Thread regarding AT&T layoffs

@OP Unfortunately it's never "smart" to reach out to Human Resistance.

As many have said before, yeah HR isn't going to help you. I know this is an older thread but for those searching for answers, this may help you. It's basically a way to give the company a heads up on the situation so they can get out in front of it before they get sued or fined. They don't care about you. They want you to stay quiet. Any systems that are in place now are always to protect the company and their interests, not you. Anonymous or not, they can quite easily narrow down who reported whom and then you just get bullied out of the company. It's so easy for them to cover up their tracks and force you out. I was part of an investigation recently and they took everything I said and twisted it and fired me.

If you are craft, I would skip going to the union regarding any stuporvisor violation. IBEW 21 is in bed with AT&T and doesn't want to spend money fighting what they call petty violations. If your situation is serious, hire a lawyer or take of it after 3:00 pm.

Pretty much like everyone else has said here: It's never a good idea to address anything whatsoever with HR for any reason. HR is here to fix the upper level managers mistakes in order to avoid getting sued. They are not here for you, the L1/L2 little guy. They will take in whatever it is you tell them, then proceed to victimize the victim, you, and once that starts, it can't be stopped. HR is great at taking a molehill and turning it into a mountain with your name plastered all over it. Also, as noted by so many others here, you will be retaliated upon by the person or group that you reported, without question, without fail, and HR will help facilitate getting that negative info out on you spread company wide. It’s one of their humiliation tactics to run you off. You will be chased out of the company if you don't hurry up and find a job outside the company pronto. So your only recourse is to find a job elsewhere in the company (if you can, and if you want to keep working here), and hope that where you go, they know who you were dealing with…, AKA - Yes they know the well-known ‘@$$whole’, etc. Outside of all that, if you really did think that HR was the route, go get outside Legal help like your own personally obtained Legal Shield brand Pre-Paid Lawyer type deal (not obtained through company discount but outside on your own). If acquired through the company, then they won't help you due to conflict of interest, that's why get it outside the company. Go consult with a lawyer for ‘free’ (now that you have the outside legal help) that way to see if you have a case, then if so, retain a lawyer and let that lawyer on your behalf interface with AT&T HR. That is the only way you can successfully deal with HR and not end up walking around with a pole hanging out of your backside. No guarantees, but this is the best approach, painful isn't it.

Depends on the issue. I've been slowly creating more cases with asset protection on my current management staff, and it's been all done anonymously. Because of the amount of cases opened, they've been coming to my store more often, and at least creating a headache for my RSM. Reps can play petty games too if there's a paper trail. The best one was donations for the American Heart Association. He was cutting accessory prices for customers that said they would donate. "$50 for a case, we'll take $10 off if you donate $10 to the American Heart Association". Customer pays the same amount, but our manager can brag he's getting donations. I waited until the month was over, gave asset protection two days of receipt transactions and told them to check the rest of the month. It was a great day. Because he's buddies with our ARSM, I know he'll never get fired for these actions, but at least I can put a bad reputation to his name and possibly make it difficult for him to move up. If you've got a paper trail, use it to your advantage.

Reaching out to HR might buy you an extra 6 months on the job before they fire you for poor performance. Get your resume out there and few interviews under your belt before going to HR.

wow most of these people saying do not report it ...retaliation...etc.

PRETTY SAD.Gestapo Tactics

@3bka Not directly in IHX - but in the overall Retail organization including IHX.

DO NOT GO TO HR.

DO NOT GO UP THE CHAIN.

If you want to stay with the company, you have to deal with whatever comes along with it. For every 1 person that get in trouble from a report, another 99 don’t and then retaliate.

You won’t be able to prove it. No one will believe you. They will make you think you are the one in the wrong.

The best way to deal with it is s— it up until you can get to another workgroup. It doesn’t matter how bad it is, unless you are ready to leave the company over it.

I reported s-xual harassment once. Even though he got in trouble, all his friends made my life a living hell afterwards. Thankfully I was able to get ton another organization in another state, but since I have been s-xual harassed s-xual more times. Reporting is not worth dealing with the backlash.

2dfn- do you work in ihx? I had a similar situation with an app/director there

I remember when I joined AT&T out of college I had to go through a series of code of conduct and non retaliation courses. Taking those classes made me feel very safe and protected. I was wrong!!

I have seen and experienced retaliation in every shape and form. But the way it was done wasn’t so obvious so you don’t have any ground to make a case against it. Your boss can get upset with you for any little thing maybe because you are saying the truth or you saw something that didn’t make sense and you tried to fix it.

No manager is that stupid to advertise that he/she is retaliating. They do it in a sneaky way so that no one can go after them. So, I wouldn’t go to HR. I would invest time to learn and gain new skills, network with people outside the company and apply for jobs. Basically, try to take control over your future and don’t let others do it for you because you will be disappointed. With a little patience and perseverance I am sure you will find a better opportunity and a much healthier environment. At that point you can go to your boss and tell him to go fk himself.

I went directly to an AVP (female) to complain about a director (male) and I am still feeling the retaliation and fallout over a year later. The HR contact for our organization is useless so I won't go that route. I'd love to move to a different org but that is difficult with all the layoffs. I am well aware the pressure from them is designed to force me into quitting but I am determined to either move to a different org or continue to hope for a surplus.

I used to love my job and everyone I worked with until the AVP was reassigned to our org (she brought the director with her) and together, they ruined the credibility the org had previously enjoyed.

So no ... don't bother reaching out to HR or leadership. Document everything and be ready in case you need it in the future.

Not smart because it won't change anything in the current "must cut headcount despite any rhyme or reason" environment. Our HR is now gutted after years of surpluses from a fairly robust, helpful and strong org to yet another outsourced, overworked core of people that are in their present position due only to attrition. In the best of worlds, you'll get a conference and you'll both shake hands, both put on a list. At the worst you file something that results in zero outcome and your name only get put on a list.

Literally enslaving people? Might want to find out what literally means. Hint, we have this thing called the 13th Amendment

I know a manager at AT&T who literally enslave people. He uses intimidation and fear to manage his guys. He would send them emails and texts to check where they are. He doesn’t allow work from home no matter what the circumstances are, you must take a day off period.

Over the last 4 years, a total of 9 employees under him resigned because of him. And everyone of them gave him a very bad review in the exit survey. Guess what happened! NOTHING. HR is useless. Don’t even bother. Just look for another job. That’s the only way.

Have you considered peeing in your managers coffee?

Never go to HR, even if you have proof. You could have written, video and audio documentation and it will be ignored. At the end of the day you will be harassed, face retaliation and eventually terminated. If it is s-xual or racial harassment you have no options.

If you are harassed you must go outside the company to protect yourself and family!

No, No, No.....A Friend did this and was sacked within 6 mos. I also heard of another person with a similar story......I understand a lot of HR is outsourced these days anyway and folks complaining all the time they are not helpful.....

Do the google search you will find some expert advice.

It will do you no good to report anything to HR, or the Union. If you want results, call Asset Protection and report that the manager has a gun. That is the only action you will get from AT&T. And you will be harassed.
Other than that, don't waste your time.

HR is only to protect the company from getting sued. And to continually make sure no one pisses off the Union Employees. My supervisor says anything to me and I ask for me rep. Then everything goes away. No one ever gets in trouble unless they are totally screwing the company. I literally have watched my friends continually break the attendance policy and never go away. LOL.

Hard to say. But I would NEVER trust any entity within At&t to deal with you fairly. Hell, look how we treat our paying customers under this regime. If it is just an azzhole manager keep notes and deal with it as long as you can before pursuing. The At&t environment is a petri dish for for for these id–ts. If it is more serious consult an attorney.

I had a couple issue's with a supervisor. The first time they sided with him....but the second time he ignored protocol, THEY told me to file a grievance...lol. I told them i already had. But, they did tell me they would do a investigation...but would never be able to tell me the result. I do know they interviewed different members of our crew....one had the guts to let me know. So i do believe it brought some heat on him. Definitely want to report stuff so you can at least build a history against someone who is crossing the line.

Human Resources isn’t for those who actually work at the Company. HR is used to project the Company from the employee’s.

Use hotline. They have to address it

I've had this exact situation and I was the one that ended up with a COBC violation. I would strongly advise against going to HR, but rather up the chain, up to SVP if necessary. You need to have specific proof, documented...dates, times, and specific wordings of what took place. If you have none of that do not go to HR.

Have proof and documentation. Know your policies. HR is a last resort but if you have proof and documentation, witnesses etc and these issues are harassment, COBC, etc if there is retaliation you can protect yourself. And sue if you are not treated right. Let them know you have proof...retaliation much harder for them to do. Your word alone, sadly, is not enough these dats

chances are low in this environment HR would be able to do anything. The company is getting rid of "most" of the employees here. There's ZERO work, except keep the 3rd rate systems running

If you are Craft, go to your Union. Find a competent Steward you trust and discuss your issue. Ask for the Unions advice on how it can be handled. Hopefully you are documenting dates and times of issues. Do not embellish, add name of other employees that were present and may have overheard or witnessed the incident. Document other employees that have similar issues if they exist. You can involve any other a Manager, stating you’re issue. If it is harassment they would be obligated to take action by telling 2nd Level or HR. Keep in mind if your issue is a personality clash or work responsibility issue it probably won’t go far. If after disclosing to the Union or Management the issue worsens or your Manager takes some retaliatory action against you, file a grievance. Another option you can go to the State Labor Board and file a Unfair Labor Practices Claim against the Company.

If it's COBC or discrimination or s-xual harassment, talk to an attorney before you talk to HR or to someone further up the chain of command. Unfortunately, any kind of mistreatment that is not based on a protected class like age, race, s-x, or disability is legal. Bullying is legal.

There's a great website called Ask a Manager. You might do a search on there to see if your situation is discussed.

Please keep in mind that HR is here to protect the company and the status quo. Unless you are reporting something that could cost the company a lot of money in fines or lawsuits, you will be considered the problem.

It's been many years, but a friend found pr0n on an executive's laptop. He reported it to his manager in good faith and was promised that there would be no retaliation. The executive and his assistant harassed him daily until he changed jobs. The executive claimed his teenage son was using his laptop so nothing was done. (Within 8 months, another employee found pr0n on his laptop again but decided there was no point in reporting it.)

I hate to be so cynical about this, but ethics and COBC and discipline only apply to GM and below.

I am very sorry that you are going through this. Please be careful, get legal advice, and think about the outcome that you want and the outcome that is possible.

Best of luck to you.

I Agree with the first posts. Anything in violation of COBC, illegal, should be reported. But know that HR is NOT necessarily there "for the employee". HR is there to enforce company policies. I had a buddy many years ago that had arguably a valid issue with his direct supervisor, took it to HR and basically ended up leaving the company when not only did HR not take his side but made his life miserable as he had been branded after that as a "trouble maker".

Not sure how things are at AT&T, but in my experience it's never a good idea to involve HR unless you're talking about harassment, breaking the law, or unfair practices for which you have overwhelming evidence - managers tend to have more traction than their reports, and they will retaliate at some point, the world will never be same. Have you considered transferring to another department, or changing jobs altogether?

Go up the ladder, unless it's a complaint about s-xual harassment. Any complaint that could lead to COBC violation should go to the hotline. Most second level and higher have open door policy.