Some disgruntled JPMorgan Chase workers are pushing back against CEO Jamie Dimon’s five-day return to office edict — but others worry defying orders would be a “career suicide,” according to a report.
Dimon’s return-to-office orders in early 2025 prompted a petition seeking to reverse the change. The petition has been signed by about 2,000 of the bank’s 300,000-plus global employees.
But many employees are fearful of the consequences of speaking out. One anonymous JPMorgan employee told the Financial Times they believed adding their name to the petition would be “career suicide.”
Workers at one of America’s biggest banks expressed their bewilderment at their boss's insistence on a full return to offices, even though many members of different teams are located all across the globe.
“My team is spread out through two continents and three time zones. JPMorgan is a global company — why can’t that include my home office?” a staffer who signed the petition said.
Other employees noted the bank’s strict stance undercuts some professional gains made as a result of hybrid work.
“Hybrid is working and employees love the happy medium. Please don’t force working women completely out of the workforce,” one unhappy staffer said.
Dimon announced the five-day return to office policy on January 10, 2025, ahead of a March 2025 start date. Soon after announcing the change, Dimon went viral for foul-mouthed remarks he made about the employee petition during a raucous town hall meeting.
“Don’t waste time on it. I don’t care how many people sign that ******* petition,” he said at the time after being asked about the petition.
Dimon’s expletive-filled rant may be fueling concerns amongst employees that signing on to the petition could harm their careers.
A London-based banker told FT that the big investment bank bosses seemed to look down upon remote work more than bosses in other fields would.
“They want their pound of flesh,” the banker said. “Despite making record profits during Covid, when remote working was the norm, there is still the view that if you’re working from home you’re ultimately ineffective. Managers want to be able to see you.”
The banker questioned whether older managers held the belief that remote work is inadequate because they feel “resentful of younger employees being able to work flexibly when they themselves spent decades slumped over company desks.”
There may be some truth to that way of thinking. Tom Andrews, senior manager in financial services at Robert Walters, told FT that investment bankers have “long-entrenched cultures of intense hours spent in the office, experienced first-hand by more senior leaders who expect the same commitment from junior staff.”
Another factor in pushing for the return to the office is the cost of office space. JPMorgan has spent billions, most recently dishing out $3 billion to build a new New York City headquarters, on its offices.
The Independent has contacted JPMorgan for comment.
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