#worklifebalance

3 years ago when I interviewed here I was told very explicitly overtime was optional but apparently I am not meeting expectations because I’m not working enough overtime/holidays?? I guess it’s a wrap for me.

Management supposedly just wants to see how long it takes employees to work a case, however, there are 35 (YES THIRTY-FIVE) different task codes to choose from, including lunch/breaks AND Other, in which a comment is required. Looks like every single minute of our day has to be accounted for. I am so done with this place! Not like we aren’t doing our work, just certain times of the month are busier than others but we always get our work done.

An email came out today stating that all Tampa employees will now require to go to the office 3 days per week (instead of 2 days) starting on January 20, 2026. I guess they want more people to leave on their own.

It says "Set your holiday status. Need to run to the oven to get your holiday prep ready? let your team know!".

So are they encouraging us to take care of personal errands at work?

Our annual shutdown will take place from December 25, 2025, through January 2, 2026, with a Day for Me on December 26, 2025. This time away gives us a chance to recharge and focus on what matters most — you and your family. The shutdown also helps Cisco reduce its carbon footprint, saving more than $6 million in energy costs and 22,500 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions over the past seven years.

The shutdown also helps Cisco reduce its carbon footprint, saving more than $6 million in energy costs and 22,500 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions over the past seven years.

CISCO forcing everyone to burn AI token for every stupid tasks using 1k tools at the same time is very concerned about footprint haha

https://fortune.com/2025/11/30/cisco-chief-product-officer-jeetu-patel-work-life-balance-not-equal-two-exceptions-for-success/

Maybe someone should inform him that you get a "E" for Effort and an "A" for Achievement. No one cares how long you work! At his level, results matter, not time on the clock.

If Dallas is 5 x 8, how are you managing kids pickup and drop off at schools. Don’t your spouses work or are you having to cut short work? At this time I am thinking ATL is better as it is still 3 x 8

Hot off the presses: If you don’t hit your quota AND you aren’t hitting 80% metrics with the “modern selling tools” (namely SalesChat), you are put on a “coaching plan”…. AKA PIP.

So dystopian. I’ve hit my number every quarter over the past four years, but I guess that doesn’t matter. I guess I am being paid to use the $hitty half baked AI tools instead of to close business & spend time with customers.

I’m no fool. Dell will unrealistically quadruple my quota and then rejoice as it opens up a means to cut me w/o severance. Yay for OPEX reduction!

I will admit: these AI tools are great for less experienced folks, but more tenured individuals don’t need to use the tools as much as the metrics they are setting. They do not replace experience. Dell is definitely going to overrate here and expect a freshie out of college to have the same production as me with glorious sAlEsChAT at their side.

This place is going down quicker than the titanic, and I’m enjoying watching while I quite quit and manipulate the metrics.

i read that there are some occupational restrictions on this, does this affect the compressed shift hourly workers in the factory, if so thats great news!

Everyone here might want to check their hours submitted by HR for your holiday pay.

If you did not receive a full 8 hours, it is because they changed how it is calculated, they now calculate your average hours worked over the last 8 weeks and divide it by your number of shifts.

As a lowly technician with 25 years, this is the best time of year to work at this place. Most of the middle management is on vacation, we work on important things that have to be fixed right now, but the everyday micromanaging bullsh-t has disappeared until January 1st. I can come to work, do my job, fix things that are important andhave a stress free day. Thanks to all the managers whose absence makes this place better……

Remember this feeling of being Discarded, remember the betrayal that had NOTHING to do with your performance or metrics. Remember how easily they threw you to the trash can once it became expedient— remember it before you sacrifice yourself again climbing the corporate ladder and neglect your family, health and pursuing your own dreams for the sake of giving more to the Company. In the end they don’t give a DAMMMN about you, it’s all about the shareholders, Execs and appeasing Wall Street. The rest of us are easily discarded like used toilet paper once they have finished wiping their ŠŠŠ with you.

Dan & Executives! If you’re reading this please stop laying us off. Having 150 + macros sites is nuts. Good bye work life balance.

Also, how long until you do the same stuff as sprint and outsource network to vendors ? If you want to take Verizon to the ground this is the way.

Happy thanksgiving!!!!

Work life balance left the building the day I accepted this role. Meetings bleed into evenings and weekends, and by Monday I’m already exhausted. If anyone has tips on reclaiming time, I’m all ears.

Make sure you take time to enjoy family and friends, eat some good food, enjoy some good entertainment. True happiness is worth more than money, possessions, or job status. Hug your significant other, tell your children how much you love them, reach out to your parents, aunts, uncles etc... Jobs come and go friends and family last forever.

STOP LOOKING AT THESE POSTS OVER THE HOLIDAYS! TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF!

In the spirit of the day, put down one thing you're grateful about working here. For me it's my pay. When I joined five years ago, I got a nice pay bump and it's kept up over the years. It's not enough to make up for all the other issues, like subpar benefits and toxic culture among many other issues, but at least there's something.

I would like to begin by confirming that I am not a director, executive, or line manager. I am simply an employee. I am not highly paid, nor do I receive bonuses, but my salary is sufficient to cover my bills and support my family. I am also very realistic and fully aware that DXC is not a company known for offering high salaries or for awarding annual pay increases to all employees.

I have been with the company for five years and have received one pay increase during that time, which was small. Nonetheless, I genuinely enjoy my role. The work can certainly be stressful at times, but I do my best, and value both my colleagues and my direct line manager immensely.

If at any point my pay become untenable for what I need, then I would look for an alternative role, either within DXC or elsewhere. What truly baffles me is the constant stream of complaints, negativity, and, at times, disrespectful behaviour from individuals who believe they are owed more. Life is surely too short to carry such negativity. If someone feels their role is no longer fulfilling or financially viable, there are alternatives. Why poison yourself and those around you with such pessimism when that energy could be directed far more productively?

DXC does award pay increases, albeit not annually, and promotions are given when they are genuinely necessary. These decisions are not withheld out of reluctance, but because the company is simply not in a financial position to offer more. Whenever I receive a corporate message I disagree with, I pause to consider the reasoning behind it. There is always a context, whether or not I personally agree with the outcome.

Ultimately, I weigh the positives against the negatives, and if the balance ever tips unfavourably, I will take action and seek a change. I may view things differently from many others who post on this site, but I like to think that I am realistic and pragmatic in my approach.

For those who get those badge reports, let's say you are based in Optum Circle, but may decide to go to the UHC offices instead on certain days of the week, do you get credit for those towards the 4 days minimum? I asked my boss and they did not know so...

I saw in previous post same thing was stated .Being told we need to carry a bigger load now.Im relieved to survive the rif but I’m just not sure it’s fair we now have to carry an even bigger load!I mean why should we be expected to carry our own load plus now everyone else load that was let go.Does anyone agree or should we just deal with the bigger load

It amazes me that another year has gone by in this place….Certainly took a lot out on me…

Just saw this movie and it’s about Verizon.

The gist of it is a company laying off employees and everyone is on the chopping block, even the ones who don’t expect it. And the ones who get let go get a small severance and struggle to find work.

Whenever something goes wrong, there's a mad dash to point the finger at another team. No one in management ever just owns a mistake. It's exhausting. On top of that, we all know we're being paid well below market rate, and the chance of getting promoted is basically zero. They wonder why morale is so low, but it's not exactly a mystery.

I know plenty of folks here who stay at CVS because there is nothing close by worth jumping to. I get it, the area makes it tricky to move on. I feel that pressure too, like I am glued in place. It wears on you when the job is rough but the options are thin.

It’s awesome that the company spent all this money on renovating the buildings and creating the open floor plan seating just to find out the day of your meeting. You can’t use the office that you booked weeks ago because it has now become somebody’s personal office.

What is the actual point of all of this if they’re just going to change all of the Zirbel offices to individual offices? They should’ve just kept all the conference rooms and let these mo--n stay hidden in their office. This has been such a headache, such a pain, and honestly has created the lowest morale that I’ve seen in a company in my 35 years of working in the corporate environment.

It’s so unreasonable and so disrespectful to treat associates this way when we need a space for an urgent call, we do what we’re supposed to do in reserve it weeks ahead just to have it snatched from us.

So the only groups that get to continue working in 1:1 flex offices are the people who made the decision to turn 1500 into a watered-down version of a college library (the Implementation team) and the reorg henchmen in HR. How poetic.

Because no one else in the corporation has any need for a quiet workspace. Or as they said in the HMP townhall: “you think you can’t focus in an open environment, but the truth is, you can focus anywhere!”

There’s seems to be a lot of resentment here from some people with phrases like “adults go to work” and “covid is over” and “it’s your own fault that you moved to another state” and common sentiment is - get back to the office or get out. A lot of people seem to be unaware that remote work existed way before Covid. There are some companies who hired remote-only (look up Hashicorp). Remote work existed in Viacom too.
Most of what I’m hearing here is towards people who were in the office and then became remote due to COVID. Ok I get that. What beef do you have with me, someone who was hired remotely years before COVID, never lived anywhere near NY or LA, and commonly known as a local workaholic often working way over 8 hours a days, often working weekends etc? Where do I have to “return” to? I’m where I’ve always been. And I’m not going anywhere.

These layoffs made a lot of things clearer for me, but the biggest thing is that I really don't want to stay here any longer than I absolutely have to. I'm already looking and once I find something, even if it means taking a pay cut, I'm gone because this whole process showed exactly how little thought went into how any of us were treated. Verizon handled this in the worst way imaginable and I have no interest in being around when they repeat the same cycle, because we all know it's only a matter of time before it happens again.

I'm curious about how the future of our jobs is shaping up. Given all the changes happening, I wonder what might be next. They've already shifted our request process to only go through workforce, and no longer allowing instant approvals for hours available like before. In an email, they mentioned upcoming changes in now going forward into 2026 regarding PTO requests, which makes me think we're in for more shifts ahead. Plus, they continue to ask for volunteers to work through our lunches and before or after our shifts. It raises questions since I thought breaks and lunches were a legal requirement. I'm left wondering if these changes are the new norm and what insights others might have about what's really going on. What can we anticipate in the coming months?

• it did not matter to them: - so many long hours - so many weekends lost for the family, because of deadlines or projects. So musmch stress, trying to give them my best, and in a day - it NO longer mattered. That is the most learning lesson: devotion to a job - it does not matter - we need to protect our priorities over all. In my case, 27.5 years here - and it did not matter to them. So for those who stay, control your wfforts and your hours, because to them, it wont matter.

We only have a handful of positions and it's been ridiculously hard to hire. Anyone else have this issue? We've hired 1 or 2 that never showed. People have the worst resumes if they have one at all and some don't want to work the weekend! Hellooooo - it's retail. BOH is about the cushiest schedule you can get! Days only and not past 5 pm in my store.
I used to think the 'no one wants to work' wasn't true but now I know differently!

Rumor is that some of the folks in the stores that are being converted will call in sick on Black Friday. Anyone one hear about this?

Hello relatively new to Citi,worked hard last year.. from last 3 months my manager is unnecessary escalating things (earlier he was ok) now another peer (gave multiple prod issues,bring the system down in production once) is getting promoted it seems. I definitely did more than him..and in 1-2 scenario my manager asked me to help. Looks like I took one of the wrong decision 4 years ago.. what you guys do in this situation? Start looking for the next one?

The primary method of problem resolution here is time-based: solve every issue with excessive hours and involvement, only to face the identical issue again soon after. The organization values quantity of labor over quality of insight.

Authority and recognition seem heavily weighted toward those who endure the longest hours in this specific, insular environment. The standard expectation of 60+ hours feels like a metric for compliance rather than genuine innovation.

Many core functions rely on deeply entrenched internal processes that are often inefficient or could be replaced by widely accepted industry standards. There is a clear pattern of confusing labor with effective problem-solving—the actual value of a top engineer is in recognizing patterns and defining the correct challenge.

This model rewards effort over efficiency.

The skills fostered here appear to be highly specialized to this internal ecosystem, and those relying solely on them would struggle to compete in the broader tech industry.

The environment fosters a kind of emptiness—a focus solely on the job to the exclusion of personal life or intellectual development. Pattern recognition and proactive problem avoidance are disincentivized.

Those with external options should prioritize a strategic exit immediately.

How are you all maintaining 8 hrs in office ?
Staying 6 to 7 hrs is easily manageable to stay in office.
With early meetings, and again need to login at night to coordinate with offshore, maintaining 8 hrs is stretch.
Is it that mandatory to maintain 8 hrs or 6 to 7 hrs is acceptable?

You'd be a complete fool to work harder to fill in the gaps.

Managers, directors , vp , etc…. Are you guys even thinking this through ? How is this even remotely healthy working environment for the ones left behind to cover so many sites. I got peers with 200 + sites. We were so thin with the VSP and now this left us broken. I guess who cares about work life balance. I swear if there’s another RIF and you guys touch GNT I think you may cripple the network. I hope you main plan isn’t to replace everyone with contractors. Did you not learn from Hans and sprint ? You want to compete with T-Mobile and At&T but this is not the way. Loosing top talent just to go work for the competitor.

Time to go home now for the relaxing weekend. See you all on Monday. Taking a few days off before Thanksgiving. A week for Christmas too to spend some time in Florida. Need some aqua therapy.

What do you think Verizon will look like?

Will it even exist?