The Ole Corporate Blame Game

02 Sep The Ole Corporate Blame Game

–https://fortune.com/2022/09/01/washington-post-ceo-fred-ryan-blames-remote-work-poor-performance/

Jeez. *rubs temples like Chef Ramsay in a bad restaurant*

Have you figured it out yet? Whatever economic 💩 storm be a’brewing, it’s YOUR fault.

Somehow, it’s not the fault of:

• The state
• Crony capitalism
• Greedy corporations
• Unscrupulous business practices
• Junk loans

Noooooo way. It’s YOUR fault, peons and plebs.

“The Washington Post is on track to lose money this year after a business slowdown. This could be explained by declining readership in the post-Trump era, an industrywide move away from print journalism (and the ad sales therein), or the company’s lack of a diversified portfolio, the New York Times reported. But the paper’s publisher and CEO, Fred Ryan, has a different theory: Not enough workers are coming into the office. Ryan, whom Jeff Bezos hand-selected to run the paper when he purchased it in 2013, has been narrowly focused on productivity and office attendance—and the relationship between the two—since the pandemic hit, sources told the Times. He’s been monitoring how many staff members come into the downtown D.C. office, even requesting records for video calls to measure productivity, finding that they were rarely held on Fridays. He’s reportedly incensed that some workers aren’t abiding by the company’s three-days-per-week in-office policy, sources say, telling members of his leadership team there’s not enough productivity among ‘numerous low performers’ in the newsroom ‘who needed to be managed out.'” (emphasis mine)
–https://fortune.com/2022/09/01/washington-post-ceo-fred-ryan-blames-remote-work-poor-performance/

Well doesn’t that sound familiar? Where else have we heard that same tune lately . . .

–https://nypost.com/2022/07/01/mark-zuckerberg-meta-wants-to-oust-workers-who-shouldnt-be-here/

If we lose money, it’s your fault. You worked remotely and had too much freedom, so now you either RTO or GTFO. I’ve been predicting this scenario for months and now: we here.

Unfortunately, it seems to me that the working class will shoulder “the blame” no matter what. At some point, the fat cats will probably also come back to us, hat in hand, and ask for a bailout of some kind. Will it be crypto, Wall Street, the banks, the housing market? I dunno, but I would not at all be surprised to see some other “too big to fail” scenario play out yet again.
–https://medium.com/@sara_causey/that-wage-data-freaked-everyone-out-7e1ded693461

I’ve also warned you repeatedly that some companies would do the Lord Elon approach by ripping the band-aid off while others would do it slowly and perhaps more painfully. And now: we here.

“Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs will lift all COVID protocols that have kept some workers away as it pushes all employees to return to the office five days a week after Labor Day, The Post has learned.

In a memo sent Tuesday obtained by The Post, Goldman Sachs told workers it will no longer require vaccines, COVID testing or masks — a signal it won’t accept excuses for employees who claimed COVID as a reason for working from home.

‘There is significantly less risk of severe illness,’ the memo stated. ‘In line with [the CDC’s] updated protocols, if you have not been coming in to the office, please speak with your manager to ensure that you understand and adhere to your division’s current return to office expectations.’

The official memo comes just days before the bank expects all employees to return to its offices five days a week, sources add.

‘This is another way of Goldman Sachs saying, “School’s in session and we want you in person” after Labor Day,’ Wells Fargo bank analyst Mike Mayo told The Post. ‘Goldman is the ultimate customer-facing firm and it’s tough to face customers remotely.'”
–https://nypost.com/2022/08/30/goldman-sachs-lifts-covid-protocols-urges-workers-back-to-office/

Doesn’t it seem a little coincidental that after Corpo America and mayors of major cities started whining about wanting people back to “cross-pollinate” that the cough-cough restrictions were lifted? Hmm . . .  Gosh, you know, it’s almost like there is crony capitalism collusion between these huge companies and the state. But I’m sure that’s not the case.

If WFH is important to you, this is not the time to bury your head in the sand and assume your company would just neevvveerrr demand RTO or give you a pay cut in order to stay remote.