#employeeengagement

What’s your favorite place to vacation? Your favorite island? Your favorite beach?

If you could go anywhere right now, where would you go?

Think about this.

Most companies, when they see something causing unnecessary stress or friction for employees, try to fix it. Even small things. Shorter commutes, more flexibility, better alignment. It’s basic common sense because it improves morale and productivity.

Here it feels like the exact opposite.

Every decision somehow lands on the option that creates the most friction. The most inconvenience. The most disruption to people’s lives.

Live 10 miles from one office? Doesn’t matter. You’re required to drive 50 miles to another one.
Can do your job perfectly from home? Irrelevant. Be physically present anyway.
Teams are distributed across the country? Still sit in an office on Teams calls.

At some point it stops feeling accidental. It starts to feel like pain is being chosen on purpose.

And then leadership turns around and asks why there’s no culture. Why people aren’t going above the bare minimum anymore. Why morale is gone.

Morale didn’t just disappear. It was worn down decision by decision, policy by policy, until people stopped believing anything would actually improve.

Then you hear “there’s no loyalty anymore” while at the same time wondering why no one shows up to town halls, no one engages, no one cares.

It’s not confusing.

People don’t disengage for no reason. They disengage when they feel ignored, when feedback goes nowhere, and when every decision makes their day-to-day worse.

And yet somehow the expectation is that people should accept all of this, have bad policy shoved down their throats, and then turn around and be grateful for it. After surveys where honest feedback was ignored or worse, scolded.

That’s not just disconnected. It’s delusional.

This didn’t become a bottom-tier culture overnight. It got there because of decisions like this. Because of policies like this.

Culture and morale aren’t things you can slap on a PowerPoint and speak into existence. They’re built by listening, adjusting, and actually giving people a reason to care.

Right now, that reason is gone.

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Lots good comments here but leaders may not see them. So put your feedback in annual employees survey. It is anonymous and official.

Maybe it’s because I’m just new-ish to Verizon but reading this article is the first I’ve heard of some of these talent initiatives…? Culture OS? Transparent career growth? Personalized development? Making it sound it seem like we’re some A-list people developer employer.

Am I just living under a rock or is this BS?

Look at the faces in the crowd of the Employee Culture recap video and tell me that Business Leadership still believes the koolaid they’re peddling sounds delicious to the employees. What a joke. No clue

Our department has lost many members over last month, how are we supposed to handle the remaining workload effectively? Leadership in this organization doesn’t care about the people just the outcomes that they deliver for them to go to LinkedIn and post about. The culture has become so demoralizing that most of us no longer have the appetite to keep working without saying something.

Top 3 answers

Not as good of a worker as everyone thinks.

Very lazy and don’t like change in daily routine, but still wanna get paid.

It gets me out of the house, and wife says I need to have a job of sorts.

Anything you pick tells one loads about you and your lifestyle and future intent.

hike percentage
RSU refreshers

Energized — or at least pretending to be — by the first global People Team town hall of 2026, the leadership proudly announced it was “hosted live from 240G.” What they didn’t mention was that 240G looked like the cafeteria equivalent of a pep rally held for a team with a losing record: rows of empty chairs, a few confused junior staffers clutching branded notebooks, and a camera crew desperately angling shots to make the room look less… vacant.

The official recap described it as “electric.”
The broken elevator nearby disagreed.

A handful of interns were strategically scattered across the room like decorative houseplants, nodding enthusiastically on cue. Their job was simple: create the illusion of engagement, clap when leadership paused and avoid asking any questions that might accidentally require honesty or Non-Disclosure Agreements.

Then came the fireside chat — minus the fire, the warmth, or the chat. Leadership spoke passionately about “leading with empathy,” which was bold considering empathy hasn’t been spotted anywhere near the Executive Committee or People Team since the last time someone accidentally turned on their camera during a reorg meeting.

And here’s the part that truly captured the spirit of the event:

Even the universally likable Jose Minaya, or the company’s designated empathizer James LeGrand, or Eliza — our glitchy, ever‑smiling Employee of the Year — couldn’t generate a single watt of real or AI‑curated warmth in that room.
Not even a flicker.
Not even a screensaver‑level glow.

Still, the script marched on.

“Trust and empathy aren’t soft skills,” the speaker declared to the echoing cafeteria.
Correct — they’re missing skills.

The narrative continued:
“We must 'lean in' as one team.”
A curious statement, given that half the team was offshored, a quarter was interviewing elsewhere, and the remaining quarter was refreshing this website forum like it was a stock ticker.

The part about “keeping the human experience at the center of everything we do” landed especially well with the three employees still awake. Nothing says “human experience” like a mandatory town hall about empathy delivered by leaders who haven’t made eye contact with an employee since the last compensation cycle.

But the finale was the real masterpiece:
“Grateful for the dialogue, the challenge, and the continued partnership as we build what’s next — together.”

'Together.'
A beautiful word.
Almost poetic.
Especially when spoken in a room where the chairs outnumbered the humans 12 to 1.

In the end, the event achieved something remarkable:
It was the symbolism:
A leadership team preaching trust and empathy to an empty room — the perfect metaphor for a culture where the words are loud, the actions are quiet, and the audience has already left — truly and metaphorically.

Hey, here’s an idea! How about we stop giving the pinnacle award to the same people year after year?! This is a massive expense for the company just to send the same people on a weeklong vacation every year.. and it’s terrible for morale. Why are they not checking the reports for previous years to see who has already received this? At the very least they should have a five-year waiting period before they could be nominated again… but to send them just about every single year is very frustrating, incredibly unfair, and lazy on the part of senior leadership responsible for selecting the pinnacle winners.

The U.S. version of the 2026 Employee Engagement Survey will have two questions:

1. Why the heck are you still working here? Please leave.

2. What else can we do to you and your peers, in order to get you dummies to quit? We'll try anything!

The questions should read

1. How many times have you thought about quitting? 976 times.
2. Would you hire your boss, if you were the boss? If not? Why? If so, why?
3. What improvements can the company make?
4. Do you approve of our spending? Why? Or why not?
5. Who is your least favorite person in your department?
6. Is your pay acceptable? If not, prove it.
7. If you could be in any position, which position and why?
8. Do you actually enjoy your job? If yes, why? If no, why?
9. Is your job up with the times?
10. Do you feel micromanaged? On a scale from 1-10, how micromanaged do you feel?

The end.

After riding out the usual industry cycles, one thing that keeps standing out is how the "We Lead" behaviors aren't just words on a slide deck. they actually shape how things get done day to day.

Even during last year's necessary adjustments, you could see it in action: leaders at every level stepping up with clear direction, owning outcomes, and keeping teams focused on what matters most. No panic, no mixed messages .. just steady, confident guidance that helped everyone stay aligned and move forward. It's the kind of strong leadership culture that turns tough moments into proof that the system works.
What's been especially noticeable since then is how things have sharpened and improved. The focus feels even tighter, collaboration is smoother, and there's a renewed energy around delivering results. Teams are moving faster with clearer priorities, and that consistent "We Lead" mindset: taking initiative, holding ourselves accountable, and supporting one another has really taken root in the day-to-day. It creates this quiet confidence and sense of shared purpose that makes the work feel more purposeful than ever.

Definitely one of the biggest reasons the Chevron culture feels special and worth staying for. Curious if others see the "We Lead" principles showing up the same way, especially in how the organization has come through stronger on the other side.

Feels like forever since we had to fill out that useless piece of tripe. If Dan ki-led it, then he’s accomplished one win, at least

There is a fundamental disconnect between Dan’s stated ambition around AI-led transformation and the behavior being driven by current leadership.

Leaders are not just failing to prioritize upskilling—they are actively deprioritizing and, in many cases, dismissing learning initiatives as non-essential.
Immediate operational demands are consistently positioned above capability building, effectively preventing employees from investing in AI and future-ready skills.

I want to provide this feedback. Where can I provide that?

Any idea if ERP will be offered again?

We're all in agreement to only work 4/5 days a week and only put forth 80% effort right? for those who havent quiet quit already please do so and stop taking this job seriously. stop slacking ppl, stop scheduling meetings, just ktlo because that is exactly what kkr and elt are doing.

Last day yo vote on the union ratification. Hopefully all goes well.

DXC promotes a poor performance culture.
If you do a great job there is no benefit to you. That then encourages the person to either leave or wind down their performance.
The poor performer only has to avoid a poor 3 rating. Just do enough... They will never leave.
You are left with a pool of poor performers..

A thread to discuss the DP town hall and observations:

Is it even worth filling it out? Executive Mgmt doesn’t care.

How are folks in the woodlands?

Denver?

Calgary?

Ever sat in a meeting where someone declares that your company is “growth-hacking” and “working at the intersection of cross-collateralization and blue-sky thinking” and called bullsh-t? Turns out you were right.

A new study out of Cornell University published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences found workers most excited and impressed by corporate speak may be the least equipped to make effective, practical business decisions, and it can leave companies with dysfunctional leaders.

New study finds that employees impressed by corporate speak may be least equipped to make effective decisions

So exciting!!! Will we learn Maurice’s favorite Cookie flavor? Action hero? Thoughts on the upcoming World Cup?

What will he read to us today?

Nike Leadership (2020 → 2024) from Publicly Available Reporting

• Women (Leadership): +7.6%

• Men (Leadership): −5.5%

• U.S. Racial/Ethnic Minority (Leadership): +17.2%

• White (Leadership): −7.0%

Is Powerflex only place like this or its across whole ISG or Dell?

In recent weeks its like AI and nothing else matters.. each meeting each demo each talk is always AI.. half of people dont even know what to do.. so they ask AI, then send AI responses to other in slack/jira. slop times.

I love when folks on demo are more focused to say how windsurf or other LLM tool help them or did all VS why and what they actually did.

Its like AI psychosis.

Curious if others have seen low RTO compliance percentages explicitly referenced in their performance reviews and whether it impacted ratings. It feels like RTO adherence should be managed separately and not evaluated alongside tangible performance output.

Who else is here in March 2026 reviewing the posts?

The newest CHRO’s Post-it wisdom says:

When we stop trying to be everywhere, we finally give our leaders the space to be innovative and quick. Speed doesn't come from more eyes on a project; it comes from fewer, more decisive ones.

Yet - we are drowning amidst all the things that have to get done - with a crippled team who does not know anything because the experts are gone. And she comes up with JOMO.

In what world she is living?

SMH

This only applies to the Maryland offices because I have no clue what’s happening at other locations. I’ve been informed that they are tracking badging in Owings Mills and “collecting the data for who comes in their 2 days a week and who doesn’t”, at least for tech. I know most associates are in 4 days a week, especially at HP, but does anyone think they’ll mandate tech come in 4 days a week this year?

Serious question: What advice would you give to a very capable employee who isn’t one of the anointed ones (not in a leadership development program and not part of a good old boy network and who spends their time getting work done and has no patience for schmoozing) but who decides they want to tough it out at Verizon. Is it a hopeless situation?

Can we discuss the peculiar behavior of people in the office? What’s the deal with this numb, personalityless, smart-a-s, arrogant new type of behavior? I find many people in the office absolutely cringe-worthy. While some are quite normal, a significant number are simply bizarre. It’s like observing a child with Asperger’s syndrome in the office. Have people lost their personalities? If you can sit at a desk and make snarky comments while appearing completely serious about them, yet make no effort to connect with your coworkers, what exactly are you doing in the office? It seems like these individuals could be outsourced in a heartbeat, as we clearly don’t require their interpersonal, softer skills or collaboration. Is everyone so risk-averse that they can’t exhibit a bit of common sense? I may not be an outgoing personality and I tend to keep to myself most of the time, but for the love of all that’s holy, there’s something seriously wrong with you if you can go to a place with a thousand other people, say nothing to anyone, sit at your desk for eight hours, only getting up to use the restroom or have lunch. No one even smiles in the hallway anymore.

WFH and hybrid aren’t perks anymore. They’re the standard. Across industries, companies figured out that flexibility drives better output, better retention, and better talent. The only places still clinging to strict five-day mandates are the ones falling behind.

Forcing people back five days a week doesn’t create culture. It doesn’t create collaboration. It creates resentment. And when you measure badge swipes instead of results, you get exactly what you’re asking for — people doing the minimum required to check the box.

Pair that with a compensation model where effort barely moves the needle, and the incentive is obvious. Stop pushing. Stop caring. Just show up.

That’s how you lose your best people without even realizing it. They don’t argue. They just leave.

You don’t build the future of a company by ignoring the market, ignoring your workforce, and doubling down on a model everyone else has already moved past.

Does anyone have any updates to this?

Mandatory now in your training!! . But they can not tell who you are, but know if you have completed it and the data it returns..