India, Aug. 4 -- AT&T CEO John Stankey has sent a clear message to employees: align with the company's return-to-office (RTO) mandate or look for another job. In a blunt internal memo sent to all managers on Friday, Stankey acknowledged the growing discomfort among employees following AT&T's decision to enforce a five-day in-office mandate.

According to a report in Business Insider, he addressed the company's recent employee engagement survey, which saw 79% of 99,000 respondents reporting they felt committed to their work, but noted a decline in overall engagement levels.

"I'm not surprised," Stankey wrote, referring to the dip in engagement. "We are midstream on a multi-year journey to build the company we want, not simply optimize the...