- RTO. Fidelity dragged its feet on calling us back to the office after COVID, so much that I relocated further away from an office because I was under the impression that the hybrid schedule would be the norm. Now we are expected to start going in 100% of the time starting in September.
- Feedback to senior leadership falls on deaf ears. They used to conduct employee surveys but no longer do so.
- So. Many. Reorgs. Boy, does Fidelity love a reorg. My manager has changed more times than I can count. It is so dizzying and the structure changes so often sometimes I don't even know who to go to for what.
- Stealth layoffs. When companies conduct layoffs it's usually publicized. I've noticed that Fidelity institutes a new, tougher in-office policy, conducts a layoff shortly afterward to keep people scared and in line, then reorganizes the company into a new structure. They also grant large severance packages and conduct layoffs intermittently so that they can skirt around the WARN regulations of reporting a mass layoff. This has happened twice - in 2024 and now in 2026.
- The competitive salary can often feel like "golden handcuffs". Folks come on board, they get used to the higher salary and the lifestyle creep sets in, and then they feel like they can't leave. Then they settle into complacency for the next 30 years of their career.
