Jamie Dimon Sees Work From Home Becoming More Prominent In American Business: How Is JPMorgan Preparing For Change?

JPMorgan Chase JPM CEO Jamie Dimon touched on several topics at the forefront of society in an annual letter to shareholders, including the company's work-from-home practices.

The COVID-19 pandemic fundamentally changed the way many companies operate, but Dimon believes it was simply an acceleration of the ongoing shift to remote work that was already in motion. As a result, he offered perspective on what's ahead for JPMorgan and American businesses in general.

What To Know: "While it’s clear that working from home will become more permanent in American business, such arrangements also need to work for both the company and its clients," Dimon said.

Approximately 50% of JPMorgan employees will work at a specific location full time, while about 40% will work under a hybrid model, he said. The remaining 10% of employees may work full time from home in very specific roles.

He outlined the company's plans to quickly move to an open seating arrangement in which digital tools will help manage seating and amenities.

"As a result, for every 100 employees, we may need seats for approximately 60 to 75 on average – with an appropriate increase in conference room, private office and amenity space to make it a great work environment," Dimon said.

New Work From Home Job Listings

He noted JPMorgan uses Zoom Video Communications Inc ZM and Cisco Systems Inc CSCO to function virtually and maintain productivity. However, there are some weaknesses that remain in the remote work model. 

Working remotely doesn't work well when people don't know each other, he said. Heavily relying on Zoom meetings can slow down decision making and remote workers often miss out on spontaneous learning and creativity opportunities.

"And finally, our leaders must lead," Dimon said. "They have to walk the floors, they must see clients, they need to be visible, they need to teach and educate, and they need to be able to conduct impromptu meetings. They cannot lead from behind a desk or in front of a screen."

JPM Price Action: JPMorgan has traded between $127.27 and $172.96 over a 52-week period.

The stock was up 0.11% at $135.43 at time of publication, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

Photo: courtesy of JPMorgan.