Reuters
- JPMorgan will require its traders to return to their offices by September 21, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
- CEO Jamie Dimon is already working out of the office.
- Executives said on a conference call that offices needed to reopen for the sake of team spirit and employee training.
- Bank reopening plans vary widely, with some pledging to wait until 2021 before requiring that employees head back into the office.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
JPMorgan traders will be required to return to their offices by September 21 after six months of working from home, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
In Wednesday morning conference calls, JPMorgan’s head of global markets Troy Rohrbaugh and head of sales and research Marc Badrichani told senior managers to bring their teams back, The Journal’s Julia-Ambra Verlaine reported. They said employees would lose their camaraderie and junior workers and the incoming class of analysts wouldn’t get the training they need if the bank continues to operate remotely.
A source familiar with the policy change told Business Insider that employees at high risk of contracting the virus or those who live with someone who is will be allowed to stay at home, along with those who have childcare concerns. The source also said the bank is open to changing its plans as circumstances change.
A representative of JPMorgan declined Business Insider’s request for comment on the return to the office.
JPMorgan sent all of its employees home in March for an indefinite period of remote work when New York City shut down to slow the spread of the coronavirus and after the virus swept through the fifth floor of the bank's headquarters on Madison Avenue, infecting 20 traders. Some workers including CEO Jamie Dimon and most of the bank's Operating Committee began to return to the office over the summer as social distancing orders relaxed, a source told Business Insider. CNBC reported in August that only 10% of the bank's office space was being used and social distancing measures were being enforced. The bank used a mandatory training module featuring animated figures in masks to teach employees about the new rules, per The Journal.
Though few firms have required workers to return to the office, the finance sector seems split on the appropriate time to reopen. Wells Fargo announced that its workforce will stay largely remote through November 1, while Jefferies Financial Group plans to keep everyone at home through at least the end of the calendar year, Business Insider previously reported. Bank of America said it will bring its workforce back in phases but did not give a start date, saying only that employees will have at least 30 days' notice.