Thread regarding Bank of America layoffs

I VPN even when at work just to mess with the report #s. I don't even remote to work. Just want to know if MGMT brings it up.

June 1st is here (Friday) and I am in the office when I would normally work from home. Other areas of the Bank have not been told what we have about VPN time so I guess we were lied to. It’s all good. My resume is up to date and I’ve already applied for a job outside of BOA. In the mean time I will be following the Office Space mantra and doing just enough work that I don’t get fired. I am now hoping a layoff coincides with a new job so I can double dip. Goodbye morale.

Response to OP: "The reason given was that there was abuse of VPN time. Apparently this has been in the works for a while but they pulled VPN reports and some people it looked like were never logging out and/or when in an office with the Bank network available were still using VPN." This makes no sense. The people doing this should have been given specific feedback to knock it off, come back in office full time or hit the road. Seems like somebody took their eye off the VPN ball. In our area, the reports are pulled and addressed monthly -- and specific feedback is given to abusers. The solution to cut everyone off seems ridiculous. This is the same thing that happened in many cases with My Work People were not performing or slacking off -- but yet were not pulled out of the program. I seriously don't get this.

There is so much abuse with the MyWork program! I also know someone in CA who started a business at home on BAC time. And I know in CA you have employees who log off VPN at 2pm when their East Coast bosses leave... and they juct check email on their phone for the rest of the day while they are out playing. I think its more than a "few" abusers. In my experience, the vast majority of people on the MyWork program used it as personal time or as a substitution for day care. I can't tell you how many calls I got on where children were crying and playing in the background. And it was always the MyWork employees who were't responsive... they were never at their desks! So tired of the "oh, my computer was down" excuse when people were out running errands instead of working.

@Ta6g9i9-2xxn I agree and the abusers were many. I knew a guy who actually started his own business from home while BAC paid for his time as well. Those situations were not uncommon and it shows how little awareness managers have of what should be getting done or they just don't care as long as they're not impacted.

@Ta6g9i9-2jkj other banks allow WFH as well such as Barclays, TD and PNC that I know of and I am sure there are more. The whole BAC VPN monitoring thing has been in place since at least 2007 and I remember the concern being over people who had a dedicated workspace but were primarily WFH without enrolling in MyWork which made sense since corporate real estate was tight and there were not enough desks for people who were actually coming in the office every day. Over the years it has become weaponized to be used for the ever-changing whims of the execs and weak justification for elimination of resources.

Yes we will all need to adjust. But to answer op question, I have worked as a contractor for 2 other banks and they offered work from home on occasion. My manager and her directs all worked from home on fridays. If we needed another day for a reason it was fine. Even as a contractor they allowed us this nice benefit. Other folks with different managers worked from home up to 3-4 times per week. Too bad the bunch of abusers here had to ruin it for everyone. Btw I work in Wilmington de.

OP again answering questions and more clarity. The reason given was that there was abuse of VPN time. Apparently this has been in the works for a while but they pulled VPN reports and some people it looked like were never logging out and/or when in an office with the Bank network available were still using VPN.

The June 1st date came from my Boss’s boss to give us time to adjust and make any necessary arrangements.

The flexibility is still there. If someone has to leave work to go get kids off the bus or a doctors appt then finish the day on VPN that is OK. What they don’t want is us managing to 72 hours a month with specific days WFH scheduled. I doubt a day here or there will hurt anyone as long as their manager is OK with it. Snow days for example. Once again rules may differ across LOBs, who knows. There will most likely be abusers still that get it taken away from us for good.

As far as I know we are the only bank in our industry that allows ANY work from home time. Please correct me if that is not the case. Our culture is changing and we must adapt or move on. That is if you don’t get laid off first.

Not sure if I said this already but this is happening bankwide regardless of LOB. I can’t confirm this for sure that is just what I was told. Please report here if/when you are told

If you’ve never read the book “Who Moved My Cheese” now may be a good time.

OP, when you write that you have until June 1 to start, are you referencing being in the office every day? Presumably?

I’m in marketing and we are expected to stay off the high user vpn report, we still have flexibility but need to make sure we are in the office most of the time. We were not communicated that we had to ask permission to work from home - we are not expected to be micro managed. It is frustrating that marketing is being targeted when other groups we work with can still be in my work and have no vpn monitoring. We still largely are on the phone so I’m not sure what the point of this is. I think flexibility is a key benefit for bac - if that goes away, there’s not much left to keep the good people.

OP, any reason given? What a great way to create an even bigger wedge between my work and non-my work. It is surprising a change like this during the annual employee survey. So many inconsistencies. But with no clear guidelines, rules seem to be randomly created.

OP here. We were just given the news. VPN is not being taken away but the expectation is that we are in the office every day. I am an SVP that reports to a Band 3 and my boss stressed flexibility. Unfortunately boundaries were not given regarding VPN time in case of emergencies . The boss just wants to know when I have to use it. I have a small team and will be telling them ASAP. Those on my team that are my work are safe for now. They said we have until June 1st but I got the impression we are to start this now. Anyone else?

The inconsistency of it all is what makes it so hard to swallow with each group making their own rules. What good is working in an office in a hub city if NOone else on your team is there. More chances to volunteer or attend events is the only advantage. So much time spent on conference calls. Half people on the team My work and the other half not. My work is going away. My work when it makes sense. 5,000 people across GTO in My work. If you My work you are the first to go. These are the things being said. What the "truth" is who knows. Have been hearing since 2014 that My work was going away and it is alive and well and still approved for some openings. The leadership teams just look at reports, stack rank their directs and cut staff when they are told to with no real thought other than the bottom line.

In CTO where people run the bank and many folks work different shifts, management told us they were no longer monitoring the vpn report. Instead, they count how many days you swiped you badge in the office. Less than 10 days with a oresence, you have to go explain yourself in front of the Council of Magical Law. Maybe you worked 2 weeks on third shift because of a project and did it from home? Maybe you were on vacation for two weeks. What if it is cold flu season and everyone in your office is a contractor who doesn’t have sick days and brings it to the office. Or maybe you work 60-80 hours a week and do a great job but oops, you couldn’t get in 10 xs a month. You must be a very bad person and laid off. The force is weak in this management son.

For some folks, there is no incentive to come in (except for...maybe having a job to come in for). Managers in different cities, no available parking. The parking deck here has a wait list of 6 months. Someone was shot walking to the open lots a few years ago so I am grateful I got a space. There is no one on my team in my office at all, even when were are a hub city. I go days of not talking to anyone in person. Instead, all my hours are spent on conference calls. With others in exactly the same curcumstances. So I guess I get the opportunity to drive 90 minutes a day round trip to fight for a parking spot, and not speak to a soul in person on my team for days on end, catch germs,and more Yep. Sounds both reasonable and logical, NOT.

And I’m sure someone here will bring up that I might be at risk because I’m the only one here. I am in the main Hubcity where headquarters is. There is more of a chance other people in my team will be cut instead, but never assume anything here. You’ll drive yourself crazy trying to figure it out.

I think it’s just a matter of time when each area under the marketing umbrella becomes aware of this new rule. It’s trickling to different areas now and sometimes just takes time to get it all communicated. Also a heard they were pulling my work AGAIN. They probably are hoping for attrition.

Does anyone know the reason Marketing is pulling the plug on VPN? Someone told me they heard that was coming in her area (also Marketing). Depending on what business people work for, they may as well all be working for different companies. The company has done an extremely poor job of managing all of this. With each area making their own rules, the whole thing is a mess.

We get work from home in JAX

We work from home everyday in Albany NY

Yup we were just now notified of this and it’s immediate. No more work from home fridays.

I’m in marketing and we still have the standard 72 hours. I know of another area in gmca that goes by 16 hours limit each week instead of a monthly target. We were recent told that they are again pulling reports to make sure vpn hours are not over the top per person