“They're just stressing people to come up with lists of who to fire if they don't quit first’: Company forces employees back to an unworkable office with missing equipment, non-functional workspaces, and zero effort to support them

Author image for Etai Eshet
Etai Eshet • Editor
Mar 10, 2025 10:00 AM EDT

After years of record-breaking success achieved by working from home, employees of a very successful company were herded back to the office this week under the banner of "face-to-face collaboration" because, apparently, the one thing holding humanity back is the inability to bond over broken office equipment and shared misery. What management failed to mention was that the office they were returning to wasn't exactly functional—or even recognizable.  

Imagine convincing someone they should ditch their cozy couch and TV for a night at the theater, only to arrive and find there's no stage, no seats, and the "show" is just two people arguing in the dark. Or insisting someone dine at a fancy restaurant instead of grabbing takeout, only to walk in and discover the place has no tables, no staff, and the only food available is a beat-up box of donuts with a half-eaten one inside. Now you understand the vibe of this RTO rollout. 

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  • Employees weren’t greeted with fanfare, welcome-back speeches, or even basic functionality. Instead, managers staked their claim to random cubicle clusters like pirates fighting over island treasure. Desks were barren, monitors scavenged from unoccupied workstations, and cables were non-existent—unless you felt like digging through a community box of tangled wires, broken dreams, and what appeared to be a phone charger from 2006. Meanwhile, the single trash can on the floor overflowed by noon, standing proudly as the official mascot of workplace decay.  

  • "Here's how forced RTO went this week."

    "People who didn't come in are being threatened with being fired”
    via CasarsaGuru

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • I work at a fortune 50 company. We've been working from home since Co id and every quarter since, profits have broke the records of pre co id years. But this week was mandatory RTO for everyone so we could "collaborate" face to face instead of via teams.
    via Kerensky97
  • There was no fanfare, no pizza parties, no welcome back speeches.
    via Kerensky97
  • We didn't have seating arrangements. Our managers went in friday and laid claim to a section of the cubicle floor for our team. No official organization, just teams fighting over real estate to sit together.
    via Kerensky97

  • Good to have you back

    Cheezburger Image 10477843456
    via dogayusufdokdok

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • Not all desks had monitors, so monitors were "sourced" from other empty desks on the floor. Whether they will be sourced back by their previous owners when we're off remains to be seen.
    via Kerensky97
  • We brought in our computers but there were no cables keyboards or mice. We had to bring our own from home.
    via Kerensky97
  • Some people didn't have cables (didn't want to part with personal home cables) but there was a box of random cables in the lobby for the community to rifle through to find what they need.
    via Kerensky97
  • None of the amenities from pre- CO ID were brought back. The onsite gym will not come back. There is a full service kitchen and cafeteria that sits empty, they told us it will NOT be returning. No snack machines.
    via Kerensky97

  • Welcome back to the office

    Cheezburger Image 10477843200
    via Cesar Okada

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • There is one garbage can on the whole floor. It was overflowing by the end of the day with takeout containers and not emptied the next morning.
    via Kerensky97
  • Onsite IT was disbanded during co id, we are told they aren't coming back.
    via Kerensky97
  • The ethernet ports at the cubicles don't work. We're told to use wireless, but most of our desktops don't have wireless adapters.
    via Kerensky97
  • People who moved to other states during WFH are being told to go into the most local office even when their team is in another state. One IT team member was forced into a sales office that didn't have seating for them. They cleared out a broom closet for them to sit in.
    via Kerensky97
  • Role call was taken on the second day and people who didn't come in are being threatened with being fired.
    via Kerensky97
  • The office is in a terrible condition compared to the working conditions that existed pre co id. It's not a "Return to Normal" it's a "Go sit in a previously abandoned building." And it's clear that upper
    via Kerensky97
  • management put zero effort into getting things ready to welcome us back. And the only solid answers if it will be returning to the way things were is either silence or "no that office bennefit won't be returning."
    via Kerensky97
  • It's pretty clear they're just stressing people to come up with lists of who to fire if they don't quit first. Team morale is so low hardly any work is being done. All workers actively hate the company and spend all day talking about how bad it is.
    via Kerensky97
  • If you were under any suspicion that your employer cares about you. Remember they definitely do not. They're ped workers gained so much power during co id when workers learned their worth and value of true work life balance.
    via Kerensky97
  • What we're seeing in the last couple months is their correction to get that power over us back. Don't let them. If you're not in desperate need of that paycheck; fight back.
    via Kerensky97
  • waynemr You should "collaborate face-to-face" to organize union and then strike.
    via waynemr
  • Tiny_Basket_9063 Please do not spend a DIME on this beyond gas for the commute. Part of RTO is city mayors begging CEOs to bring workers back to save local businesses y'all spend money at. They're even
    via Tiny_Basket_9063
  • helping with lease deals with the building owners so it doesn't cost them sh. Pack every lunch, wash & wear the same few outfits until they have holes. F them.
    via Tiny_Basket_9063
  • chatondedanger I refuse to buy anything including gas around my office during work hours. If they brought us in to help Boise the local economy, they are going to have to do it without my coffee/lunch/gas money.
    via chatondedanger
  • smarterthanyoda I never got why companies make things miserable to pressure employees to quit. Don't they realize the first ones to leave are also the best workers? You end up with a team of low performers.
    via smarterthanyoda

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Tags

management boss workplace-stories hr toxic-workplace manager bosses work PTO managers supervisor workplace Horrible Bosses work-life balance
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