JPMorgan is asking staff to return to the office five days a week, prompting complaints from Reuters
Nupur Anand, Isla Binnie
(Reuters) – U.S. bank JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: ) on Friday asked its employees on hybrid work schedules to return to the office five days a week starting in March, an internal memo seen by Reuters showed, which prompted hundreds of staff comments, including complaints.
Financial firms have been aggressive in enforcing back-to-office requests since the pandemic began to affect the US in 2020. Many firms have begun inviting staff back to the office as early as 2021.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon and his Goldman Sachs colleagues and Morgan Stanley (NYSE: ) have been strong proponents of working from the office, saying it fosters better learning, innovation and culture.
More than half of JPMorgan’s employees already come to the office full-time, according to a memo from the bank’s operating committee. It has more than 316,000 employees worldwide.
“Now is the right time to solidify our full-time approach to the office,” the executives wrote. “We think that’s the best way to run a company.”
A JPMorgan spokesman confirmed the contents of the memo but declined further comment.
“We know that some of you prefer a hybrid schedule, and we respectfully understand that not everyone will agree with this decision,” Dimon and other leaders wrote in the memo. “Being together greatly improves mentoring, learning, thinking and getting things done.”
Some JPMorgan employees opposed the return-to-work directive by posting comments on the company’s intranet site, according to two sources who saw the posts and declined to be identified discussing personnel matters.
According to one of the sources, the complaints cited increased transportation and childcare costs, as well as mental health and stress concerns.
After more than 300 comments were posted in the first hour, the site was locked down, another source said.
Basic workers of lenders, including employees in bank branches, reported for personal work throughout the pandemic. JPMorgan invited corporate staff back to offices on a rotating basis in mid-2021 after a months-long shutdown due to the pandemic, and brought executives back to the office full-time in 2023.
The largest U.S. lender said employees will be given at least 30 days’ notice before they are expected to return to offices full-time. Employees are also instructed to seek manager approval if they need more time to prepare.
“What is not changing is our support for flexibility in the workplace, which we are committed to providing at all levels in a fair way,” the bank said.
The reminder also included a link to a list of frequently asked questions, detailing specific exceptions for telecommuting, flexibility for personal reasons and attendance records.
