Thread regarding Bank of America layoffs

Bullying others to get ahead is definitely the dominant means that people are using now. It's quite suitable to the culture of fear that is being created. Professionalism and competence are thwarted when someone can just shout at you for no valid reason, without any misgivings or remorse.

I have found in 40 years at corporate America, those managers who are insecure themselves manage this way. If you don't know how to do the job, bully someone else. The false assumption is that they look better when de-humanizing others.

One other observation is that good techies do not make good people managers, in general. There are rare exceptions.

Mid-senior manager here in North Texas. most of the management staff I know, myself included, are trying to do the right thing by our employees. The thing is, a lot of (maybe most) are being purposefully left out of the loop on the many changes occurring. Just like our staff, we are afraid for ourselves and for those that report to us. And, like most everybody else, we are seeing colleagues that work hard and do a great job let go, re-orged out, or effectively demoted. The suspicion is that many of the changes - not all, but many - are in an effort to get us to quit. I think we can all agree that there is some low hanging fruit that can be plucked, but unfortunately, those individuals seem to stick around. Whether it is because they are paid less than more highly skilled or effective employees demand is up for debate, but I don't think it's out of the question. The focus on cost cutting has gotten excessive. There are efficiencies to capture, but unfortunately, I think the bank is going to long-term face serious brain drain. Those individuals most experienced and with the most desired skills can and will leave based on a culture of uncertainty, fear, and frustration. After years of stagnant salary increases, laughable bonuses, and fear, why would the most valued employees, who typically have greater mobility anyway, stay? Eventually all that will be left are those that can't find employment elsewhere or those that are too lazy to try. Rest assured original poster, some of us are doing our best to save our own jobs as well as yours and make things great, but it's certainly a difficult and uphill battle.

There are still some decent managers left. Mine's not a fear type. The issue is this is coming from the top. Brian doesn't want people. On more than one occasion, a senior manager (or even Brian himself) have voiced "If you don't like this, you can leave". That's the corporate motto now. At least I've heard that enough times from senior management. Work from home, HB2, whatever ... Leave if you don't like it.

I also heard rumblings that the bank was leaned on when it comes to hiring foreign workers. You may see some of the lower level guys from offshore get replaced.

So putting all that together, the bank would love to dump more of us for cheaper foreign folks. But it isn't politically acceptable right now. My guess you'll see fewer folks getting packages but management wants you miserable (or most of us anyway). That way they save on severance and reduce staff.