one step back & one more reason to consider leaving

what has been happening to intel lately? i used to think it was at the forefront among companies of looking after the needs of their people but that seems to be taking a backseat with recent policy changes that majority doesn't see any significant benefits attached to it. in fact, i personally think it is a severe blow to productivity.

• they first removed dial-up connections. so for most people, being able to log-in to check or send urgent e-mails was no longer possible. supposedly, broadband/dsl subscription was a cheaper alternative and it was faster and employees can reimburse it. now dsl is not really a basic household necessity in the philippines (for the vast majority), so it is actually pretty pricey (the P1,995 is the recommended package).
• telecommuting at least 2x/week was an alternative and if you had broadband, then "working from home" was possible. in the case of our group, telecommuting more than that was allowed seeing that my work for example does not require a great deal of being in the factory. meetings start as early as 5 or 6am and its not possible to be able to go to the factory that early. recent policy changes dictates that telecommuting will be limited to 1x/week, and intel will not reimburse broadband charges anymore.
• the intent of the policy is to improve interaction & networking for employees which is noble in a sense except that it does not really benefit those who do not need to be in the factory all the time or who work with people outside the factory. as i've seen in intel through the years, there's almost never an exception to any policy even if you have valid arguments. personally, i think this is just an easy way out to avoid having additional discussions. there's a pretend "we'll hear your inputs." kind of speech but you know for a fact they already made up their minds and that your inputs were already dead before you've had a chance to say it.
• so if i can't reimburse my internet, it just means i won't be able to attend any more meetings or send emails outside of the office. telecommuting will not be an option, nor flexible hours since i won't have internet access to log in anyway.

some might say this arrangement is really a luxury, rather than a benefit but working in different timezones makes this set-up more of a necessity. i think i would have to tell my manager that realistically, i don't think i'd be successful managing my project (which is US-based) given these new working conditions. its really indeed a step-back for intel and probably one more reason why its nearing time to jump ship.