto-mandates-driving-workers-quit-helping-employers-avoid-layoffs-2025-9

Not sure but if I had to guess: a RTO mandate requiring relocation or payout would be the way they would go. They are in the business of making money. They don't care about our preferences. Remote workers in multiple states is complicated for businesses. Centralizing employees into two hubs simplifies payroll, labor laws, and union negotiations. (This is only my guess, however and yes it su-ks.)
OP: @ar+1k4ddzsgq

Bumping this up for visibility. Unfortunately, this seems like the most likely scenario when it comes to locations.

Tell me what you think will happen from now until April.

My predictions:

Cable stripped to bare bones. CBS completely restructured.

Most fully remote employees cut in November (I’m fully remote) so they don’t have to relocate anyone. International fully destroyed.

Mass exodus due to RTO.

Engineering and streaming jobs all posted in LA, NY, SF with below median compensation.

DE outsourcing everything he possibly can to Oracle.

DE buying more IP with his dad’s money.

And I say all this as a person who absolutely loves our company. I hate what this has become. I hate to be a glass half empty person. And I’m not trying to hate on any department or division of Paramount. I’m just being completely realistic about what is going to happen here.

Ok, let’s hear it.

Allstate sounds like the same useless sh-t hole that State Farm has become! Used to be a great place to be but has turned into an unbearable h-ll hole! Same Execs just different place as they all run in the same circles and listen to the same Consultants. Progressive will pass us to become the #1 auto insurer in the 4th quarter or at the latest, first part of 2026. Not only that, if they write 8 million new autos again they will be almost 9 million ahead and SF or anyone else will ever catch them. Everything the play they call fails they call it again and again at SF! It's always the employees fault, never them and their plans. During in-office weeks over the last several months, we have ambulances pulling up because someone has stroked out at their desk due to al the stress. The whole industry has just become toxic! Best wishes! Go Progressive is out motto at SF! Serves the right!

Did RV seriously just post on LinkedIn with a picture of his free cup of Starbucks?!!! Seriously an out of touch leader while he makes those of us at non growth centers suffer. Talking about non growth centers… what was the point of shuffling everyone around in Wilmington for the start of 4 days in office? Weren’t we all supposed to be coming in 3 days a week so there would’ve been at least 1 day of overlap. How didn’t everyone have a seat? Are they working on closing floors now to reduce rent?

I have seen a person come back 2x and get severance 3 times, that’s a lot of cash.

Does this also happen at other big companies?

Since the CEO forced you to drive to work causing traffic jams, even if you like RTO, would you now see the benefits of public transportation like trains and buses? Self driving cars are just more expensive and less efficient train cars and buses anyways.

Are you excited to go to the office? All the free coffee!

Xoxo Robin 😘😘😘

RTO is definitely one of them, make no mistake about that. It’s always been the primary goal of RTO wherever it’s rolled out. The least they could do is be transparent and communicate clearly about all the plans, whether it’s voluntary severance or RTO, so people can make at least a somewhat informed decision. But knowing leadership, that’s probably too much to expect. They’d rather keep us in the fog of war.

It’s about treating your workers like excr-ment and telling them (begging them practically) to leave if they don’t like it.

It’s about urging managers to take an OHI survey to gauge the culture, and promising to share the results and then burying them and lying about why.

It’s about stating out loud that your workforce is still too old during a live town hall and then deleting the recording.

It’s about getting dismal feedback and engagement on an eNPS survey, and then sending an email late on a Friday to every management employee telling them their feedback on said survey isn’t valid, and (again) that they should leave if they don’t like it here...and then tasking your lowest level management to come up with action plans to "fix" it.