New crisis in the business world: When they call you to the office…

With the pandemic, business life changed around the world, highlighting new models such as work from home and hybrid work. However, with the corona virus under control for some time, the return to the office has begun to gain prominence in some companies. Even world-famous technology companies such as Apple, Facebook and Twitter decided to return to the office, and this decision was met with harsh criticism, with employees and the company’s management coming face to face.

The decision to return to an office also comes from Wall Street. The world’s most famous financial institutions are receiving harsh reactions from their employees for their decision to return to the office. Among these reactions is even quitting work.

IF REQUESTED TO RETURN TO THE OFFICE, THEY STOP THE WORK

The Markets Live Pulse survey found that about one in two people working in the financial industry would change or have already changed jobs if their managers asked them to spend more time in the office.

In the survey of 1,585 participants from around the world, including 1,320 financial professionals and 265 individual investors, more than half of respondents prefer a hybrid arrangement, while only about 20 percent prefer to work from the office.

Despite all these results, Wall Street executives, after technology, are among those who insist on returning to the office five days a week. JPMorgan Chase & Co. ended remote work in April, saying they now have to be in the office every day of the week. The policy comes shortly after Jamie Dimon, the bank’s chief executive, said earlier this year that working from home doesn’t work for young staff and bosses.

The fact that employees say that they will quit their job if they are asked to return to the office may actually be related to the fact that they see that they can still find an alternative. Although there are layoffs, it is still not that difficult to find a job in the industry.

There are layoffs, BUT…

While the financial industry hasn’t seen layoffs on the same scale as technology or retail, a report from executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. shows the industry has shed nearly 37,000 US jobs. so far this year. This shows that layoffs increased by 320 percent compared to the same period last year.

Andy Challenger, Challenger’s senior vice president, noted that despite these high-profile layoffs, the outlook isn’t too bad for job seekers. US employers added nearly 339,000 jobs in May; this shows that the economic situation of the employees is actually still relatively strong.

Challenger said: “When we look at the job market and finances in general, unemployment is really low. There are still job opportunities available and companies are still hiring. So there’s not a terrible market to go out and find work,” she said.

THEY WANT TO SEE THEIR OPTIONS WHEN THE FOUR DAY THRESHOLD IS PASSED

And according to a survey by Scoop Technologies, a company that helps companies coordinate hybrid teams, more than two-thirds of banks offer full flexibility or a structured hybrid arrangement.

Spending two to three days in the office may cause some grumbling, but it’s probably not grounds for segregation, said Rob Sadow, Scoop’s co-founder and chief executive officer. However, as you try to cross the four day threshold, employers may start to see a dynamic change. “Four days a week or more will make a lot of people want to look up and at least look around and see what their options are.”

THEY ARE TOO TIGHT TO COMPROMISE FLEXIBILITY

Sadow continued: “Employees are too nervous to compromise even a little on flexibility. Because they think that if they make concessions, the employer can keep asking for more. That is to say, they do not think that they are going to be asked to come one more day; it feels like a gateway for them to ask you to come in full time.”

On the other hand, the fact that employees continue their business life from home also affects city centers. New York City, for example, loses more than $12 billion a year because employees spend 30 percent less time in the office and therefore give Manhattan vendors less work during the week, according to a Bloomberg News analysis. According to restaurant management software provider Toast, New York City, along with Chicago, San Francisco and Philadelphia, is still seeing a decline in weekday lunch traffic compared to before the pandemic. The reason for this is seen in the economic problems, as well as in the hybrid operation.

THEY GO DIRECTLY HOME FROM WORK

The Markets Live Pulse survey showed that even financial professionals with more disposable income than the average city resident dominate their spending on weekdays: Half report their eating habits have remained unchanged since the pandemic, while nearly a third are goes straight home without or after lunch. work drink

Although Wall Street has faced backlash from employees due to the recent return to office, many industries have been experiencing the same problem since the pandemic.

“I DON’T HAVE TO BE IN THE OFFICE TO DO MY JOB”

According to a report in Insider recently; An Arizona employee quit his high-paying job after being asked to work in the office five days a week. Insider confirmed the job and salary of Felcia, a 53-year-old executive, but did not share her story to protect her privacy. Felicia told Insider: “I know how to do my job. I don’t have to be in the office to do my job. “I knew I didn’t want to go back to what I went through before,” she said.

Felicia, who works from home for three days and from the office for two days during the pandemic period, said: “I realized that I work a lot more while working on hybrid days. “There were so many distractions in the office that I couldn’t finish work, so I had to go home and work for four hours,” she said.

MANAGERS WANT TO SEE EVIDENCE

Felicia explains how strict managers are about returning to the office: “Because they focus on efficiency and leanness, managers want to see proof that their employees are working. I heard a lot about ‘you only worked two days a week and took three days off’. No, that’s not true. We did most of our work while working at home.”