Now that it’s been proven that this demand for the workers to report to collaboration zones has been put in place to make the decision of cutting WFH employees seem more logical I Would really like to know will this rule stay in place after the layoffs are finished, or do people that weren’t hit go back to WFH like they used to?
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AT&T is really confused about WFH. Going back to 2012 when they heavily sanctioned the practice, they said it has lots of benefits (see https://www.att.com/Common/about_us/files/csr_2012/worklife_balance.pdf). But maybe they read this 2015 article "New Study Decodes When Working From Home Is Actually Productive" (see https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/working-from-home-productive_us_56045dcce4b08820d91c40f2). But regardless, how can they think cramming knowledge workers, and I mean the smart people in the trenches that actually make the company work - into confined spaces? A typical library has mini-cubicles. It's a waste of employee resources.
The Chicago CZ is a hot mess. Building maintenance is non-existant. Last week the polar vortex brought windchills under -50 and they decided to dial back the thermostat to what must have been 55 or under. People working in their coats and hats and too scared of getting dinged on a VPN log report to stay home or leave, just rediculous. The few times I've ventured to Schaumburg location were a total bust! Broken equipment and every workstation taken with no place to sit. No I cannot effectively do my job if I have to sit at a cafeteria table 5 feet from the loud eating area kitchenette that is open to the whole floor and smells like last week's curried fish and no I will not drive in at 5 in the morning to get a better spot.
Are other CZ like this? If not then I cannot help but fear we are at risk of loosing our CZ status entirely but if all are the same then we are in even bigger trouble because the work environment absolutely stinks -- literally!
Lazzaro .org was told at the end of July 2018 that working from home over 5 times a month is too much (then out of the other side of her mouth she said that they weren’t trying to undo people agreements individuals had with their supervisors). We were advised by our supervisor to just come into the office to be safe. We got a reminder email from Lazzaro in min-December reminding us about the email from July. That’s when I took it seriously. And yes, it’s a pain the the butt. Yes, sometimes I still have to rush home to log back in because of a hot issue. I’m aggravated over all of it. But I’m in the position where I’m a little over three years from modified 75 and it doesn’t benefit my family and retirement plans to leave voluntarily. Therefore I continue to work (and stress out) and say, “Yes, I can do that!” Until a 60 day letter hits my inbox.
The CZ’s and Centers of Excellence are a joke. They are named based on what areas are considered important at the time. I heard somewhere in Virginia or DC was just added. And good for those employees. I saw the building service people on the floor last week here in St. Louis at the Data Center. Same people that put together these fabulous new collaboration areas.
It is more likely that you will see teams being collocated next. So if you are in a CZ, but the majority of your team is elsewhere, you should start looking to join a team local to you. Not sure how you would be a le to network and find info about the local teams of you are WFH.
Anybody else here so sick of the word “collaborate”? It’s becoming like nails on a chalkboard when I hear it now.
For any post divestiture AT&T folks..... Remember when they used to expect you to move to HQ in NJ to show yout devotion to the queen mum before you could get a promotion. And failure to move was a career stopper. Now you wont even be asked about a move, you will just be shown the door.
It does not matter if you are an approved full time teleworker doing a fantastic job. If they decide to cut you because the rest of the group is offshore or in a hub location then your time is up.
The only collaboration in our zone right now is “what are we all going to do for a living?”. Nothing like a shared vulnerability to bring people together. It’s working!
@pbc - “There's a difference your VP giving you specific instructions and claiming that all of ATO has been given the same instruction.”
— I didn’t claim anything, just said I was a Hopkins employee.
“It's pretty sh--ty to accuse and patronize others for doing the bare minimum in their org based on information specific to your organization.”
—- I didn’t accuse or patronize anyone. Just stated what I was told and heard from her.
Maybe you are confusing me with someone else...
I am an approved home based teleworker and until I am told in writing that my agreement has been terminated as that status, I am not going into the office! I will not work on hearsay and fear! If they don’t formally tell me I don’t have to go in and still cut me, then shame on them and they can go f**k themselves!
let's see: concentrate on 'days in collaboration zone' versus 'hours of productivity'. went into my cz yesterday: spent most of the day 'engaging' but only 20 minutes was on actual projects we work on. got in late due to insane traffic and had to leave early due to insane traffic to work at night to make up for the hours lost commuting. met several other people in the same boat: one with a 6 hour commute. absolutely crazy.
@yyu: There's a difference your VP giving you specific instructions and claiming that all of ATO has been given the same instruction. The Flex Worker policy itself does not define any minimum number of in-office days for a FOW and only requires your immediate supervisor to informally approve your arrangement. For some, this can equate to full-time teleworking without breaking any policies. For the Hudson organization, you have the benefit of being provided an actual metric to evaluate yourself against. For a large part of ATO, there was no minimum defined. It's pretty sh--ty to accuse and patronize others for doing the bare minimum in their org based on information specific to your organization.
@cgr - McElfresh org employee here, under Hopkins. Yes, we were told, or rather ‘admonished’ by Kate herself in a town hall that FOW was a minimum of 3 days per week in the office. Minimum. However she was looking for those who can ‘get behind’ the idea of collaboration. So don’t be surprised if you end up on the list in April if you are only doing the minimum. As professionals, I doubt there will be much more in the way of ‘demanding’ you return to the office.
Still waiting for that big collaboration to hit. After 5 months, still haven't had one face to face meeting, my team is spread out across the country & they have not have collaborated either. This is the biggest waste of time & money ever. Our group was all WFH, never once did we miss a deadline, we were available 24/7 to support our system and users. Not anymore.
@pru: Quit spreading lies. The "McElfresh org" ATO has not received any org-wide instruction to report to the office "at least 2 days a week." Many are already bringing their "a$$ to work as told" because they haven't officially been told anything at all.
I think alot of that will be at the manager discretion. I know a few that are FOW's who don't have a zone anywhere close to them, and they retained their jobs. Not sure what the upper management has in store for all this collaboration zone c-ap. I worked in a group of 10 who were all FOW's and we collaborated more hours of the day than any other team. If we wern't on a call we continually talked in a Q room and our management up thru AVP was fine with it.
Collaboration zones will be renamed "engagement zones" after they decide what is an approved zone.
The folks that operate in support roles outside of the normal 8-5 M-F work week are the ones that get hit the most. Those FOW's you see just a few times a week spent their time working after hours and weekends to help keep the IT systems running efficiently. Release activities, system deployments, and compliance/maintenance activities all take place during nights and weekends. Forcing them to be in the office every day in addition to asking them to support nights and weekends will not help.
I'm a TW and support an extended range of hours with collaboration of groups across multiple time zones. A lot of the work I do is split between normal office hours and nights/weekends. If I'm forced back into an office 4-5 days a week that night/weekend support will quickly go away.
one of the previous comments explains the problem with the whole collaboration thingy. Its all about socializing and gossip but nothing to do with innovation or productivity. Who wants to talk about work if you are already forced to be there It became more important to be in the office instead of how productive or efficient you are. #1 a&d goals is now: I was in the office instead of I saved the company $$ amount of money or had this impact in the company. Instead of focusing on the problems the company is concentrating on useless behavior that only hinders its productivity and functionality
And the FOWs (flexible office workers) who you never see???? Some come in a few hours and then leave for the day. And some have teams that they should collaborate with or st least say hi when they they are in.
Sure would have been nice to give everyone a chance to move first during this past round instead of just getting rid of them purely based on location!
We've been told 80% in the office. Also, they aren't done with this hub/collab thing yet. We were told that the study of hubs and CZ's will be complete in March and you'll be told where your approved office is located. You'll have until June to relocate (this part is just rumor)
Well if you don't want to be on the chopping list for the next round in April 2019, you better bring your a$$ to work as told.
I am told a circular is going out next week invalidating all previous WFH agreements.
Each individual VPs have their own ideas on the number of days in office.
Alapati org has been instructed for 4 days a week, McElfresh org at least 2 days a week and so on.