- JPMorgan’s operating committee says it will mandate MDs come to the office five days a week.
- JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has been outspoken in his criticism of work-from-home policies.
- The nation’s largest bank is currently constructing a new headquarters in midtown Manhattan.
JPMorgan Chase is abandoning a hybrid attendance policy it adopted during the pandemic and requiring executives to return to the office. It’s a move that could shape the rest of Wall Street’s work-from-home rules.
On Wednesday, JPMorgan, the nation’s largest bank by assets, said it will now mandate that all managing directors come to the office five days a week. That requirement is a clear break from the hybrid work policies that are now commonplace among many large companies but have faced resistance from JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon and other Wall Street leaders.
“Our leaders play a critical role in reinforcing our culture and running our businesses. They have to be visible on the floor, they must meet with clients, they need to teach and advise, and they should always be accessible for immediate feedback and impromptu meetings,” JPMorgan’s operating committee wrote in a memo to employees seen by Insider.
Dimon has long been one of the most outspoken critics on Wall Street of work-from-home policies put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, he wrote in his annual note to shareholders that he envisioned many JPMorgan employees returning to the office full-time, while allowing for exceptions.
“Most professionals learn their job through an apprenticeship model, which is almost impossible to replicate in the Zoom world,” Dimon wrote in the letter. “Over time, this drawback could dramatically undermine the character and culture you want to promote in your company.”
In the memo released Wednesday, JPMorgan underscored that for those workers where a hybrid working arrangement is an option, employees must be in the office a minimum of three days a week.
News of JPMorgan’s change in policy was first reported by Bloomberg on Wednesday.
At JPMorgan’s cross-town rival Goldman Sachs, CEO David Solomon told CNBC in October that roughly two-thirds of the bank’s employee base (which wouldn’t include the likes of retail branch workers, as at JPMorgan) are now in the office five days a week.
Bank of America, meanwhile, has pushed employees to return to the office but, at least as of last year, has refrained from mandating a five-days-a-week policy.
JPMorgan’s latest move is the likely product of the bank’s sizable — and growing — footprint in New York City, Ken Leon, director of equity research at CFRA, told Insider. Construction of JPMorgan’s new corporate headquarters in midtown Manhattan is currently underway, with an expected completion date by the end of 2025.
“If you and I were building a new brand new tower on Park Avenue, I would want my employees back at work too,” Leon told Insider.
Leon noted that a glut of bankers arising from UBS’ acquisition of Credit Suisse — combined with lackluster investment banking activity — likely means Wall Street workers have less moving power than they might have during the height of the pandemic.
“In terms of who has the position of strength, it would be the employer saying come back to work,” said Leon.
See the full memo from JPMorgan outlining the new policy for managing directors here:
Message from the Operating Committee
Dear colleagues,
As we’ve returned to more normal patterns in our lives and work, we can all appreciate the many benefits of in-person engagement. We believe this is especially true when it comes to the importance of being in the office — being together improves the speed of decision making, while also providing valuable opportunities for spontaneous learning and creativity, as well as allowing our professionals to learn through our apprenticeship model. We also believe that being together in person is the best way to build and strengthen our culture — the very thing that makes our company special.
Our leaders play a critical role in reinforcing our culture and running our businesses. They have to be visible on the floor, they must meet with clients, they need to teach and advise, and they should always be accessible for immediate feedback and impromptu meetings. We need them to lead by example, which is why we’re asking all Managing Directors to be in the office five days a week.
We also want to recognize and thank our thousands of colleagues who cannot take advantage of a hybrid schedule because of the role they play at the company — for example, employees in our retail bank branches and jobs in check processing. And for those of you whose roles can benefit from a hybrid work model — please be reminded that a minimum of three days a week in the office is required. Any exception will need senior management approval. Most of you are following your hybrid models, but there are a number of employees who aren’t meeting their in-office attendance expectations, and that must change. You’re responsible for meeting your hybrid model requirements. Your manager is responsible for ensuring that attendance requirements are being met and in cases where they aren’t, taking the appropriate performance management steps, which could include corrective action.
We learned a lot during the pandemic about how important flexibility can be in terms of taking care of family and other personal matters. So just as it was prior to COVID, we fully expect our people to have flexibility, as appropriate.
If there are any constraints on space, they should be made known to your senior management to be resolved to make seating available. We know that there are plenty of employees who prefer to work a full week in the office — for example, those starting in their careers like our Program Analysts who learn from an apprenticeship model, or new joiners who need to build relationships with their colleagues. Everyone should be able to work five days a week in the office.
It’s important that all employees enter their time when they are out of the office — whether for personal reasons like vacation or sick days, or for business reasons like business travel or client meetings. While many of you already do this, for others this will be new. You should know that there is significant work underway to automate attendance tracking related to business travel and client meetings (e.g., leveraging corporate travel data, Outlook Calendars, etc.), and to generate routine reminders when a manual entry is needed. In the meantime, you may be required to enter business-related out of office codes (when you’re out for a full day) until these data feeds are integrated. Tracking attendance is not only important to manage hybrid work schedules but also for real estate, resiliency and security purposes. This data will help us understand what’s working and what’s not in terms of keeping all of our employees productive and safe.
In the coming days and weeks, you’ll receive more information on time tracking, hybrid working tools and other resources to support you. In the meantime, you can find many useful tools and resources on the Hybrid Working page. If you have questions about your in-office attendance expectations, please speak with your manager.
We have a winning team at JPMorgan Chase and working with one another — in person — is optimal for our company, our clients and our culture. Being together greatly benefits mentoring, learning, collaboration and execution — it is truly the foundation of our culture.
Thank you for everything you continue to do to make our company strong and vibrant.
Are you an employee of JPMorgan with thoughts about return-to-office policies? Contact Carter Johnson using a non-work device via email ([email protected]), encrypted messaging app Signal (646-376-6028), or Twitter DM (@hcarterjohnson).
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