Jamie Dimon has a tough message for federal employees

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) CEO Jamie Dimon has a major pet peeve: how often federal employees work in person in the nation’s capital.

During an appearance at The Atlantic Festival, which took place in Washington, D.C., last week, Dimon said that he is shocked by the amount of federal employees that are working remotely, and that he would “make Washington, D.C., go back to work.”

“I can’t believe, when I come down here, the empty buildings,” said Dimon. “The people (who) work for you are not going to the office anymore. That bothers me. I don’t allow that at JP(Morgan Chase).”

During the Covid pandemic in 2020, many federal agencies adopted hybrid/remote work schedules in order to slow the spread of the virus. As of May this year, about 50% of federal workers are in roles that are not eligible for remote work, according to a recent report from the U.S Office of Management and Budget. Also, federal employees who are in remote-friendly positions have spent about 60% of their regular work hours working in person at offices.

Jamie Dimon vs. remote work

Dimon has made it clear multiple times that he is not a fan of remote work. After allowing Chase employees to work remotely during the first few months of the pandemic, the bank pushed for a September 2020 in-office return, which was eventually delayed due to another Covid outbreak.

Jamie Dimon, chief executive officer of JPMorgan Chase & Co., during a Bloomberg Television interview on the sidelines of the JPMorgan Tech Stars Leadership Forum in London on Oct. 2, 2023.
Bloomberg/Getty Images

By May 2021, Dimon claimed at The Wall Street Journal CEO Council that he was “done” with Zoom meetings and that he aimed for workers to return to offices within the next few months, despite concerns about commuting to work.

“We want people back to work, and my view is that sometime in September, October it will look just like it did before,” Dimon said at The Wall Street Journal CEO Council. “And everyone is going to be happy with it, and yes, the commute, you know people don’t like commuting, but so what.”

Chase later enforced a mandate (which still stands) in April 2023 that permits employees to work a minimum of three days a week in the office, but states that managing directors are expected to work in the office five days a week. After facing backlash over the mandate, Dimon claimed during an interview with The Economist in July 2023 that if any of his employees have an issue commuting to work every day, they can find another job.

More Labor:

"I completely understand why someone doesn't want to commute an hour and a half every day, totally got it," said Dimon in the interview with The Economist. "Doesn't mean they have to have a job here either."

Remote work is increasingly facing the chopping block at multiple companies across the country. Most notably, Amazon sent a memo to its employees on Sept. 16 claiming that by Jan. 5, 2025, teams will return to working in offices five days a week.

As remote work continues to dissipate, many employees across the country claim that working from home makes them more productive at their jobs. According to a recent survey from USA Today, only 16% of white-collar workers said that they’re more productive working in the office, compared to the 46% who said they are more productive working from home.

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