The RTO mandate has shattered the last faith I had in this organization. Those in the NYC area feel punished, while those outside the city are uncertain about their future with the organization. Even in the recent town hall, our CHRO would not commit to remote workers being safe in their roles in the long term. That scares me. It's also striking that there does not appear to be a plan in place for how to fit everyone in the office. Here's a simple question that has gone unanswered- do we have enough desk space for all employees?
Even before the RTO mandate, faith in the organization was crumbling. We have lost sight of our mission. Decisions are made unilaterally. SLT thinks it knows best but does not take accountability for its decisions. When mistakes are made, we don't attempt to fix the problem or reverse course. Instead, we double down, waste money, and often times, attack the messenger. Depending on the department you are in, there is very little psychological safety.
For some vital projects, the exact opposite is true. There is no direction or leadership on vital projects. Department leaders do not communicate with one another. They are only interested in their own goals, at the expense of the organization as a whole. We need communication. We need workflows. We need empowered employees.
RTO will not fix this leadership vacuum. It won't impact many of our struggling leaders. It will not fix our communication problems. We will still be communicating virtually. Teams will still be 90% remote. If SLT is the problem, how many SLT members are commuting in daily? Instead, this RTO decision is yet another SLT choice that will only punish those of us carrying out the mission.