#culture

I’ve worked at a lot of places, and I’ve never seen so many highly educated, talented people counting down the years until they can leave.

Spring Campus looks amazing from the outside. Free coffee, modern buildings, walking trails, cafeterias, gyms, collaboration spaces. On paper it feels like a dream workplace.

But sometimes it feels like a white-collar day prison.

You badge in, sit through meetings, update trackers, attend alignment calls, respond to emails, complete training modules, worry about rankings, worry about reorganizations, worry about whether your work will even matter next year, then badge out and repeat the process tomorrow.

The compensation is good, but many people seem exhausted rather than motivated.

The irony is that the campus was built to attract and retain talent, yet some of the most common conversations I hear are:

• “How many years until retirement?”
• “I’m looking externally.”
• “I’m just trying to survive another ranking cycle.”
• “I used to enjoy this job.”

Maybe it’s not just Exxon. Maybe it’s the reality of large corporate America in 2026.

Curious if others feel the same:
Has the modern corporate office become a place where people build careers, or a place where people quietly wait for the next paycheck and eventually their exit?

Our VP stated that RIFs are "rare" during our town hall. We have had 9 (!!!) employees on our team RIFed in the past 24 months plus a Sr. Director disappeared under mysterious circumstances.

They fired two US employees this May and then immediately posted the roles in Colombia. A key talking point from one of the Sr Directors was about how amazing it was that we were hiring! Be sure to recommend your friends!

Not sure how the VP thinks RIFs are rare at Medtronic given that I have never worked anywhere in my career that has had this rate of RIFs. The level of lying and gaslighting from execs is unbelievable.

Also we were told that we are now expected to demonstrate "Joy" going forward.

The ExxonMobil Operations Integrity Management System (OIMS) is a comprehensive framework designed to manage safety, security, health, and environmental risks across the organization, ensuring operational excellence and continuous improvement.

Purpose and Importance
The OIMS framework establishes common expectations for managing the inherent risks associated with ExxonMobil's operations. It emphasizes the importance of Operations Integrity (OI), which encompasses all aspects of the business that can impact personnel safety, process safety, security, health, and environmental performance. The system is integral to ExxonMobil's commitment to conducting business responsibly and sustainably, ensuring that safety and environmental considerations are prioritized in all operations.

Key Components of OIMS
11 Elements of OIMS: The framework consists of 11 key elements that guide the implementation of effective management systems. These elements include:

(1) Management Leadership, Commitment, and Accountability
(2) Risk Assessment and Management
(3) Facilities Design and Construction
(4) Information/Documentation
(5) Personnel and Training
(6) Operations and Maintenance
(7) Management of Change
(8) Third-Party Services
(9) Incident Investigation and Analysis
(10) Community Awareness and Emergency Preparedness
(11) Operations Integrity Assessment and Improvement

Continuous Improvement: OIMS is designed to be a dynamic framework that is periodically updated to reflect new insights and best practices. This includes strengthening expectations related to leadership, environmental performance, and behavior-based safety

Commitment to Safety: ExxonMobil promotes a culture where all employees and contractors are responsible for managing risks and ensuring safety. The framework encourages personal accountability and proactive intervention to prevent incidents, aligning with the company's vision of a workplace where "Nobody Gets Hurt"

Implementation and Evaluation
The application of the OIMS framework is mandatory across all ExxonMobil operations, with a focus on design, construction, and operational phases. Management is responsible for ensuring that systems are in place and effective, with ongoing evaluations to assess compliance with the framework's expectations. This includes internal and external assessments to gauge the effectiveness of the OIMS implementation .

In summary, ExxonMobil's OIMS is a critical component of its operational strategy, aimed at enhancing safety, environmental stewardship, and overall operational integrity through structured management practices and continuous improvement efforts.

This is all public information.

With the exception of Bob Hopkins, our execs effectively get their RSUs or performance rewards, then sell that sh*t as soon as it vests.

Forms indicating an (A) are the acquisition of shares, and in this small sample, the details in the forms shows you it's only ever receiving RSUs, or performance rewards.

The rest and vast majority of the forms are (D) disposal of these shares, and if you read the detail, they are dumping that sh_t as soon as they possibly can. All of the people below are regularly dumping their sh_t. These are not the actions of execs confident in this company. They know this ship is sinking and they're in on the grift.

Skip
https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=0001708062

Goff:
https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=0001560409

Bob H:
https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=25200002114165

Marinaro:
https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=0001984186

Matt Walter:
https://www.sec.gov/edgar/browse/?CIK=0002028475

Do your own research at SEC's Edgar site.

Fun bonus fact: they all have important ownership stakes in MiniMed. Funny that.

How often does headquarters in BP do layoffs? Looking to join company but would like to gauge job security there. And out of curiosity, do you really need to be "highly extroverted" per the culture. Thx in advance.

This company is so behind its time, pushing against goals and KPIs, working with bespoke systems and thinking they are superior.
Exec management tries to make the workforce more efficient while the common Associate has very limited MSFT Office skills (don’t get me started on AI…).
There’s significant pushback against any organizational changes or growth goals while there is a fatalistic approach that we’re all gonna loose our jobs.
Can’t wait to get the f*ck out of this he-l hole

Way to keep us at peak anxiety all the time.

What is the purpose of RTO - just to burn gas, tires, increase car insurance, increase carbon emissions, stuck in traffic - and again on Teams call...

The slavery mind set of the CXO suite is mind blowing

Gas at $5.50/Gallon + Doubled Car Insurance Rate + Kids, Family and the 2+ hours traffic, but a bare minimum salary..this is majority of us 60,000 employees vs. Gunjan and CXO suite making Millions a year,Luxury travel to and fro paid and expesned to the company. They are the to set the RTO policy but do not have to worry or comply it, its the 90% of us who have to bear the brunt.

OUR (60,000 employees) Necessity is the mother of this invention (leave powered locked laptops at work in secret places), given no other company demands or measures Talent and Performance by the Timestamps and not actual delivery or management of aspects. STUPID and DuB GOONjan and CXO suite

I’ve never seen a CEO so completely disconnected and miss the message employees were trying to send.

Thousands of employees were saying the same thing- morale is declining, flexibility matters, talent is leaving, and five-day RTO is making a bad situation worse.

His response? Employees were told they’re wrong, he’s not, and there “might be a disconnect between you and your current professional choice.”

What really stood out was the characterization of the feedback as “more outliers than we’d like.” … Outliers?

When it’s most employees saying the same thing, it isn’t outliers at all. It’s the majority. The same concerns were being raised across all organizations, teams, and locations. That’s not an “outlier” problem. That’s a leadership problem.

The email read like someone who was genuinely shocked by the feedback…. But maybe that’s the real issue. When you’re surrounded by direct reports blowing smoke up your a$$ telling you everything is working, everyone is aligned, and the policy is a grand success, eventually you start believing it.

Then one day reality shows up in a survey and your mind is blown.

What made the email so damaging wasn’t just the double down on policy. It was the authoritarian mindset behind it.

Instead of asking why most employees felt the same way, he seemed determined to explain why employees were wrong instead of him. Instead of adapting, he doubled down. Instead of listening, he lectured. Instead of taking responsibility, he shifted the blame back onto employees.

That’s not leadership.

Leadership is about recognizing when a decision isn’t producing the intended results and having the humility to change course. What we’ve seen instead is a stubborn refusal to acknowledge reality and accept responsibility, no matter how much evidence piles up.

Since Stankey became CEO, the stock has delivered a negative (-25%) price return. Morale has deteriorated to all time lows. Talent continues to leave. Outside rankings of culture, morale, talent, future readiness place AT&T at the bottom of its peer group and near the broader field bottom as well.

Yet somehow employees are still treated as the problem.

At some point, the board has to ask a simple question- if the strategy is working, where are the results?

Employees are paying the price for decisions they didn’t make- longer commutes, less flexibility, less take home pay, lower morale, increased uncertainty, and the departure of talented peers.

The company doesn’t need more presence reports, more mandates, or another angry manifesto explaining why employees are wrong and to blame for the company’s failures. It needs a leader who listens, adapts, and can admit when something isn’t working.

The most dangerous thing a CEO can do is become so convinced of his own correctness that he stops hearing what everyone else is telling him, and that’s where we are. That’s the disconnect employees have been talking about all along.

Wow. Have you seen this? I just saw it. They’re talking about it all over—everyone is talking about it. Dan Schulman, the guy from Verizon. Great company, by the way, very big, very powerful, though frankly, the signal in Mar-a-Lago could be better. We’re looking into that.

But Dan—fake news Dan—he’s writing love poems. Can you believe it? Love poems! To his wife! And let me tell you, I’ve seen the poems. Total disaster. Weak. No vocabulary. Sad! He tells his wife her eyes have "low latency." Incredible. If I told Melania she had low latency, she’d lock me out of the penthouse. Total catastrophe. Dan is out there dropping calls in the bedroom. He’s got zero bars, folks. Absolutely zero bars. Sad!

Do you have the impression that your current managers in this company are psycopath ?

Seeing a bunch of complaints on Slack about SpaceX and Elon lately.

Be real for a second: If you had to put your own money into just one company right now — SpaceX or Nike — which are you actually choosing?

People keep saying to report problems, but report them where? To who? All I've seen so far is that speaking up gets twisted back on the employee. Every single time. So why bother?

It is very depressing as there are some very good people going because they asked to. Why can’t the organization organize themselves to get rid of dead wood instaesd of not creating an environment where talent and good people feel comfortable.

We were one of the most respected American companies. Now we're nothing but a joke. What a sad reality.

I'm not happy here. But I also know my friends at other companies have it worse. So I'm staying for now. But I'm curious about people who are ready to leave. What would it take? What would be the final straw that makes you quit?

I'll say it plainly. This is a blind company without any real direction. If you think I'm wrong, go ahead and prove it.

I hate what's being done to it. I used to be proud working here. Not anymore.

One day I think we've got what it takes to climb back up. We've still got plenty of smart people and good products. But then I look at how far we've fallen and I wonder if we'll ever get that back. So I'm asking all of you. Do you think we'll find our way up again, or are those days behind us for good?

The only FAST thing that is happening is that as a result of their direction they are wasting company resources on initiatives with no return. In fact not only do they cost us money the things and processes they building attempting to build are making things worse.

As a fresh grad. when I joined CDC design Verification (DV) , team used to have a great, merit based culture where technical decision were driven by logic and data.
Recently, a leadership change at the top for DV ruined this dynamic. The top lead lacks a technical verif. background, makes unilateral decisions, and pushes aggressive deadlines just for his upper visibility and no techincal contribution for him.
We went from a collaborative team to a strict "no questions asked" environment.
Feeling highly demotivated and could sense the same with my peers and leads.
need advise - is it worth speaking about this to the lead? is this kind of one man pushing his view normal across Qualcomm or is it a major red flag and i should start looking outside QCOM?

We finally got approval for a role on the team. How am I going to pick when I sit in on interviews? The worst candidate. With the mandate that someone has to get does not meet I’m not going to help select the best candidate that might knock me into that category for future layoffs. So for people trying to transfer to a new role internally be aware that people are actively hiring fall guys.wouldn’t it be great if we could actually hire the best person so we could do good work?

https://presentofcoding.substack.com/p/please-switch-to-python

Stata can’t. SAS can’t. SPSS can’t. MATLAB’s answer is “call Python from MATLAB.”

even where these tools have some capability, it requires calling Python, or expensive licenses, or both.

I’ve rarely met anyone who learned Python or R after switching from Stata or SAS and said, “I wish I were still working in those.”

Probably the only way out of this mess is to make FOSS illegal or legally cripple its usage within the country and, if possible, around the globe. There are movements afoot…

This used to be a place people wanted to work. Good projects, good reputation, and good future. But now it has turned into a dead end for so many people. Nobody expects to grow or learn or advance here anymore. When did we turn into that kind of place?

Anyone have any thoughts? The guy that "was" in charge of all the cores and is now a segment head is always missing in action. How are we supposed to fix the leakage problems if SVPs are not held accountable? We all have our head buried in the sand thinking problems will go away. Such a mess.

this is so interesting

https://briefglance.com/articles/wells-fargo-exec-told-to-be-less-visible-discrimination-suit-alleges

EH built a huge ticker out front counting down the World Cup and you couldn’t manage to make your shoes different colors than the competitors? It’s literally a sea of pink cleats, impossible to set apart the brands. Nike in a nutshell, who is to blame? Should the color team be accountable? The head of global football? Where is the ticker to determine how many more days we have to watch this embarrassment?

What’s the deal with this new practice of screening candidates with an AI cultural fit exam? What do they even ask on that thing?

I've watched at least five people leave my team over the last few months. I don't blame them, but the company makes no effort to hire new people, so those of us who stay end up doing the work of two or three people. Which means that deadlines that used to be reasonable are now impossible. If this keeps going, I'll be the next one out.

My LinkedIn feed has been filled with pictures and comments about how great the Oracle kickoff was in Vegas this week. Followed by posts and repost of great economic news of a record year of sales.

Am I the only one who finds it offensive that in the face of tens of thousands of people laid off since August of 2025 that our former coworkers and executives celebrated what appears to have been an excellent year while those impacted by the layoff, got to watch both big spending in Vegas and outstanding numbers.

I understand they made a big deal out of the fact that partners footed the bill for the most part for SKO, but the optics are terrible and probably not 100% true.

My last comment would be that for rank-and-file employees that do not benefit the same way that say the new CFO , the C-Suite or other senior executives do reposting that material is hilarious. Don’t think you’re anything more than a name on a spreadsheet.

What it really is is just a stark reminder that these types of companies just keep moving. Meanwhile terrible severance packages versus Meta and longtime employees trying to figure out what happened and why they’re on the outside.

The fact that they went forward after all that restructuring with the week that they did says it all!!!

Is this a new position? And is “Rajiv” H-1B or legit?

While belk is hanging on by a thread, your trusty CEO Don Hendricks is scooping up and selling multi-million dollar luxury real estate in the exclusive enclave of Martha’s Vineyard. Light years away from his dilapidated stores and underpaid, overworked employees.

Senior management have absolutely no idea how to run a tech company.
They repeatedly try the only playbook they have, which is to cut costs by laying people off whilst paying consultants millions to do their jobs, which seems to be simply latching on to the latest hot topic and hoping that fixes everything.
Here's an idea, why not try actually investing in the businesses you own rather than trying to bleed them dry.
Anyone else notice the number of good senior people jumping ship recently?
How's future forward working for you Stephanie?

Just the bottom line. We're treated as items and the company as a carcass.

Are there more clinics closing in California? I called my local clinic and they said they were not taking new patients.

Optum Care? More like Optum Don't Care.

Personally, Cameron bringing in McKinsey will be his legacy and what he will be remembered for.

Someone got into his ear and he took some bad decisions.

Things feel different. Way more now since the WP closure.

Something feels very odd with WP folks. The upper management level seems fake and really trying to cover up something.

It’s just bad times right now.

Maybe someone with ba--s that reads this site can walk into Cameron’s office and bring him to reality of how things are. Well, I can at least pray!

The Oracle Doormat Principle is a term coined by former employees to describe a psychological state where individuals remain loyal to Oracle Corporation despite experiencing mistreatment, toxic work environments, or career stagnation.

Definition: It is likened to Stockholm Syndrome, where employees become emotionally attached to an organization that has abused them, often internalizing the company culture as a "family."
Causes: The principle suggests that prolonged exposure leads to low self-esteem, fear of change, and a paralysis to act in one's best interest, causing workers to accept pay cuts, benefit reductions, and abusive management without protest.
Criticism: Critics argue this behavior stems from low self-worth and prevents personal career growth, with some advising that if a work environment is bad, it rarely improves and employees should leave as soon as possible.
Context: The term gained traction on layoff discussion forums, often appearing alongside complaints about dry promotions (more workload for no financial upgrade) and perceived corporate cultures of fear.

People ask me where they should go to work, and I always tell them to go to work for whom they admire the most. It’s crazy to take little in-between jobs just because they look good on your resume. That’s like saving s-x for old age. Do what you love and work for whom you admire the most, and you’ve given yourself the best chance in life you can.