The harsh message from the head of the Morgan Stanley bank on remote work

At present it is one of the strongest topics of debate within companies in USA. Should employees return to work en masse in the offices in the new stage of normalcy that is being sought as vaccination progresses?

“If you can go to a restaurant in New York, you can come to the office and we want you in the office”. That is the crude answer offered this Monday by the executive director of the Morgan Stanley bank, James Gorman.

During a financial services conference, Gorman said he had not yet started ordering employees back to the office, but that he believed he had sent a “very strong” message about his desire to have them flying at their desks.

He claimed that he would be “very disappointed” if the workers of that finance giant do not return to their jobs for Labor Day, which in the United States is celebrated on September 6. “Then, if not, we will have a very different kind of conversation,” he warned.

Gorman assured that he would not look favorably on employees who do not work regularly in the office and, especially, those who want to carry out their work remotely from places like Florida or Colorado, noting that those who want to earn their own salary in New York must work there.

The Morgan Stanley boss finds that working from the office is especially important when it comes to younger employees, who are still training to do the job, because that’s where they learn.

He pointed out that, currently, more than 90% of the employees who are already back in the company’s offices are already vaccinated and that they hope to increase that figure to 98%.

Opposing visions

But Morgan Stanley does not lead the platoon of big banks that want their employees back.

From this Monday, nearly all Goldman Sachs New York-based employees are called upon to return to their desks.

The CEO of that company, David Solomon, gave an ultimatum to the company’s workers, warning that those who have not yet returned they have until next Monday to see how they will get back to their posts.

As early as last March, Solomon had described remote work as “an aberration.”

Although there are employees who yearn for a return to the offices, the initiatives of companies to bring them back to their headquarters have become a matter of concern for some.

While some bosses fear their teams will be less competitive if they don’t return soon, workers with children have a double concern: losing the flexibility gained from working from home and being displaced by younger, single employees that they come back sooner and take advantage of that closeness to forge better connections with executives and clients.

But not everyone in big American finance is betting on a return to the old normalcy.

Citigroup has told most of its employees that may adopt a hybrid work style between home and office in the long run.

Jane Fraser, the CEO of Citigroup, is committed to a hybrid work model.

Its CEO, Jane Fraser, who took office a few months ago, continues to bet on flexibility towards workers, something that, according to analysts, could give the company an opportunity to differentiate itself as an employer within the industry.

For its part, JP Morgan Chase, the largest bank in the United States, advised its employees to prepare for the return to the office next month, although by then still will keep the occupancy of its headquarters in New York limited to 50%.

Bank of America does not anticipate a massive return of workers to offices until the fall.