Brief
- Employees in JPMorgan Chase’s corporate and investment bank will work from the office and from home, permanently keeping in play — at least part of the time — a remote-work option, explains Daniel Pinto, the bank’s co-president. “Depending on the type of business, you may be working one week a month from home, or two days a week from home, or two weeks a month,” Pinto said via Zoom.
- Driving the bank’s move are a number of factors. Some workers are experiencing burnout from being at home for several months, and some managers are noting a dip in productivity. However, social distancing requirements are capping building capacity at about half what it was prior to the pandemic.
- The bank’s trading unit is already testing the rotational work model, and investment bankers will start soon, Pinto said. JPMorgan’s New York buildings are at roughly 10% capacity on average, while trading businesses are closer to 30%.
Insight
JPMorgan Chase co president Pinto first sketched out a rotational return-to-work model in May as one of several potential scenarios. He said more recently that the exact schedules for return will vary by business unit.
Record results in JPMorgan Chase’s trading unit no doubt boosted Pinto’s confidence that employees can work efficiently from home. The unit posted a 32% increase in revenue in the first quarter. JPMorgan’s investment bank followed that up in the second quarter with an 86% jump in net income from 2019’s second quarter. However, Pinto said the bank will have to create new tools to manage remote workers and track productivity.
The hybrid model may help the bank achieve a number of goals, including cost savings. Some of the savings will come in the form of real estate. If more employees are regularly working remotely, the bank will not need to hold as much office space or keep so many permanent workspaces: employees could work from temporary hot desks when they’re in the office.
Additionally, the bank could close backup trading floors outside New York and London.
Maintaining a rotational model may also help the bank and its employees stay prepared in case future spikes in coronavirus infection rates call for further lockdowns.
“The hybrid working model is in everybody’s game plan now, where it wasn’t before,” Tim Carmody, chief technology officer of IPC, believes.
Office return dates will likely be a hot topic in the coming weeks.
On Wednesday Bank of New York Mellon asked told most of its employees to continue working remotely until at least Jan. 1, although it had planned for some employees to return next month.
“Our top priority remains the health and safety of our employees and our clients,” BNY Mellon spokeswoman Madelyn McHugh told Bloomberg in an emailed statement. “We remain operational and responsive to client needs during this time, with 96% of the bank’s employees working remotely.”
BNY Mellon isn’t the only bank postponing return plans. Wells Fargo has pushed back its date at least twice, most recently to October. Truist this month delayed its return until at least Jan. 31, 2021. Last month Citi was forced to delay its expected office returns in 13 states.
Others, such as Morgan Stanley and Golman Sachs, returned some workers in June.
From Bankingdive (edited)
