Do the right thing oxy, allow flexibility or some kind of hybrid model. Most of us are more productive and less drained from not having to commute two hours a day. At least let us work from home a day or two a week.
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If you look at the scoring of the comments about old white men versus young loafers, its obvious the young D.A.s spend all their time on this site, rather than working. I'm a retired outsider laughing at your company, and young folk, in general. I getting 'woke' on the new generation.
Perhaps the hybrid model should be a benefit that is tied to experience level. So the people first starting out are required to work 100% from the office for the first few years. Then the amount of work from home time could be increased with either salary grade or number of years of industry experience. We do this for vacation time so why not with work from home benefits. It would be a fair policy that could address the training and mentoring objectives of early career employees and maintain a company culture by promoting bonding within the new groups of people entering the organization.
I have had some really bad experiences with people working from home and the noise and distraction in the background just ruined the support calls I was on. In one case I called a few times for software support, and in the background you could hear hammering and saws as the person was remodeling their home. When I told them it was not working they just used the pandemic as and excuse, I ended up getting zero support and spent half the day figuring it out on my own. Recently I had to call Verizon and update my plan. All I could hear were kids in the background yelling and screaming as their mother tried to help me. She would tell them she was working and to not make any noise, but kids are kids and it took her 20 minutes to do nothing. I finally had to logon and communicate with a person on chat. If you are going to work from home you need to be professional, and if you are in a customer support field you need to really make sure of that. I like working from home and want to continue as much as possible, but people need to find places in their house to work that does not take away from their ability to do their jobs. In my two cases there were two people being paid to do a job that were useless at their job because of their work environment. So for everyone that does a great job at WFH there is probably a counterpart that is really bad at it. If I were paying two people to paint my house I would not want one sleeping under the tree and the other painting the house. As long as we have slackers they will always make the good things bad for the whole.
They are not going to support a 100% work from home policy for many reasons. But who would complain if they had one day a week at home with no 9/80. Remember the 9/80 originated in Houston to reduce the traffic congestion so there is no need for it now. Oh well, you can always tell your boss you are taking vacation on every other Friday. Good luck with that one. Is the pre–covid work schedule sounding better and better now.
Not to mention the lease in Denver runs through 2032.
I’m guessing the WFH crowd is aware of the newly signed 13 yr lease at GWP and the 10 yr lease in the Woodlands.
That’s over 1/2 billion in committed lease payments.
You really think 31st floor is just going to acknowledge this as a mistake and let everyone WFH.
And don’t bother starting with sub–leasing. What incentive would the landlord have to let Oxy out of a legally binding lease....?
The comment below is funny, it aligns almost exactly with the same 10 year period that the oil and gas industry has been the poorest performing industry on the s&p 500. Coincidence? Very unlikely..
This industry has been talking about the “great crew change” for over ten years now. It still hasn’t happened because they can’t get rid of people over 60 who still enjoy work, add significant value, and are technical experts in their fields. Besides, the work of the old people is not done yet because you young people still need significant training.
I agree. The old white men at oxy need to just retire. Everyone (including Wall Street) has had enough of y’all. I am a 35 year old white male saying this too btw (by the way). Does Microsoft Teams intimidate you because you don’t know how to use it still? Or is it the fact you miss micromanaging in person because that’s the only way you can feel like you still matter? Lol (laugh at loud - for you old timers) you guys are a joke. My generation doesn’t respect you no matter how much you yell about your experience and world views. Y’all are the same guys that don’t want my generation wearing headphones while we do our work in the office at our desk. Why would it matter AT ALL if we get our work done. Whether it’s headphones or work from home. And y’all can say leave if you don’t like it all you want, but senior management knows you old dudes are going to retire in the next few years and they have to recruit for the future.
And you old men are way overpaid in a volatile industry that is tired of your way of thinking. When it comes to layoffs you old dudes don’t add nearly enough value to justify your pay. But hey, pay my generation 1/2 what they pay you to do the same job. I doubt management cares if we work from home or not for that kind of discount.
So then all those young people who don’t like the office can take a hike, hit the road, get lost, quit, or get fired if you violate the policy. Who the heck needs your unrefined skills anyway. This is a business for mature people.
You all under 35 contribute so much to the bottom line. You should stay home and be much more productive. LMFAO!
No one under the age of 35 (the future of the workforce) wants to go back to the office. We can get everything done via teams and from home without sitting in awful houston traffic 1.5 hours a day.
Is will be so nice for people to be back in the office. When you have a beef with someone you can just go to their office to work things out. None of this playing telephone tag or not answering emails or other digital requests.
@7fkq: some of us did not want to live far from the office and so chose to live near where Oxy told us the office was going to be...
If you don’t want to go into the office because you have a long commute then that’s understandable but you have to remember you chose to live that far from the office. Oxy shouldn’t push the dates to Aug or Sept like I'm hearing now.
@3jaj+1ahdzGc9
Spoken like a true pampered millennial.”It’s all about me!” “I got sell my training in college “. WHAT?
He was making fun of they kids by saying that he got all of his experience in college and didn’t need anymore....
You got all of your training in college. What are like 24 years old. At the end of your career you will realize what a naive statement that was. Most of our experience and learning comes from on the job and as a result of being mentored and guided by other people. And this bit about “your generation wants it”. Who would not want it. It is just that the more mature people realize it is not the best thing for the company. You think there is a generation gap in what people want. It is the same old difference in points of view due to maturity between generations that pops up over and over again. Just enjoy your time and listen to those wiser than you.
You guys are cra-cra. WFH is popular, and it will take over. First, I got all of the training I need in college, and don't need anyone breathing down my neck telling me how to work. Second, my generation wants it, so we will make it happen. Third, the world is changing so get on board. P.S. I wrote a paper on this a couple of years ago in my ECON 401 class (yes, while at home) so don't try to tell me I'm wrong!
And if I were your boss and you ever told me you are working less now due to the commute I would lower your rating just for your attitude.
Are you paid hourly? Probably not. If you on salary then you will put in what it takes to get the job done or you should be fired. As professionals we don’t count hours. If you want to get paid by the hour then you can become a contractor with no benefits.
If I have to commute again, Oxy can lose at least a free extra hour I am adding by WFH. Oxy chooses.
BP took away 9/80. Is that what you want so you can work from home in your pjs? You were hired to do work in the office. The COVID hoax has run its course and it’s time to return to the office. If you don’t want to be here, quit and find a job where you can can work from home.
The previous post by 2uol+1ahdzGc9 is correct. The company did everything to keep you safe and people are thinking that this will be the norm. They should fire all of you a-holes who are trying to take advantage of the situation. Get lost. We don’t want you in the workforce you spoiled ungrateful people who cannot possibly be called professionals. Where did you learn how to take advantage of situations like this. It must have come from your upbringing. That would be understandable if your parents brought you up like that. Shame,shame, shame.
To the anti work from home complainer below. Shut up. Everyone is tired of hearing your pointless rants, You aren’t a senior manager and you don’t call the shots. If people can work from home and get their work done senior management should allow it like BP and Silverbow have done. Requiring employees to go to a physical place to work is the past and society is moving away from this. Plus with how much it costs to lease GWP, pay for air conditioning for the building etc, work from home is a way smarter option. Seriously shut your boomer mouth and retire.
Instead of begging and whining just find a job that allows you to stay at home. WFH is nice but not something a company has to give you. I like WFH as well, but this post makes the OP look like some type of spoiled entitled person. For now this is a free society and you can work where you want and how, so find the job that best fits you. I would work in the office every day if we could get back to normal without Covid, and those that have d–dand got sick never had Covid. Really stop the whining. We were at home for safety reason, and Oxy did more than enough to make sure we all stayed safe.
Bad leaders are found out?! That’s a joke! There are some that have skated by for 25 years and put into roles in which they’re not qualified for. When all the E rated worker bees below them start leaving, management needs to look at the common denominator....
I would appreciate WFH three days a week. Thank youl
How many people would leave this company now for equal pay and benefits and a work from home option at a real oil company?
“Eventually most bad leaders are found out”. I die. Found out by whom? Their leaders? The leaders who promoted them in the first place? And then what happens if they are found out? Look around you! This organization is in chaos. It’s culture is disrupted. Everyone is trying to fend for themselves and hold their ground. There is no time to pay attention to or do anything about a few bad eggs. Every person for themselves.
Executives, directors, and managers get paid for their excellent judgement, technical experience, and sound decision making skills. Eventually most bad leaders are found out.
‘well respected and qualified” is NOT the same as people who are able to climb the ladder because of face time and ability to gloss over their par technical abilities or sub-par leadership skills.’ ...on point! Those old school managers love their yes people who make them look good in meetings. Those are the same people who somehow get massive promotions and salary adjustments when others are doing twice the work. Welcome to OXY.
@bvu+1ahdzGc9 is on point. Those old school leaders like the ‘yes’ men/women who don’t question their incompetence in the management roles they hold. Their yes people make them look good while in the office.
“Your most well respected and qualified professionals want to work in person”....and this statement is based on....what? Did you identify them and interview them? Try this: open up the office and leave everything optional and up to the individual. Let’s see if those most well respected and qualified people jump at the chance to be there every day as you proclaim they will. And let’s be clear: “well respected and qualified” is NOT the same as people who are able to climb the ladder because of face time and ability to gloss over their par technical abilities or sub-par leadership skills.
Oil and gas does pay a lot more than just about any industry. That is unless you work in peripheral services like IT, then tech might pay more. So that gives you other choices. Great for you.
I think Vicky is woke enough now to allow it, but she is not your direct supervisor. I like working from home and could use a little face to face every now and then, but WFH is fine with me. I interviewed a candidate that made it sound like WFH would have to be an option, but to me that kind of limited his effectiveness in the interview. It is going to be real interesting to see how many people retire or quit before coming back to the office. Might end up being attrition that Oxy would not mind seeing.
Anti work from home people are like anti vaccination people. Ignorant! Also probably a manager that doesn’t like not being able to micromanage their employees like oxy loves to do.
The company needs to allow some kind of flexible schedule. I got a promotion this year working from home and my manager says we have all done a great job. I would like the option to work 2 days from home like BP gave their employees. The old guard that thinks you need to be in a physical office to collaborate or work effectively just needs to retire already. My generation is tired of your BS. The oil business has typically been extremely conservative and unwilling to change its ways and that’s why my generation is turned off by big oil. They value work life balance a lot more in tech and don’t give me any of your bs that oil and gas pays better than tech companies because it doesn’t. Not to mention tech companies are a lot more stable.
Your most well respected and qualified professionals want to work with people in person unless they are in another city. Now if you are not a professional like most of you appear to be then stay home.