Considering the conditions we work under, I often ask myself that. It's not just the constant layoffs, most of the companies have those. It's the other things that make working at Wells Fargo "special." The toxic work environment, constant intimidation, not just unrealistic but impossible expectations... I could go on and on... This place should come with a mental health warning.
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Hey @onu+15XoQKei, is that a k lan robe or would you call it more of a gown?
How Wells Fargo implements the Diversity and inclusion initiatives mentioned in the latest Q2 2020 earnings call makes things worse. Internal meetings talk about getting the numbers right. Open discussions of hiring the right racial composition border on racist.
Talks about not increasing headcount, needing to get racially diverse people in leadership, then hinting at lay offs would make a g– white man tremble. Worse, he wouldn't get points for g– if not openly involved in a team member network.
Rather than doing quality work individuals are jockeying not to get let go. Good diverse people are overlooked for others with more diversity points. Overhead is way too high. That's because everyone is moving chairs on the deck as their department fails to perform.
At least they look busy, even if the work doesn't advance serving the customer. Some managers are much better than others. The general fear isn't going to help improve on stated objectives.
Your experience with Wells Fargo absolutely depends on where you are. I was in CCG for years but moved to Corporate Risk almost a decade ago. CCG was in constant chaos due to the housing boom and then the crash. Comparatively, Corporate Risk has been much more stable. As for my immediate team, I have the best boss ever and hardworking teammates that I consider friends – no politics, no drama. That being said, there's been a tradeoff: almost ten years of only 2% raises and not a single promotion despite always being rated highly. This, despite the work and responsibilities ever growing. It's frustrating knowing the burden you will be asked to bear will likely grow infinitely, with no reward in exchange for it. Wells has created this horrible environment (I've seen it many times in my career) where there is no absolutely reward for working harder, and even if you wanted to advance you pretty much have to post out or leave the bank and come back.
That's my main beef. My secondary beef is that work to overhead ratio used to be like 90/10, and now it's like 10/90; we spend the majority of of time now dealing with bureaucracy.
This is the “new normal” at Wells and it’s by design. The new regime wants people to be uncomfortable, to backstab their colleagues, to be fearful. They lead by fear instead of congeniality.
As the other poster said, it’s going to be a rough couple of years. They are turning the workplace into a gauntlet. Meditate, exercise, don’t let it get to you - this is a game of mental stamina. Go in, do your job and go home. Control what you can, all else is left to faith.
The only way you’re feeling normal is if your last stop was BNY. I’m relatively young in my career but even I can see how troubling this level of uncertainty is. It feels like the goal isn’t putting team members in positions to succeed but rather leverage the economic crisis to cut staff and force us to overwork ourselves. The good news is it’s clear this style of leadership isn’t sustainable but it’s gonna be a rough couple of years who plan on seeing this through.