Thread regarding TIAA (TIAA-CREF) layoffs

Affecting health, mental and physical

I’ve been with the company for over 10 years. I came into my position several years ago and was doing quite well. I lost my manager as a result of Temu closing the Denver office while she was at the Olympics or Wimbledon. Then all of a sudden I’m told I’m making mistakes. It’s been a year now, and that’s all I keep hearing, though I successfully complete my work. The only thing that’s changed is the management team. It feels I’m getting pushed out, and honestly have to say, both my mental and physical health have suffered as a result of it. I read lots of posts on here people who’ve left and are better for it. When compared to this place, I think the grass is greener and healthier.


by
| 193 views | | 17 replies (last 12 days ago) | Reply
Post ID: @OP+1m5mv1720

17 replies (most recent on top)

@19e and then the Whistleblower complaints came, then the $97M settlements, then the investigations by the NYDFS, NY Attorney General, FINRA, and SEC all under Roger’s watch to make up for Herb’s calamitous mess due to the disastrous move to FIS after 2005.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @1b6+1m5mv1720

This was back in 2014, but the stress levels in wealth management for a lot of WMA's was off the charts. Everyone had a hard quota to reach, but some folks had the benefit of a steady stream of pre-screened leads handed to them by their director while other got nothing. The leads came from the call centers and were distributed to the director.
It was all up to the manager how to distribute those leads and let me tell you, some of those managers used their power with the lead distribution (ARC system?) and the PIP in evil ways. One WMA I knew definitely had a fatal heart attack due to stress. Dozens more had huge weight gain and weight loss due to stress. One WMA who was a single Mom and on a 2nd level PIP, was incredibly stressed out and about to get terminated but started "going out for a drink" with the boss after work. Suddenly, her numbers went up! Everyone knew. She had to do what she had to do. None of those managers are there anymore, thankfully. It was he-l in wealth management if your director didn't favor you. You'd get stack-ranked against people getting everything handed to them just because they were pals with the director or going to his condo on Fridays. Then you'd have to work10-12 hours per day, 6 days a week just to stay off PIP while the "pals" made $100k or more in bonus on "done deals" that the director just handed them. I remember one time, there was a $2.5 million dollar account in a city where both WMAs were on PIP. A WMA from a different state and 5 hours away showed up one day to meet the client and sign the paperwork. The director didn't want either of the local WMAs to survive their PIP and a $2.5 million account would have saved either one. That is the way it was. Zero exaggeration. 12 years out and it still bothers me. Ruined my trust in any middle manager with direct power over another person's livelihood.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @19e+1m5mv1720

I left TIAA back in 2025 and started working for Vanguard. Pay is little lower but they make it up with their benefits and excellent work life balance. Leave the sh-t hole.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @xb+1m5mv1720

Leave now. Lower pay is definitely worth it!

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @wc+1m5mv1720

You think it's like toxic work environment now it's been that way for years. The ambulance used to be there every day back in 2015.... One person even had a heart attack at her desk and passed away on the job. I am serious. I was there for 19 years, and I seen all different types of management come through and go. But the thing about it is, whenever new management comes in, they try to fix what the old management didn't do or didn't work for them.

Look for another job , there is definitely A better life after TIAA

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @ra+1m5mv1720

Everything is built on a house of cards currently. Not everyone but a lot of managers/directors are trying to string their boss, then the next level does the the same, all the way up to T, because the expectations are completely ridiculous at least around the strategic work with Salesforce, Accenture etc. They don’t want to be part of the revolving door random firing game, causing them to feed the BS engine even more.

You may or may not be doing well, but there is no reality you’re going to figure out if your manager is playing that game. Either keep working and make them give you severance or find something else but the overall house of cards isn’t changing anytime soon.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @q1+1m5mv1720

@kz she a lower performing and rated CEO. Nothing like Roger. I like your suggestion, though.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @m2+1m5mv1720

@gq sorry for asking but i am new to the company and who is Temu and why do they call her Temu and not TBD (to be determined brown-duckett)

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @kz+1m5mv1720

It's always the manager's fault. And I bet the OP has had lots of conversations with the new manager to understand what exactly they expect and how the OP can improve. And whatever has gone wrong is not really the OP's fault. And they spend time on this site to figure out what to do.

Here's what to do. You su-k it up and play the game until your manager realizes you're not d-mb enough to let them fire you for bad performance so you get severance instead and then you move on to that greener pasture you find and you come back here and post about it.

And make sure everywhere else is better and pays more because this same site for those other companies isn't lacking complaints.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @jp+1m5mv1720

In most cases the reality is that managers or management are not your friend. The relationship is purely based on business. This is true at TIAA and every other company. From Thasunda on down they are all superficial relationships. Make no mistake that you could be sold out in a minute. We are all there to survive and earn a living. As such play the game. Attend the pizza parties and appear to show interest when some executive bores you with pictures of their cat or the exotic vacation they went on. Work to impress yourself. Go to sleep at night knowing that you are honestly doing your best work. Keep your eye out for something better but check it out because the grass is not always greener on the other side. Best of Luck

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @hy+1m5mv1720

Sounds like classic management to the door tactics because the cheap bast+-rds don't want to laid you off and pay the severance. Good luck. I left, all corporations have their &#$" but its better then the Tiaatantic as they are a sinking ship, it's not if, but when.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @g7+1m5mv1720

I’m lowkey looking for an exit too. Gotta protect my peace—this job is draining, and the overwhelm is real. Rooting for everyone else trying to dip. Hope we all land somewhere better.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @g2+1m5mv1720

@b8 hahahaha that other person called you bootlicker. Pretty much!

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @fv+1m5mv1720

@OP I agree wholeheartedly. I’m looking to get out too! Best of luck to you! My department was cut down. We got a new leader who’s delusional and won’t acknowledge the hardship, just keeps saying to focus on making less mistakes. What’s crazy is the amount of work has increased and the personnel have decreased. A leader who is sane and well balanced, would act differently. But look at the executives we have.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @fs+1m5mv1720

@b8 this clown thinks it’s *NSYNC or something! LMFAO!! You thought we were getting the Diddy freak offs cause of that Diddy executive. Bootlicker

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @fr+1m5mv1720

@OP BYE BYE BYYYYYEEEE

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @b8+1m5mv1720

It is greener. The floor I used to work on was like a morgue. Listening to the quarterly bs pep rallies while the LT ate cavier, spent more time in Europe or Barbados and send their kids to Ivy league colleges. All the while we get crumbs on merit and get the pizza party. New employer clearly outlines the comp plan and provide lunch daily ...free. I don't have to listen to a financial statement that is essentially a pig wearing lip stick.

by
| | Reply
Post ID: @b3+1m5mv1720

Post a reply

: