GM is calling for white-collar employees to return to office (RTO) following the implementation of a flexible at-home “Work Appropriately” strategy put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the worker response to the latest RTO mandate has been tepid at best, with many workers criticizing the move, and more broadly, GM leadership.
Many GM workers are taking to social media to vent their frustrations regarding the new RTO mandate, with multiple threads on the General Motors subreddit calling out the RTO mandate as unfair, ineffective, and hypocritical.
“Not only is the action of mandating three days a week off-base, the way it was delivered was really deplorable,” writes one user. “Right before the holidays… so we can all stress about how drastically our work lives are going to change in a short amount of time while we’re with our families.” The user goes on to say that General Motors is leaving its employees to scramble to find child care and transportation options over the holidays.
“I still want to see data proving that we are more effective in office than home,” writes another user.
“I’ve been here over a decade and I’ve never see morale this low,” writes another.
“Work appropriately, as long as it’s my way,” writes yet another.
Among the criticisms is the change to an open office format and shared working spaces, which are said to negatively impact camaraderie and make people feel more like a number than an employee. Available work space also seems to be in decline, while employees are facing a compressed workload as well.
Salaried employees are also pointing to a meager 3.5-percent pay increase that fails to even cover inflation, as compared to major gains realized by UAW members following a six-week strike. Employees also point to GM’s recent decision to enact a $10 billion stock buyback program, all while reducing its budget by $2 billion and terminating employees.
Back in October of 2022, GM sent out a company-wide request asking for a return to in-person work starting January 30th, 2023, but so far, employees have been reluctant to fulfill the request. To drive the point home, GM CEO Mary Barra recently sent out a company-wide email saying that workers would be required to RTO at least three times a week by the start of the 2024 calendar year.
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Posting a market share of nearly 16 percent.
Unlikely any units have been delivered to customers yet.
Identical rating across the range.
Luckily, no other motorists are caught up in the mayhem.
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Worked 36 years for GM.(1965-2001) My wife stayed home to raise our 3 boys. Lucky was I to be able to provide for my family with one salary. She was the reason why I worked so many hours, climbing from level 3 to level 7, in my carreer with GM without fear of what was happening at home. SHE WAS THERE. Now the next generation will only be able to live, sleep with a damned cellular phone and communicate with others with a damned computer. When I retired, the thing that I missed the most was the contact with my fellows workers and the dealership personnel. Even today, I still phoned my former dealers to keep in touch. GO BACK TO THE OFFICE.
Gonna try to say this nicely....You've been outta the game too long. The working world is WILDLY different than it was when you retired, even if we exclude Covid. The working world and corporate office experience you have in your memory doesn't exist anymore.
I'm really glad your career worked for you and your family, truly. But what worked for you won't necessarily work for everyone today. Just keep this in mind.
GM Authority's comments section is full of people who retired before smartphones were even a thing but are convinced they know how the workplace operates now. You won't find a lot of agreement here.
perhaps blue collar workers should've got the 4-6 university degrees white collars got so they wouldn't have to "suffer" as you imply, doing the labor they're capable of.
Technology now allows engineers to work remotely effectively. Forcing them to go back is going backwards against the technology development. For those engineers who may do everything through internet, force them to go back to sit in office only demoralize them, have them to waste time in traffic and spend more on gas for nothing.