Get Back To The Office! Wall Street Banks Setting Precedent For In-Person Work

Recently, JPMorgan Chase & Co JPM urged 40% of its personnel to work a few days a week and 50% to return to the office five days a week.

To the chagrin of some workers, Business Insider reported, the world's leading investment bank is gathering information on employee activity as part of its drive for employees to return to the office, including tracking workplace attendance using ID swipes.

“Management by Hollywood Squares,” is how JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon described the experience of remote work. He also said it "slows down honesty and decision making."
Related: Banking In Pajamas? Top Brass Like Jamie Dimon Say No More

On Tuesday, Goldman Sachs Group Inc GS, another Wall Street behemoth, declared it will suspend the COVID protocols that had kept some employees away in order to bring all staff back to the office five days a week following Labor Day.

“There is significantly less risk of severe illness — in line with [CDC] updated protocols, if you have not been coming in to the office, please speak with your manager to ensure that you understand and adhere to your division’s current return to office expectations,” the Goldman memo obtained by The New York Post read.

According to the memo, Goldman will scale back its testing program and stop the company's distribution of test kits by the end of the year. 

Although, Goldman will pay for Covid testing covered by insurance, keep track of contacts, and alert staff members who have interacted with infected individuals.

“We continue to make steady progress bringing our people together in the office, which is core to Goldman Sachs apprenticeship culture and client-centric business,” a spokeswoman for Goldman told The Post.

The Post’s source said that Goldman CEO David Solomon intends for the firm to set the precedent on returning to work. "They have brought people back to the office and are miles ahead of peers."

Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley MS issued a memo late Tuesday saying it would discontinue most of its Covid protocols.