Holy Cow - the official notice came out today. From the looks of it, they want to bring employees together and back into the office but I'm sure that at the end of the day, even those that are in the office will be affected. Can you say bad timming!?!??!?! ughhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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They want women in engineering etc, but also cut off the flexibility of dealing with kids. How about this: offer 20, 30, 40 hour FTE positions? There’s a lot of untapped potential from the moms out there. AT&T could blaze a new trail, but they won’t.
I say you have been on a gravy train long enough. Hope they cut management especially Hoover/Birmingham.
Let us know if the praying works.
Best thing is to pray and take advantage of any educational opportunities AT&T offers to build up ones self credentials to be ready for anything
if you are working somewhere that wants to micro manage and monitor every second of your login time and expect that as a relevant metric you are better off elsewhere. i'm sure there are other people who were still on 100 percent capacity 12 hours a day and still let go. it's all about who will let you suk up to them - nothing else.
There are reports which have been available for some time to Management if they so choose to use them and are aware of them...Prior colleagues and friends worked on some and I have seen them.
The report identifies if a user is logging in from VPN or from the office. The report also identifies the time one logged and logged out as well as idle time when your computer is idle since you walked away from your desk as well as logs how long it was idle etc.....This data is all available to anyone who wants to use it (Management) ... All I had to do was enter my ATTUID and I was able to run the report and saw data on myself for the last 6 months...Some folks who heard this then tried to change their timeout on their laptops but needed to request admin rights to update the registry. However, even if able to update it is only temporary to the next ITO software push that checks and overwrites the changes to the policy. There are also reports for mechanized building which identify when an employee swiped their badge to get into the building and when they leave the building. These reports are available also but not sure who has access to them. Also offices newly equipped with automatic lights that go on when you enter and turn off when no motion and I would not be surprised if data is available regarding offices with no activity at least per the electricians who installed them who spoke with a few folks......Bif Brother is definitely watching and has the data whether they plan to use or not I have no idea,,,,,,,,
that letter has been sent out by upper management in some form or another for several years now. it should really be re-written to say something like "randall stephenson is a dumb azz and he is screwing up this company left and right hoping that the bean counters in charge will save the company with cheap foreign labor."
Donovan said 4-5 years ago that he wanted non-union employees in collaboration zones. So if you aren’t in Redmond/Bothell, San Ramon, El Segundo, Dallas/Plano, St Louis, Schaumburg (IL), Middletown/Bedminster, or Atlanta/Alpharetta, your positron will be surplussed unless your boss can prove you are mission critical. Full-time teleworkers will be the first positions surplussed followed by those outside of collaboration zones. The lists for ATO were generated last Oct/Nov.
is this affecting just managment employees?
to hqa - the notice was sent via e-mail earlier today to employees in his organization. My group is under Joe Taylor.
how was the "official notice" delivered? is there an AT&T site we can find it on?
@WQJ - I am not bashing - I am stating the obvious and what's going on - so yeah, the changes - can't blame management for this. Like i said - the bad apples ruined it for EVERYONE.
The “competitive environment” McElfresh refers to has nothing to do with AT&T. T is not a competitive company hence all the acquisitions and incurred debt to try and be competive. Let’s face it, T is not an “innovative” company such as Amazon, Google, Apple and Facebook. As long as Randy and his leadership team are in charge, T will never be an “innovative” company and not be very competitive. All the reductions in workforce are due to the poor leadership of T and the bad decisions and acquisitions that were made along the way. Collaboration zones are just an excuse to surplus employees who are no where close to these geographic regions. And in regards to the VPN statements as a reason to be let go...what happened to “Mobilizing your world”? Oh yeh T dropped that motto when they realized they could not deliver on that promise. Good luck fellow T comrades. The economy is tough and the job market is even tougher out there.
Since AT&T doesn't believe they are a telecommunications company anymore then the concept of selling our customers on the idea of 'mobility' is no longer needed, right? If they want to get rid of WFH then take away the laptops and put desktops in front of us. It is that simple, and probably cheaper. Oh, but then you have to buy us monitors, keyboards and mice, address OSHA violations of chairs that look like someone got them from a beef slaughter house, pay for electricity in the office, including heating and AC, etc.
My center has no collaboration but it is difficult, no impossible, for those that do collaborate to understand this. And when one's group, center, org, etc. isn't in the same building, city or state, or even country, how does eliminating WFH improve work? I have no kids or pets, I have a dedicated work space and no distractions with power backup. The time I save in not drive is split to the company and myself, no charging the employer either. No longer.
Get back to the office. Great Idea! To many take advantage of WFH - Peers and others I know taking children to activities, playing golf, running errands etc. Unfortunately some were doing this prior to WFH option. Yes it will hurt their morale because they will have to WORK for that paycheck and no longer take advantage of the system.
Hmmmm seeing disability claims on the RISE.
@lwz - please don't bash all people who WFH. Our group was dedicated and always available. Now we're forced into offices where we deal with no one. Yes, there were probably some who took advantage of it & I've been on calls with screaming children & someone said "mute the child please" and they did. Shame on whoever decided this no more telecommute policy, morale is bad enough now, this will do nothing to improve it. I will bet only 10% of all these folks forced back actually "collaborate" and I mean WORK, not sit and drink coffee all day. It's all BS to get rid of folks who will not conform to the new dictatorship. It should be on an individual case basis as to whether one can WFH. If your work has been up to par, what difference does it really make.
Message from Jeff McElfresh
To: U.S. ATO management employees
As I addressed in December's townhall, we continue to operate in a highly competitive environment, facing both the opportunity and change associated with technology disruption and evolving customer expectations. While we advance our business toward the future amid these forces, the reality is our business remains under persistent pressure. AT&T Communications is not the same company it was a year ago and it won't be a year from now.
To win in this new world, we must continue to lower costs and keep getting faster, leaner, and more agile. This includes reductions in our organization, and others across the company, which will begin later this month and take place over several months.
The desire to be faster, leaner and more agile is also driving decisions regarding where it makes the most sense for employees to be located. It's critical for us to bring employees together to increase the pace of innovation and further develop the right skills in a more open, flexible, and efficient work environment. Therefore, our collaboration zones and hub cities become even more integral.
The truth is we've been saying this organization needs to get leaner, faster and more agile since 2014. We said we would be a different type of company by 2020. But this doesn't change the fact that these are extremely hard decisions, and no leader makes them without first carefully weighing alternatives.
I recognize this is difficult news with limited details, and the timing for something like this is never right. However, I wanted you to be aware of these developments. During this time of transition, we will keep you informed as developments occur.
In addition, please note the communication on extending the 2018 interest rates for calculating pension lump sumps. Eligible employees who leave by March 31 and elect to receive a pension lump sum by April 1, 2019 get the benefit of the 2018 interest rates, which yield a higher lump sum amount than the higher 2019 interest rates. We're reminding those who are eligible, so they can consider the opportunity to take advantage of this one-time-only extension.
Jeff McElfresh
President - AT&T Technology & Operations
@MEA - totally agree - we were often interrupted by screaming babies in the background on many calls - and the offenders are all those we know who just recently had a baby if not abusing the WFH policy - it was extremely interruptive - not to mention, it was obvious they weren't even working - and the kids issue also made it hard for them to answer questions on the call!! Furthermore, we have had ppl who decided to take it upon themselves to work weekly (alternating weeks) in a different city - really? How did that get approved? And trust me, these ppl have the vendors do their work for them behind the scene! It's a mess. I am the first to welcome WFH, but too bad these bad apples ruined it for everyone. And I also want to add - we've had ppl also on the team working "remotely" when in fact they were shuttling kids around to their activities - and not even working. The background was so loud, their participation and the call turned into a total waste of time. Not to mention, WFH also allowed them to apparently bake cookies "all day"...for the teams...etc. It's disgusting - so yeah, i agree with your final remark "hope you saved."
I work from home 5 days a week and won’t get touched. Too bad, I Can’t stand it here.
No colaboration zone here in my area, a drop in location that you can only use 3 days per week, can't have a full size monitor or keyboard unles s you bring it in and take it home. The chairs all are worn out.
Lets see...moms don't work, guys don't work and old people don't work. Whats left, managers, sure that makes sense.
My dog has a better understanding of the world than you do.
Can you post the text of announcement?
mgmt is doing this on purpose, trying to make all of the moms working from home that take care of their kids, or the guy looking at p--n all day, or the old fart who is barely hanging on uncomfortable. they want you to leave, as the amount you have to offer doesn't equal the pay and benefits you receive. you know its true. hope you saved....
Its a dumb thing to do. 1) it contributes to pullution and congestion. Isn’t ATT the “green” company? 2) it alinenates good employees who will quit.
On the other hand if enough of #2 happens it saves them salary and they dont have to pay severance. So it may be a “brilliant” idea.
What is the difference between a collaboration zone and a hub city?
If you VPN more the 5 days a month, you will be at risk. Regardless of location. For example, you are in Middletown and you VPN everyday to avoid traffic... Even though you are assigned to a collaboration center, you are at risk because of your VPN activity.
Perhaps if everyone worked in a major hub city in the best coloration zone in that city all would be fine.
The dumbest thing they can do is eliminate telecommuting and force people to come in to the office, just too stupid for words. They want to operate as if it is 1957.
They may look at how many times you have gone to the office and develop a threshold and cut those under the line, who knows.
Does this mean if you telecommute or there is no colaborasion zone near you you are toast?
Not just remote workers, it says directly in the second paragraph that org reductions will begin later this month and take place over the following several months.