#rto

Someone posted the other day that this site doesn’t have useful information anymore. Well I’m offering up some right here.

I’ve posted before with insights on RTO being delayed, what the original RTO mandate would look like, how time in office is being tracked, and most recently the stricter 8 hour requirement. All before any of it happened. I’m nobody, but I’m uniquely connected to several people in key roles.

If you’re chuffed at the 8 hour mandate, then you’ll really be up in arms when productivity monitoring metrics start being rolled out. And they will be soon. This is already being tested and will be applied to every LOB. Those who say otherwise are either willfully ignorant or deliberate attempting to hide the truth.

We’re a full year into mandatory 5-day RTO and what exactly has it accomplished? The stock is tanking, morale is gone, and the “culture” they promised doesn’t exist.

Wasn’t RTO supposed to be part of some grand plan to save the company? To drive performance? To lift the stock? Because all I see is decline across every metric that matters.

So yeah, maybe it was just another lie. I’m done here. I thought I could stick it out but I can’t do this another year for this dog of a company. Best of luck to all!

Have the BAH holdouts been given an ultimatum to RTO or be terminated?

Next stop: sub $20. RTO isn’t working… time to adjust plans and policy in order to save this sinking ship

I keep seeing/hearing people say they are on some list for not being in the office 8 hours. If I was on this list would I know? I never do 8 hours, not even 2. As far as I'm aware I'm not on this list, why?

I haven’t been told to RTO yet, but I’m worried that may happen in the near future. I’m not in MN or DC, but my office is one of the next biggest after that. I got hired right before covid and have been working remotely the entire time except for my first few months. I’m technically assigned to the office and not officially a telecommuter, but I’ve only been into my office a handful of times the past 5 years.

Lately I’ve been thinking about moving out of state, which is a personal decision not related to RTO. I like my job and would like to keep it and work there remotely. Most of my team lives in different states, so this really wouldn’t change anything.

What I’m curious about is, if I’m suddenly told to RTO, would it then be too late to request to move out of state, something I’m thinking of doing anyways? Or if I’m told to RTO, could I avoid it by moving? Realistically I’m probably a year or so away from moving, but wondering if I should get going quicker if I need to do this before a RTO mandate.

RTO is really working!
“If you don’t like it leave” is apparently the same thing baldy said to our customers, and they’re leaving.

How is it that whether the 35 mile rule applies depends on which leader you talk to? Some executives are telling teams that anyone living more than 35 miles from a corporate hub will be considered remote, while others insist there are no mileage exemptions at all. I'm seeing teammates receive different rules based on their department or their manager.

If leadership intends to allow mileage based exceptions, those criteria should be published so everyone knows who qualifies and why, instead of decisions being made behind closed doors. Teammates, myself included, have reorganized their lives around previously communicated expectations about remote work deserve clear answers. Is there or isn’t there a 35 mile policy?

When will the email be sent ordering remote Phase 2 employees to RTO? I heard rumors it will be as early as January 2026. Anyone with intel on the matter?

https://www.forbes.com/sites/zakdoffman/2025/10/22/microsoft-teams-starts-telling-your-company-if-youre-not-at-work/

There’s been so much rumors about layoffs, but no rumors on return to office for remote employees? Has anyone heard anything about this or will those employees just be part of the larger layoff and we will still keep some employees remote? It seems to be at other companies they did a larger mandate of return to office for remote workers to try to eliminate jobs more organically. It doesn’t seem like that’s a rumor swirling, are remote workers safe from this rif?

Client success teammates received an email from Shelley today confirming that return to office 5 days a week applies to us as well. You can understand how taken aback we were considering we only have 2 months to adjust to this new norm. Not sure how they think the entire department will fit in all of the hubs 5 days a week with the space constraints. The worst part is that TM’s hired during and after Covid that lived hours away were told if they lived 50 miles or more they would be fully remote while the rest of us returned to work. Those of us that have been with the company for years that are showing up week after week are making all the sacrifices. How is that fair? Here’s the kicker: when it was Suntrust prior to Covid, we were on a 3 day work week so hybrid was never new to us it was always the norm. Do they not realize that the only thing keeping us here was the work flexibility? With that out the door there is nothing keeping us from jumping ship and looking for something closer with more money. Teammates take a stand together. We need to learn to stick up for ourselves and collectively say “no!” They need us. They can’t fire us all.

I am getting so sick of my Teams calls, meetings, and emails getting hijacked by team mates not in Dallas and literally talking so much that no one else has a chance. You guys aren’t the only ones who are working. We have to give our updates too and talk about our projects. It’s our company too. And this ridiculous RTO they are punishing us for in Dallas is because yall are actively annoying and hard to get rid off.

• No bonuses because you didn’t do Stankey’s job for him
• Pascal and Stankey should be in a home
• The AT&T Guarantee cures cancer
• RTO works but doesn’t work because of employees and we’re starting new hubs
• Be mad at T-Mobile ads, not us

VPN went out awhile back — word is Charlotte teammates working from home and the “permanent” telecommuters decided to come into the office with their kids in tow (because who needs childcare when you’ve got badge access, right?).

Naturally, it turned into a full-blown security circus

Big thanks to leadership for taking the lesson to heart and rewarding us with a 5-day-a-week RTO in January. Appreciate y’all alpaca-ing us back to the office.

I see so many exceptions, I just want to read the whole thing. Where to look for this RTO document? I am not asking for sharing it publicly, just tell me where to look and I will find it.

RTO to blame?

It’s better to be clear and consistent

Rumor from WCIB is that we will be expected in office 4 days a week. Guess they are trying voluntary layoffs again to get people to quit.

Why is this company fixated on the number 8? From 8 is great to 8 hours in their offices, what’s the link?

Two people I know got it. Have to go to office where their manager is located.

Is 6 too short? How about 7 or 7.5?
Will this be included in performance review?

Closed Manchester site. 50-
Closed Cary NC. A few got transfers to knoxville.
Closed Federal Way. That entire PL is transferred to India.
Multiple groups had their product and test teams gutted and transferred to India so expect design for those shops to follow within two years.
Ethernet in california
IT got raked over again.
No more us or Germany eda support
Bottom 10.
Anyone they could flag as not badging in even though some of these guys and gals were working overnights to deal with India. Senior people that were up on tech staff
DFAB
SFAB
RFAB
Lehi lfab was hit in june
No cohesive plan on how to address cuts.
Very clear this is the transfer to India plan.

Well, we have dropped like a rock since the initial RTO 3x and are plumbing new lows with 5x. All the academics and studies are saying it’s a failure. The future workplace is remote. This is just the last gasps of a dying high cost business model. I bet in 20 years hardly any work is done in an office. Only select jobs are in person where FTF matters. But I digress, they want to preach disruption, well, enable remote options, create new products and services around it. It should be our bread and butter as we are a communications company.

So… brace yourselves 😬
I just got word from a very reliable source, Friday’s Town Hall is reportedly going to be about RTO… four days a week.

Yep. You read that right. Four. Days.
Consider this your early warning

Not thrilled (at all) about this, but… you heard it here first.

Hearing that HR is now ramping up PIPs. If support needed on the mid year the guidance is to also put an employee on a pip. There is a push for this. TR is becoming Amazon except for shi*tier pay and now RTO.

Apologies if this is another sad post, but can someone clarify how in-office attendance is actually tracked? Are we talking badge swipes, IP addresses, or just whatever the reporting AI spits out each week?

I keep landing on these “magical” lists that show I’m not here even though I’m in the office 8.5 hours a day, three days a week. Meanwhile, there are folks coffee badging or popping in for a few hours who never seem to make the cut. I’m not trying to police anybody else (what they do is not my business), but this system does not line up with reality.

We used to be able to check our own badge records, now it’s “ask your manager”. I believe my manager’s is advocating for me, but honestly, at this point I feel like I have to advocate for myself, too. If this is really about looking for reasons not to give bonuses or reasons to push people out just say that. Don’t lie on me.

Just venting, but also genuinely asking for some transparency.

Is the plan that any remote employees, or those who don't live close enough near a hub, will be let go by 2027 if they don't relocate?

I know our leadership has made poor decisions in the past such as the failed acquisitions and debt accumulation. But, we have now sold our stake in anything we don’t have business being in. We have doubled down on the path forward towards convergency and Wall Street has rewarded as accordingly.

We run a dynamic, customer-focused business tackling difficult problems. That is why we work together, in-person, during common working hours in Dallas. Employees have no control over compensation, designation, or work locations. Those are all at the discretion of our business. As leadership has communicated, If a self-directed work environment is important to you, you will have a difficult time aligning your priorities with that of ours.

Corporations are learning fast from each other how to sc--w employees over, and get rid of them on the cheap, or better yet, for free. Just watch the RTO conditions keep piling up until enough people quit because they can’t or won’t meet them. They don’t care that full RTO pushes the best out first, as people with strong resumes have options. But then again, when was the last time they cared about skill or competence?

Manager here who hasn't heard of this 8 hour in office rule. I've seen a lot of post about this so I know it's a thing. Was there an email sent out or were you guys just notified by leadership?

Also, is anybody else's a lot of business not providing work from home equipment anymore? This is ridiculous.

Starting 01/05/2026 five days in office required and a push to have less remote staff

The below is said in jest, and is probably not something anyone should or would actually do. Also, it would only truly work if someone lived VERY close to the office.

Go to office @ 7:00 am. Leave office at 7:05…..

Go home.

Come back at 2:55, badge in.

Leave at 3:00

First badge in 7:00 am
Last badge out 3:00 pm

Calculated time in office: 8 hours

Actual time in office: 10 minutes

Just when you thought the revolving door couldn’t spin any faster, here comes the 5-day RTO mandate starting 1/1/2026. Truist-wide hammer drop, no carve-outs. Grant spilled it to a handful Audit earlier today, claiming a bunch of folks will be thrilled and floating “feedback” that’s DOA. Delusional, out of touch, or just the yes-man script from a guy with zero audit experience who got dropped in to mop up DD's disaster?

Stings worse when you zoom out: nearly half (44%) of the department was hired over the past 12 months—all under the latest “intentional flexibility” BS promising at least one WFH day. D-mb as $hit, especially after it got chipped away from three days (or whatever loose vibe it was post-COVID), to two, now this—straight zero. Crystal clear they don’t give a d@mn about teammates.

And for those whose teams are scattered across offices? Purportedly the buildings won’t be total ghost towns, but good luck if you’re showing up with a floor full of random Audit bodies and zero from your actual team. Still grinding through 1+ hour commutes, just to fire up Teams for the exact same virtual pull-ups you’d have from home. Wasted time, zero upside—except awkward small talk with strangers over the Keurig.

But the real gut-punch is the burnout carving us up. Teammates who used to light up the room with laughs? Now overworked zombies, stressed to the brink, ducking out only for bathroom runs—no time for chit-chat, in-office or after. And yeah, it shows: more than a few have aged a decade in a few years, faces etched with the grind. Our team’s a powder keg, with mismatched placements forcing the rest to pickup endless slack amid accelerated deadlines, while many of our counterparts coast. Describing it as a dumpster fire is kind; we’re a skeleton crew teetering on collapse.

While many of us may have been hanging on—some because d@mn, we love the actual work; others because options feel slim right now—and props to the handful of directors who still give a d@mn, even that crew’s thinning out fast. But let’s be real: this grind’s unsustainable for the long haul, and 5 day RTO’s just the shove over the edge for too many. Expect a wave of us dusting off resumes soon, though I imagine that's the entire purpose of the new mandate. I'm sure this isn't isolated to Audit and that other areas are probably staring down the same sinking dread, swapping wild rumors, or scraping for silver linings that don't exist.

Are we going to be dinged if we aren't in office 15 days this month? Can anymore enlighten me on how the reporting is? 11 days or 3 days a week??

Was informed by manager we need to adjust our in office days when there is a bank holiday or we use pto to still be in office 3 days. Asked HR via chat and was informed this is correct and there is a new article that can be found through the myhr web page. "Workforce strategy guide". Looking through the faq there is a clear question regarding making up holidays/pto and the answer is a clear no you do not have to make up time spent on vacation or out of office for bank holidays. When hr is giving mixed answers what the cr-p are we suppose to do? I want to follow the rules but not be je-ked around by management.

New RTO policy for anyone within 90 mins of NYC and SF offices.. anyone hear anything about forcing employees elsewhere back? Or anything about laying off international workers?

Would be to go on and move all into the hubs and start over. Voluntary exit all wfh employees and get this show on the road. Half in and half out is ki-ling the company. Maybe if they go all in on the hubs they can rebuild the brand.

My understanding is there are two Reports
1) Days in office - Badge swipes.
-some buildings do not have a building exit point.

 - Badge point is not sopisticated enough to log a time, only date? 
    Why is it nessisary for them to sift through thousands of IPs/machine names to   determine 'time in office'?  previously they were only checking for where an emplyess was logged in if they wanted to scrutinize the emploee.

2) Hours in office - network IP and user login

• many emplyees share a computer. one user could be logged in over night.
  • Considering that may employees share a computer the logged in user or lan id needs to be determined. How is that being done? Probaby by the spyware.

I belive two major flaws exist:
They are sitting on a metric ton of data.
No way to pull meaning reports due to inaccurant data.

So many flaws in these reporting methods. It almost begs to gamed.

This new 8-hour presence requirement is wrecking morale on my team. This is worse than what we had 20 years ago.

Need to pick your kids up from school? Forbidden unless you badged in at 6:30 AM.

Need to go to a doctor's appointment? Better not come into the office then or you'll lose your 8 hour average.

Want to come in an extra day this week to briefly support a team event? Not unless you want to get put on a PIP and lose your bonus.

Imagine thinking that hybrid "flexibility" is choosing which three days to sit in traffic.

All this, not because it improves performance, not because it helps clients, but because some crusty old executive can’t stand the thought of people being trusted to work like adults.