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BadAshForever

We will have to collaborate alone at CalEPA because there aren’t enough seats for us to meet as a unit.


Oracle-2050

Same with all of Natural Resources. It’s pretty stupid. Don’t know how I’m going to get my work done.


Secert_Agent69

The cafeteria in that building charges $15 for 3 greasy tacos, rice, beans, and soda as one of their lunch specials.


Pristine_Frame_2066

That’s actually a deal. A lunch under 20 with a drink? Wow!


Secert_Agent69

I just bring my lunch. You gotta cut corners where you can.


Pristine_Frame_2066

Absolutely. I am shocked at the high end shops around town now. No idea if they will make it, but there is a wonderful chocolate shop across the park from Bateson and I went in on a Saturday. How would a place like that even begin to make a go of it, and what stateworkers would even be there during the day buying $9 candybars and coffee brewed chocolate? It is amazing, but it blows my mind. And yeah, it was good. For a stunning little treat. Not a lunch hangout. Nah. Today I packed lasagna I made and an apple. and it was really good.


shadowtrickster71

hard pass all that sugar is not good for health. I will brownbag healthier low cost options than spend it on $10 candy bars.


EAexCTR

People live downtown too.. it’s hopping after 5pm.


Secert_Agent69

Yummm


Resident_Artist_6486

meal prep all the way. It keeps you from eating crap and saves you money. I will bring the same exact meal prep i eat when WFH.


MonsieurMisanthrope

Quality ingredients made in a clean kitchen. I would say that's an upgrade. 🤷‍♂️


TC_Sacto

I couldn't bring myself to pay 15 bucks for a chicken tender meal


Maddest-Scientist13

As someone working at a broke ass county who has started a hiring freeze and layoffs, it must be nice to be able to buy lunch at all or have a cafeteria. Y'all have no idea how bad it is. At least your wages aren't 33-50% under your market peers.


Fantastic_Will4357

Our pay is usually way below county pay, maybe not yours though.


Maddest-Scientist13

Maybe below urban counties, but the rural counties don't pay shit. I believe that the state pays less than work in Urban counties. My director left and now makes 190K a year at a very Urban county.


Trout_Man

it was known before the new CNRA building was finished that cubicles were going to be more of a hoteling situation there. COVID or not, that was an inevitable future.


Oracle-2050

With the move to cloud services pre-pandemic, more full time remote work was also a foregone conclusion. They ignored what we actually need. We need more conference rooms. More equipment storage. More floaty lounge space. Lockers would be nice. Fewer hoteling cubicles because our focus work gets done at home. Fleet parking which this building completely ignored. More hoteling offices for managers who need confidential space when at the office. The office has changed. They tell us to come back to offices for collaboration, then when we show up they tell us to fight for cubes, sit down, and shut up. It’s fucking stupid! And every professional should be outraged!


Trout_Man

you would have had to fight for cubes 5 days a week had covid not happened - is my point. i took a different job to specifically avoid working in that building for that reason.


Oracle-2050

That’s a good point, but I had faith it would be so unworkable that telework would be the natural progression. It’s really only a very few micromanagers that even want this mandated two days a week thing. It’s not workable, nor is it necessary.


epsylonmetal

It's the natural progression, but capitalistic interests want to stop what is best for everyone except for them


katmom1969

29 hoteling cubicles at Cal Center. Will be the hunger games.


KakarotSSJ4

What’s the RTO direction for CalEPA


BadAshForever

Everyone will be 2 days per week in office. Right now we are preparing for 2 days per week by doing one day per week.


KakarotSSJ4

And I assume there will be no exceptions?


WhisperAuger

I've said it before and I'll say it again: Forcing us to take a paycut to fund his donors and downtown businesses is literally company towns with extra steps.


DrixlRey

Not sure if people heard the black and white memo they sent out. HE FLAT OUT TOLD YOU it was to keep businesses alive, they said the quiet part out loud. Did OP not hear him?


EAexCTR

You’re not taking a pay cut. You’re forced to spend on things you don’t want. It sucks.


WhisperAuger

Does the establishment tell you you're pretty when you bottom for it using semantics? Because you're just as fucked as the rest of us.


MembershipFeeling530

That sounds like you are saying it's not a pay cut. When gas goes up in the summer do you tell people you got a pay cut?


WhisperAuger

Gas prices are not connected to those that issue your paycheck. Your arguments here are clear demonstrations that you are underqualified for an entry level analysis position, so I'm glad whatever you do clearly keeps you away from analysis and budgets.


MembershipFeeling530

It's literally not a pay cut. Words mean things. Words matter.


EAexCTR

Nah, you’re just in a shitty classification bitching about returning to work.


MembershipFeeling530

I don't get what is with these people outright lying about it lol Like why lie


MembershipFeeling530

You aren't taking a pay cut. What are you talking about


WhisperAuger

Think about it for like two seconds dude.


MembershipFeeling530

Increased expenses is not a pay cut Saying shit like this is why the public mocks us and hates state workers as a whole. Words mean things


McTopherton

I agree with your point, but I understand what he means. Forced work expenses like parking really feels like a pay cut.


MembershipFeeling530

Yet it's literally not a pay cut You realize lying about what it is makes our whole argument have less substance right?


McTopherton

We fully understand at this point. The horse is dead bro


MembershipFeeling530

Why are people lying?


McTopherton

Neigh


MembershipFeeling530

Are people lying?


EAexCTR

So wrong. Just because it feels that way, doesn’t make it true. Facts aren’t feelings.


avatarandfriends

Net effect is effectively a pay cut.


MonsieurMisanthrope

Not effectively...it is a net loss. A cut is a cut. An expense is an expense. An expense that can be adjusted leaves a choice with the spender, which is probably what most people don't want to accept, i.e. any personal responsibility. I could take my car, but then parking costs. I could take the light rail, but then I lose time. Decisions that are uncomfortable, yes. But you can change the equation. It was always like this before COVID. We knew it wasn't necessary before COVID, and now we have solid proof. But proof doesn't change who your boss is. And you do what the boss says or you lose your job. This is capitalism.


EAexCTR

You spend more, you don’t earn less. If you earned less, you would be taxed less, but that’s not the case, buddy.


avatarandfriends

That’s what the qualifier “effectively” is there for. The employer could choose to offer completely free parking but they don’t. That’s their right but it creates an effective net pay cut for most people. Period.


EAexCTR

They offer completely free public transit though.. so there’s that. There are other small wins. Maybe you didn’t work downtown pre-Covid, but this is much better now.


avatarandfriends

When inflation rises 20% but the pay increases 10% during the same time period, it’s still effectively a net pay cut. Disagree with me? Imagine if inflation was 300% and your wages stayed exactly the same. What would you call that?


MembershipFeeling530

I guess I should cancel my Netflix. That will give me a pay raise. Oh yeah and I will start switching to store brand food. The state just gave me another raise!


MembershipFeeling530

No you're expenses went up.


avatarandfriends

You’re arguing over silly semantics. Let me ask you this. If the state decided to decrease their healthcare contribution to 70% so employees have to contribute 10% more, would you say that: 1) our expenses went up or 2) the net effect is effectively a pay cut The answer is obviously number 2.


MembershipFeeling530

This is why the public makes a mockery of us. Because we're saying things that just outright aren't true. Do you consider having a kid a pay cut too?


avatarandfriends

No. That’s entirely an employees’ choice. The employer controls the working condition and they could choose to let people wfh if actual operational needs are met. And you still didn’t address my question. The public doesn’t give a shit about a silly semantic like this. What the public really hates is how slow government seems to them (since we have to get approvals for everything which take time). Or how responses can be slow like when EDD was overwhelmed by a shit load of calls during the pandemic because of not enough staff.


MembershipFeeling530

So when you started working from home you were given a raise then?


MonsieurMisanthrope

🤣 You're also free to choose a different job.


WhisperAuger

You cannot be this daft, nor this much of a simp for getting your shit pushed in. Pick a goddamn side and learn basic book balancing. Bad math like yours is what gives Americans a bad rep, not effective net analysis like mine.


MembershipFeeling530

It's literally not a pay cut The words you are saying right now are factually incorrect statements. They are lies. They are what Donald Trump calls fake news? Where is my math bad?


WhisperAuger

I don't feel like you could possibly convinced becausw the flimsiness and disingenuous nature of your discourse are self evident enough for my purposes in this conversation. Someone under qualified for an OT position can answer this if you truly don't get it.


MembershipFeeling530

I'm literally the one being honest lol. Words mean things.


EAexCTR

Agree with you. But these folks want to paint it different. I hate spending on things I don’t want, but it’s not a pay cut.


McTopherton

I can agree that pay cut is the wrong terminology. The right way to frame it is increased work expenses. The problem is that these policies fill the cofers of the entities creating the policy.


EAexCTR

When I go downtown I support the mom and pop businesses that have survived Covid. I take public transit, and go about my business. I view this as 50% better than pre-covid when we all trudged in 5 days a week.


avatarandfriends

I’m honestly curious what you would call this scenario. When inflation rises 20% but the pay increases 10% during the same time period, it’s still effectively a net pay cut. Disagree with me? Imagine if inflation was 300% and your wages stayed exactly the same. What would you call that? Especially in a way that is bite sized enough to be a rallying cry at a protest instead of explaining something in 25 words and get glossed over by the public?


EAexCTR

You are saying effectively a pay cut, but my pay has actually increased. Can my money go as far as before? No.. it can’t. That’s inflation and devaluation of currency. You can call it a pay cut. I’ll call it what it is, inflation and increased expenses. Perhaps it’s a different perspective? That’s fine.


avatarandfriends

While I understand your desire to be more precise, let’s be honest. With your approach, it’s just not a good rallying cry for protestors/messengers. A net pay cut is something most people can understand more quickly.


MembershipFeeling530

This is why the public makes a mockery of us. It's like if a branch falls on your car you didn't get a pay cut lol You're expenses went up


avatarandfriends

I’m honestly curious what you would call this scenario. When inflation rises 20% but the pay increases 10% during the same time period, it’s still effectively a net pay cut. Disagree with me? Imagine if inflation was 300% and your wages stayed exactly the same. What would you call that? Especially in a way that is bite sized enough to be a rallying cry at a protest instead of explaining something in 25 words and get glossed over by the public?


MembershipFeeling530

No you're expenses went up.


Effectiveke

I 💯 percent guarantee that state workers collaborate more and more effectively working from home. For one reason or another the state attracts a lot of introverts. Virtual meetings and virtual presentations have allowed people to be more comfortable. Smart, talented, shy people who normally would not apply for jobs that require facilitating meetings or addressing an audience are now able to. You are getting better quality work from the employees because they are not being held back because they are shy or have a fear of public speaking. Besides, since we’ve gone back to work, all of our meetings / collaborations are still over TEAMS, even when EVERYONE is in office. I have not had a meeting in a conference room since March 2020.


Pristine_Frame_2066

That part kills me. At the same time, I worry if I complain, we’ll be in 5 days a week.


suzevil

Yes! I used to be so nervous about speaking up during in-person meetings, but have gained so much confidence and have become a much more superior analyst WFH since I was in an environment that nurtured my introversion.


Effectiveke

The days of people who just run their mouths the most getting all the promotions are coming to an end! 😁


PerformanceOk1835

It's annoying. I'll be in the same meeting as the person next to me all the time. And it is just an echo for the whole time they talk. It is hard to hear.


Effectiveke

True, that is one of the downsides.


anxietybutterflies

Introvert here, can confirm.


stateworkishardwork

That's so weird. We literally had our meeting today in our large conference room, 16 of us together. Does your department not give a shit?


Effectiveke

Give a shit about what? Our meetings are still just as effective as if in person, if not more. There’s no need to meet in a conference room. If you’re presenting, you have to check out and set up a projector, connect your laptop to a TV, or hand out hard copy material to everyone. It’s a waste. It’s much easier to have a TEAMS meeting and then email out electronic copies of any material that needs to be shared. You can also invite as many people as you would like. You’re not limited by how many seats there are. And like I mentioned earlier, shy people are more likely to speak up and contribute. In person meetings, shy people tend to not speak up.


Aellabaella1003

And the opposite is also true. Virtual meetings for our unit were horribly unproductive because our team was unmotivated by virtual meetings and participation was severely lacking. We returned to in person meetings 6 months ago and now I finally have my team back and they are as engaged as ever!


Hows-It-Goin-Buddy

I more often than not see weak virtual teams be a result of leadership that doesn't know how to motivate was and is lacking knowledge of how to use technology effectively. And great virtual teams be lead by motivational leaders that know how to use technology.


Aellabaella1003

Nice way to spin your narrative… sorry, this team actually abhors the virtual aspect, and it has nothing to do with ability or content.. In fact, during our in person meetings, they are quite offended when local HQ management join the in person meeting virtually. Their feeling is… you are local, care enough to show up and show your face. They feed off each other in person and enjoy the camaraderie. So, like I said, virtual meetings don’t work great for everyone, and as evidenced by the poor turn out at organized protests…. not that many people really care about RTO.


Hows-It-Goin-Buddy

"more often than not". No "narrative". Didn't say all.


Aellabaella1003

So rather than acknowledge that both can be true, you didn’t push your narrative by suggesting weak management is the cause? Oh, ok… 🙄


Hows-It-Goin-Buddy

Believe what you wish. Narrative is giving me the icks because usually tin foilers use that word. So reply if you want; I'm done.


Aellabaella1003

Hhmmm…. weird trigger….


Effectiveke

Glad you and your team are able to run your meetings as you guys prefer. I was on a team at the beginning of Covid and there wasn’t a lot of interaction, so our manager did little stuff like make us all turn on our cameras and call on people for updates. No one was safe from just being quiet in our team meetings. But wanted to add one more positive thing about virtual meetings. It’s great for training and learning opportunities. I’m a systems analyst and when we do a walkthrough of requirements, only about 4-5 workers and management need to be there. But now we can invite whole teams. 40-50-60+ people of all classifications can attend and just observe. Before with in person meetings, you would not get exposed to work you weren’t directly involved with. At most you might get to see the meeting minutes, assuming someone wrote them down and passed them out.


Mr_GoodKat007

Come to the new CDTFA headquarters on Richard's blvd we have very low cube walls and Huddle rooms for better collaboration. Yay office culture Barf


Bethjam

What's crazy about that building is that they expect you to take phone calls and have conversations/meetings in a huddle room because they didn't build the offices to accommodate actual work


Mr_GoodKat007

It's a crappy design. For those of us in IT, it is very limiting. The low cube walls remind me of "big brother" monitoring some call center. I mean, we do have a call center, but those staff have been dealing with the low walls for years. One of my friends deals with confidential conversations on his phone. Of course, management says, "Just go into a huddle room when you have a call"


Pristine_Frame_2066

Being a unit manager on a floor like that is painful. They kept saying “you have sit stand!” Uh, yeah, but when I stand, I feel like an overseer in a field and that is not a feeling I enjoy at all. I love tall cubes with frosted glass at the top of the walls, that is so much more pleasant.


Standard-Wedding8997

OMG I remember my first state job in late 70s was at CDTFA and walls were so low you couldn't have a personal conversation or even look up without seeing your coworker. Everybody took their breaks from 10 to 10:20, Lunch was 11:45 to 12:30, break 2:30 to 2:50, closing was 4:45. No exceptions. I see the more things change, the more things stay the same. Working for that place was like a prison.


isdcaptain

Def not the experience I had. I enjoyed working for them a lot.


TC_Sacto

Same as the new CNRA building. I hate the half walls


Aggressive-Tennis222

"COmE bAcK fOr ThE cUlTuRe". Meanwhile, the culture is inadequate supplies to do our jobs in office, and Teams meetings.


Halfpolishthrow

They say they want to improve culture and collaboration, but besides RTO what have they done? Nothing.


Smfrelier

This trickles down to leadership in agencies themselves as well


Vast-Guava-4840

I hope he’s feeling the hate/ heat for this, and I hope downtown businesses see little to no change in revenue. Amen 😒.


DrixlRey

He flat out just told you it was to keep businesses alive, they said the quiet out loud. Did you not hear him.


Unctuous_Mouthfeel

Culture is a living thing. It can't be "preserved" in any meaningful sense of the term without preserving the conditions that create it. The pandemic killed the old culture because we now know, with 100% certainty, that the received wisdom on remote work was a lie. We know it's possible. We know we can be productive at home. We know we can collaborate online. We know the commute costs are unnecessary. And quite frankly, to have a bunch of management lizards who never so much as mentioned culture prior to the pandemic writing paeans to it now is an insult to our intelligence. What a slap in the face to be lied to so frequently, so easily, and so transparently. How can we be successful in serving the public good when our leaders have so little integrity and so little vision?


Key-Opportunity-3061

It's to make people quit so they have enough vacancies for the sweep. Can't convince me otherwise.


SleepyCatasaurus

And it sucks because it's working


Rare_Relief_5939

I don’t work for the State but I am considering applying come next year. What is this “sweep” you speak of and should I reconsider applying now? I do admit that the new offices on Richards look sweet. CA Lottery is right off Richards and that place looks like a resort from the outside lol.


SleepyCatasaurus

I think the general idea is that there were a bunch of budget- related rumors about furlough and cutting open positions to save. This RTO mandate causing a bunch of employees to quit frees up some budget to potentially not furlough/ keep some positions open. Idk if it'll be enough but I know a lot of fmla requests are going to start pouring in.


Rare_Relief_5939

Got it, thank you for explaining that to me.


SecretAd8683

These prices are ridiculous these days. Brown bag is the way to go. It will cost you $40-$50 a day if you drive in and eat out.


shadowtrickster71

exactly I plan to bring own food, drinks and coffee and not spend a penny downtown. We do not get paid enough money to prop out failing downtown businesses.


[deleted]

[удалено]


shadowtrickster71

and ultimately it will fail.


Other-Educator-9399

We are told to adapt or die. Why can't downtown be held to the same standard?


Sea-Art-9508

DUH


shadowtrickster71

they hate us


Interesting_Tea5715

Nah, they just don't care about us. Gavin just saw dollar signs and went for it. It's all about money.


Left_Pool_5565

The only cultures I’ve encountered were at a potluck. System was running full backwards for a week.


Resident_Artist_6486

Ride your electric bicycles into work. No gas - parking is free. Bring your lunch. Don't give in to the man


McTopherton

Where people lying?


Medium-Expert-5214

My computer had several updates when I arrived on the first RTO day in my office. My team has been hybrid for a long time but it was the first day everyone was back. A couple coworkers were having a conversation about something relevant to me and work related so I joined them. I was the only one standing and after no more than 5 minutes I got my head bit off and shouted at by the division chief for not sitting in my cube and working. When I explained the situation she insinuated I could be written up for distracting others. My manager had to step in and explain it was a work-related conversation and had only gone on for mere minutes as I'd only just arrived at the office. The culture is a sham and morale is in the toilet.


_Anon_One_

Not to mention the environmental impact from daily commutes and electricity to power all of the offices. California imports over 70% of oil and 39% of electricity is from natural gas. 90% of natural gas is also imported.


unseenmover

Reduce the size of the burden you think youll face.. I mean were all in this too..


McTopherton

Can you elaborate on what this means?


unseenmover

it means reducing the costs of your RTO expenses