CEOs Of Major Wall Street Banks Want Employees Back In Offices As COVID-19 Restrictions Further Eased

New York is limping back to normalcy as the administration and Governor Andrew Cuomo has lifted all the remaining COVID-19 related restrictions implemented during the pandemic in the city. This is apparently why chief executive officers of top banks on Wall Street want their employees back to the office. Some are sending tough messages to employees who are not so keen on returning to the office. Most of these banks have made it clear that they want employees at the desk at the end of the summer. Morgan Stanley top boss Gorman went on to say that if employees fail to join the office by Labor Day, they may have to face a pay cut. “If you can go outside to eat in a restaurant, you can definitely come into the office and this is what we want. We want you in the office. Make no mistake about it,” Gorman said during the annual US Financials, Payments & CRE conference.

Gorman said unlike Goldman Sachs, the firm has yet not started dictating staff to turn up for work. It must be noted that employees of Goldman Sachs in New York are back to the office. But Gorman has sent a ‘very strong’ message to employees that they need to be at their desks in the 1585 Broadway building. “I will be extremely disappointed if employees have not found their way into the office. Then we will be having a different kind of conversation,” he said. The banking giant had allowed its 70,000 employees to work from remote locations during the pandemic. But with around 70 per cent of Big Apple adults getting vaccinated, the firm feels that it is the time when employees need to get off their couches and return to desks. Gorman, who was tested positive for COVID-19 last year, has been coming to the office at least four days a week. Gorman has clearly hinted that he would have a negative opinion for employees who were not present in the office regularly or worked from an out-of-station location. “If employees want to get paid New York rates, they need to work in offices in New York,” he added.

Gorman feels that returning to the office is extremely important for junior staff as they are under training and need to learn. “Our interns learn in office, we teach them in office. This is how we develop people.” Similarly, American Express has made it clear that employees need to return to the office as things are getting normal. American Express CEO Stephen Squeri in a memo said that employees will be required to present in the office at least three days per week. Squeri said the employees can work remotely for the remaining days. The bank has plans to start implementing the so-called ‘hybrid model’ in the United States on September 13. The firm is hopeful of implementing if fully by the end of October.