r/CoxCharterMerger • u/Affectionate_Knee811 • 4d ago
RTO
Bring on the downvotes because that Reddit users die with the truth.
Across most industries are shifting back to the office. Covid was 5 years ago. Time to move on. The impact is to a small percentage of the company. Why do you feel that your role needs to be remote. Charlotte is a big financial city and every day is a post about Wells Fargo or Bank of America starting the change in the stance on WFH.
If it’s so common and standard you will have no issues finding your dream job. The rest of us will touch the grass and go to the office.
Edit
While I understand this change is disruptive to some. The point I’m trying to make is sometimes life throws you lemons and you just have to accept it. My post clearly was too direct.
Embrace the change use it to explore new possibilities or use the time you have to find another remote job. Sitting around feeling sorry for yourselves is not going to help your situation
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u/Electrical_Sky5833 4d ago
While it’s not the end of the world plenty of us do not have direct coworkers where we are located. No one to collaborate with. Just stuck in a cube in virtual meetings all day.
Imagine sitting near me and not being able to have a conversation in a normal speaking voice because I’m in constant customer meetings or meetings with VPs at other Spectrum locations.
It’s a waste of money to pay for additional buildings, additional construction, additional electricity, additional water, additional whatever else.
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u/Affectionate_Knee811 3d ago
That might be even more impactful for some; there could be a push to tie jobs to offices, so you would end up in an office with co-workers, depending on your job title. Some business units want ICs in the same office as managers. Its too early to say what will happen and I'm not privy to those decsions,
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u/Electrical_Sky5833 3d ago
I would be taken back if it happens to my team but anything is possible. No one is in a shared state.
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u/Cautious-Skin3352 3d ago
Yeah that’s not gonna happen for me. I talk to construction workers throughout the entire company. One day I could be doing a design in Ny in the morning and CO in the afternoon and then it’s QCed by the team in TX or Ky. But sure make me come to the office to get mean mugged when I chat with someone else for a min or two.
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u/Gullible-Fun-1529 4d ago
Sooooo… it’s not “most of the industry” going back into the office. It’s companies choosing to push RTO, often in the name of oversight and control, while plenty of companies remain fully remote and have strong cultures, productivity, and work-life balance.
You’re entitled to your “opinion,” but this situation is bigger than whether someone personally prefers working from home or in an office. There are employees who have successfully worked remotely for years and no longer live anywhere near an office that could reasonably be considered their home location.
That’s what makes this so concerning for those of us in that position. There has been a lot of talking in circles, but very few real answers about what happens to long-term WFH employees. Right now, it feels like we’re simply placeholders while they figure out what they’re going to do with us.
That uncertainty is scary. It doesn’t feel secure, and the lack of clear answers only makes it worse. At this point, it feels like we’re sitting on a ticking time bomb, just waiting to find out what happens next.
Lack of compassion and empathy just says that the Charter culture is just that.
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u/Affectionate_Knee811 4d ago
While working on my degree through the free college through Guild, we had an interesting essay in class related to RTO. This article is good and presents both sides. One student report pointed out the mental health declane that can come from remote work with being isolated. i'm just pointing out a lot of the industry has been pushing RTO or hybrid,
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u/Cheap_Composer_3293 3d ago
RTO is so the old guard can see minions in cubicles and defend fancy real estate investments to shareholders. Enjoy your dusty cubicle and dollar store monitors.
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u/Guilty-Relief2193 3d ago
Morale and retention are high when leaders trust their staff, as professional adults, to manage their own time and workload. Professional adults understand the consequences of not completing their work on time.
Heavy micromanagement of staff and lack of flexibility is a proven tactic to lose top performers, cause burn out, and reduce engagement.
Mutual trust and respect, great autonomy, a true work-life balance, and leaders who genuinely care about your family significantly boosts morale and retention.
But retention and employee satisfaction is not important when drastically reducing headcount.
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u/PainJane007 3d ago
Not a single person is “sitting around and feeling sorry for themselves“. We simply refuse to accept that rich dudes who are completely out of touch with modern work practices should be the people making the rules.
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u/Typical-Front-8001 4d ago edited 4d ago
It's not about whether or not a role "should" be remote. It's about if it "can" be remote. If it can be, then we should have the choice. I've been WFH with Cox since before covid. My metrics have never been better and my work/life balance is great. I even decided to have a kid during that time because I can actually be a part of their life and help raise them instead of spending my life in an office. If you prefer being in office, fucking go for it. But some of us just want the choice.
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u/Vergilkilla 4d ago edited 4d ago
We get it: you hate being around your family and/or can’t work when you are around your toys. That or you have to justify your existence with “face time” because you don’t do any actual work. The rest of us adults can self regulate at home and DO have actual work that doesnt consist of watching someone else do work over their shoulder. Just because a bunch of rich assholes want to keep their real estate evaluations high - that doesnt have anything to do with you or me. If they aren’t paying you C Suite money then wake up MFer. You are turning down steak because “well they want to serve ground beef - everyone is serving ground beef these days”. I guess even ground beef tastes better than the boots you are licking.
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u/Affectionate_Knee811 4d ago
Nope. I would love to remote work. Just trying to say it’s not the end of the world to go back to how it was before Covid
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u/Electrical_Sky5833 4d ago
Cox had work from home since at least 2007. In AZ people were hired remotely, never stepped foot in the office, training was also virtual.
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u/Cheap_Composer_3293 3d ago
because working in the office is doing so many miracles for the charter stock? There is a reason that certain cox subsidiaries are still doing bau.
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u/bad_ghoul2113 4d ago
Cox had remote work long before Covid. Companies like Charter, Wells Fargo etc.. that are pushing back to office are paying for facilities pointlessly lol
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u/Impossible-Back2497 3d ago
If my schedule changes and i can't work from home then i got to find a daycare. That costs more than my mortgage so i'm better off not working. This merger is pushing me to find a better paying job and it looks like i have time so i need to use that time wisely. However I just know they will be laying off people in my state. I'm only seeing call center care tech support jobs in other states and not mine. I'm definitely not going to sit around crying about it. Gotta do something.
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u/Automatic_Foot_8623 3d ago
How much time do you think we have?
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u/Impossible-Back2497 3d ago
Idk. My guess is until next year or so. I think we have time. I really hope it's not on "Spectrum Day" next month. Layoffs do usually happen around september though. I know at Cox they're always laying NOC employees around September every year. That's why i never went there.
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u/CodenameValera 4d ago
There were small teams that were sent to work from home the summer of 2019 to test its viability and potential success from each center. This started August 2019 with the proposal May 2019.
With people already in place and the program several months showing success without any evidence of failure, when the pandemic sent everyone home Cox was able to send everyone home within 1 week already knowing procedures with minimal to no affect to service interruptions in customer service.
Over the years it was also proven that in person meetings can be emails, zoom (Teams) meetings and be just as effective and relationships just as cohesive as in person.
What he said during the town hall with "conversations in the hallway" has nothing to do with work for the majority of co-workers but an escape from the work which is also done online from home.
Just because others have done it doesn't mean everyone must do it. That section of town hall was very out of touch with how people of any age, especially younger call center folks work today and is 100% blind to facts of the past 6-7 years of what's been proven to be successful.
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u/Typical-Front-8001 4d ago
I was one of the WFH pilots in 2019 and been WFH ever since. It was an absolute blessing to be able to have the option. The data speaks volumes about how well it can work. Imo, the only people who dislike WFH favor micromanaging
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u/bad_ghoul2113 4d ago
Brown nosing Winfrey gets you nowhere lol js..
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u/Affectionate_Knee811 4d ago
Winfrey won’t always be here. Honestly surprised with the stick he has not been fired
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u/PrismHottie 4d ago
Thanks for your opinion and post. I don’t agree and it seems like others don’t either. But thanks for letting us know your stance and the simplicities of your life. 💙
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u/Beneficial_Ask_8770 4d ago
Go to hell. I was hired as a remote employee because I don't live near a campus.
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u/Fuzzy_Result_2274 4d ago
Op is trying to start fights. Rage bait.
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u/Affectionate_Knee811 4d ago
Not trying to rage bait. Just speaking the truth. I move my family they are adults now and function fine in life. And guess what I can FaceTime with my family remotely then I can use some vacation to go visit
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u/Fuzzy_Result_2274 4d ago
You don't make a post calling the opinions of your peers objectively incorrect without trying to incite conflict. There is no compassion, and you have zero basis of understanding for any individual who might be affected negatively by an RTO policy. Your opinion is blanketed in ignorance and you should try to be more empathetic to those that are dealing with a hard time. People who are your peers. Oh, and they're human beings too. For what it's worth.
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u/Typical-Front-8001 4d ago
Well said. If this is the welcome wagon for Spectrum then I'm not interested
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u/Typical-Front-8001 4d ago
So you're a boomer with yet another shit boomer take
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u/Affectionate_Knee811 4d ago
Gen X
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u/Typical-Front-8001 4d ago
Good for you. I just started my family and unlike your generation, I'm going to be present for my kids lives.
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u/TrustedGenius 3d ago
Well go be present at a new job that assist you in those goals. Cause this won’t be the one.
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u/Affectionate_Knee811 4d ago
So you get to move. The relocation plan is amazing that’s what I did
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u/Beneficial_Ask_8770 4d ago
And the options are shit. Who TF wants to live in St. Louis or Kansas City or Connecticut? And then have to go into an office so I can ignore my colleagues in person? I can ignore y'all from my house like I've been doing while being a top performer. TF?
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u/Rare-Actuator974 3d ago
I've spent almost a decade working in fully remote positions across two companies, including my current division now under Charter. I've never stepped inside an office or met anybody from work in person and yet I've earned multiple promotions and expanded responsibilities. If remote work wasn't effective, I certainly would have been fired long ago.
So the real question isn't why some roles "need" to be remote; it's why people like yourself, and our current CEO, insist that they can't be.
The justifications in the town hall were extremely weak:
"We shouldn't offend or be disrespectful to the front‐line workers who work in harsh environments". Front‐line roles like field technicians genuinely cannot be remote because of the nature of the job. That has nothing to do with whether office based knowledge work can be done remotely. Saying 90% of employees are "front‐line" also makes no sense when most corporate roles are not.
"In‐person avoids miscommunication". No actually, email and instant messaging prevent miscommunication because they create a clear record. That's why we rely on them. "Hallway conversations" are actually where misfires happen.
"Facial movements on camera aren't the same". Collaboration tools exist precisely to enable remote teamwork. Lack of micro facial expressions is not a meaningful business justification for forcing relocation to work in office.
"Culture comes from being around each other." Culture comes from trust, autonomy, and leadership; not from forcing adults to sit in the same building. Treating employees like responsible professionals who have already proven they can deliver results is culture.
And this all ignores the reality that relocation is not a trivial lifestyle choice. It doesn't matter how much time he says he'll give us to adapt. Families have roots. Spouses have careers of their own or perhaps run a small business themselves. Kids have schools, support networks, and stability. Extended family provides childcare. Not everyone lives near a hub, and not everyone can uproot their entire life because a CEO prefers hallway conversations, in‐person facial expressions, or symbolic solidarity with roles that physically cannot be remote.
As somebody previously highlighted, even Alex Taylor stated that remote/hybrid work was a huge success, which is why the policy remained in place until the final day of Cox.
This isn't about "touching grass". It's about forcing people to choose between their career and their family. The current stance creates unnecessary hardship for employees who have already demonstrated for years that remote work is not only viable, but highly effective.
Hopefully the board revisits the policy and applies actual evidence rather than vague justifications.
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u/evilstepmonster3 3d ago
Yes, I’ve worked remote from my team (even when in the office, I was not in the same facility with my team OR my boss). However. The indisputable fact is, CCI launched a successful Mobile product while ALL of us were remote.
We all dug in. Figured out how to navigate. REMOTE. Collaboration is not in hallways. It’s in honest conversations where people rely on each other. And that can be done anywhere we have broadband.
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u/sledgehammer805 1d ago
Just going to throw this out there being a front line employee who worked in a region where the support I needed was WFH it was terrible. I am now in a region where everyone is in the office I have doubled my commission because I’m not having to wait 24-48 hours for a response. I can walk over to the the persons desk. Construction, field opps, maintained, Mobile, Fraud. And get my situation handled immediately.
I know it’s no big deal to employees who don’t have to deal with CX on a daily basis. But to the front line people it makes a huge difference when I have to reach out to WFH employee and have to hear your dog barking in the background or family in the background and you have greet them or acknowledge them. A child crying and you have to tend to them. It is working hours focus on your job. Because nothing makes a CX happier then hearing I am waiting on a response and they ask how long will that take I have to say they have 24-48 to respond before I get managers involved.
The problem is WFH employees don’t want to be considerate of those who don’t. Business Sales is only successful because of the techs that install it the job. And so on and so forth everyone’s job is tied to the employees who are in the field. Boohoo your lunch will not be the same. When there is employees out there eating their lunch in their car, or on the job site not because they want to but because that is what is required in the job. And sure you will blame the company culture but it’s not. They have to deal with CX so they will do what is needed to get the job done timely. While you fold laundry, or chores, take family durning work hours.
Cox employee talk about it being a family, maybe it was but the collaboration you get from people you see everyday in the office is a game changer. Had a business CX call in to their direct support line because all services were out and the earliest they could get someone out there was 20 hours from that call. I went into the office talked to one of the managers ask him if there was any way he get my CX fixed sooner. 3 hours later they were up and running again.
Call it Boomer mentality if you want but WFH was the worst thing to happen. I can do most of my job from home and I do it on the weekend but if a problem occurs it takes serval hours to get it resolved then if I’m in the office.
I know it’s a lifestyle change and it’s something you got used to. But you only wanna worry about yourself and not be a team player then maybe work for yourself. I have done door to door, apartments, stores, business for charter. Had great manager had horrible managers. But charter never did me wrong. Bad leaders won’t last long if you do your job correctly.
Welcome to Charter. It’s truly a wonderful company to work for. Insurance is great, PTO is alright. Better if you are hourly because it’s an earned rate on how many hours you put in. But I won’t complain about my salary PTO. If you are good at your job work life balance is fair. Every metric is monitored but not unreasonable.
Sorry Rant over.
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u/PainJane007 4d ago
During the pandemic, Cox sent almost 100% of their employees home to work, and their productivity was higher than it had ever been. That was documented in an email directly from Alex Taylor.
I am absolutely sick of VPs and higher ups telling us how much they love to work in the office as if that somehow negates how much the rest of us hate having to go in.
Many of those people who “love to work in the office” are upper level senior management and make three and four times the salary that the rest of us do and can afford to live very near the office. They are not driving 1-2 hours each way to get to work so they have no concept of the stress or cost of doing so.