JPMorgan asks senior bankers to return to office for five days a week – memo

By Lananh Nguyen and Niket Nishant

(Reuters) -JPMorgan Chase & Co asked its managing directors to work from the office for five days a week, the largest U.S. bank said in a memo.

“Our leaders play a critical role in reinforcing our culture and running our businesses,” the bank’s operating committee wrote in the memo seen by Reuters on Wednesday.

“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.”

CEO Jamie Dimon, along with Wall Street counterparts at Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Morgan Stanley, has been a strong advocate of in-office work. He has also expressed concern about the downsides of long-term remote work.

JPMorgan reminded staff on hybrid schedules that they were required to be in the office at least three days a week.

“There are a number of employees who aren’t meeting their in-office attendance expectations, and that must change,” the bank said. Managers may include attendance as part of performance reviews and could take “corrective action” if requirements were not being met.

The company emphasized that employees should account for their time out of the office for sick days, vacation or business travel. It plans to roll out more automated attendance tracking to manage work schedules, real estate and security.

“Everyone should be able to work five days a week in the office,” the bank said.

(Reporting by Niket Nishant in Bengaluru and Lananh Nguyen in New York; Editing by Arun Koyyur, Shinjini Ganguli and Richard Chang)