Thread regarding Cisco Systems Inc. layoffs

Nope. Don't look at email, don't respond to work texts when it's my time. Never have, never will.

On-call over forced year end break was one thing. Actually being forced to work it the following year was another. All while the holidays of October were protected. Too bad I don't celebrate those holidays.

I quit on my own terms the following year. Missed the generous ER by 1 year and I really don't care. Leaving was still the best decision

@2qjm+1rPIeKjl - I was with you right up until your last sentence. Quiet quitting is getting worse at your job even more quickly and if you are going to move on you want to be at your peak. Unless Cisco's employee contract has changed significantly they own everything you do and if you do something big enough to catch their attention they can cause you far more trouble than the other way around. If you want multiple concurrent gigs be a contractor making it clear Cisco only owns what they pay for.

There are so many jobs in tech. If you are not happy with your hours and renumeration- start looking! Nobody is going to change it but YOU. I mean that as someone who has been there before. You either quiet quit where possible, develop a side hustle or move on.

Yes they try. Except some real exceptions. Either way, we are not paid enough for this. If our leadership wants on call , they should pay on call.

Just say no.

It was worth it in the 90s/early 2000s when they dished out a bunch of pre-RSU options. Retired at 57 after LR, mainly due to cashing out early options and then investing. Would not have worked weekends, after hours; if not for the options. Luckily it paid off.

My management considers it part of "being salaried".

If we're on PTO, all efforts are made to try to solve "issues" w/o contacting the person on PTO unless they've said they'd rather us reach out while the issue might be a little issue instead of waiting until it's a big issue. But if you're not on PTO, then non-business hours are common for deployments, upgrades, maintenance, etc. and being available in case something goes wrong with the deployment, upgrade, maintenance, etc. is expected.

We also have an "on-call" rotation, but we get paid for the "privilege" of being on "stand-by". If we have to work due to an "on-call" outage, we don't get on-call pay unless it's a big outage that lasts hours, again because "we're salaried professionals."

On the flip-side, I can take a long lunch, sleep in, or take off early whenever I need to because I've worked enough nights, weekends, etc. to balance it out. I only use PTO when I'm going to be out for more than a day.

I remember a visit from John Chambers (the previous CEO) where an employee complained that he was tasked with meetings around the world such that there was no one hour period he could sleep, and Chambers' response was "I'm always going to have unrealistic expectations of you!"

He never understood the real message of "we demand accountability!" while taking a bonus in the tens of millions he failed to earn when he seriously missed his targets. This lead to another forced day off that December when management was asking developers with no on call responsibilities "so what block of time are you signing up for to provide a 15 minute response time on your vacation?"

Your choices are to make your way to one of the rare positions of power, live well below your means and gain power by being one of the rare people who can invest extremely aggressively yet successfully, or be a goober spouting non sequiturs like "I believe in capitalism which means the President should set the price of every good and service in the country!"

I've been with the company for nearly 25 years and it's always been this way. AAs & EAs are expected to do the same, not just mgmt.

It's called working in tech. Opt-in or leave.

I spoke out and LR'd !

No they don’t, and Cisco is actively replacing anyone who doesn’t like to suffer and sip the kool aid. Being managed out and retaliated against as we speak. Sad