this post was submitted on 21 Feb 2024
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It sounds like Dell is just run by assholes. I don't believe for a second that Dell doesn't know where all their offices are and their plan for each of them. They seem to have picked the worst possible way to demand RTO that reveals how weak their management is. All RTO demands are short sighted and lose you the better employees that have options, but doing it the way they are causes far more employee morale damage and will hurt the company longer than if they had a clear plan for what RTO was.
Not to mention, anytime I see something neboulous about AI to solve problems without specifics I roll my eyes because it is quite obviously some idea thought up by someone who is caught in hype without any understanding of the utility of it. It reeks of some exec telling their subordinates, "I hear this new AI thing can solve all our problems, make it happen and don't come back until you have it implemented."
RTO is coming from Michael Dell, a millionaire who is out-of-touch with the actual people this policy is going to hurt.
They closed a ton during covid. Many offices that remain open are touchdown only without enough space to accommodate the staff in the region.
The RTO push came from the very top. Most directors cannot justify or defend it, but their job is to pass it along. Upper management doesn't give a shit about their employees.
This RTO is going to effect senior employees who were hired to be local to customers then became remote. Forcing them to quit or retire means you can replace them with cheaper employees, outsource their job, or simply push their work onto the remaining staff.
Management has no idea what to do with AI except buzzwords and promises for the gleefully ignorant customers asking for AI.
Agreed, it's definitely coming from the top! I didn't realize they had closed a ton of the other offices during the pandemic, but I suppose it's not surprising either. It also seemed like a lot of remote hiring happened during the pandemic?
Most of the people I know personally affected are in that category (remotely hired or relocated), and most of those people are women. Small sample size with lots of bias, but I've been pretty upset the whole situation. It definitely feels/looks like a way to quietly push a bunch of folks out... whether overtly or as a "bonus" for upper management, it has the same unfortunate effect.
I guess it is what it is, but what it is ain't good. It feels good to commiserate though, thank you stranger!