Wall Street banks have taken a tough stance on most office-to-office plans, with many top bosses working from their desks for months and urging reluctant employees to do so.
He has changed his tune for now.
According to the Memo to Staff, with the Omicron version of the coronavirus, Bank of America this week told employees at its New York City corporate offices that they can work from home during the holidays. The bank, which is headquartered in Charlotte, NC but maintains a sprawling office in midtown Manhattan, is also providing self-testing kits and will host booster clinics in January at some locations nationwide.
At Deutsche Bank, New York employees have been encouraged to work from home for the last two weeks of the year, according to an executive, who asked not to be identified to discuss personnel matters. They will continue to work remotely for several weeks in 2022, given the rise in cases, the person said.
Jefferies, an investment bank in Manhattan, sent its employees back home earlier this month as the case boomed. The firm’s chief executive, Rich Handler, later said on Twitter that he had tested positive and was self-quarantined, Jefferies was the first Wall Street firm to report a senior casualty during the pandemic: Chief Financial Officer Peg Broadbent died of complications from the coronavirus in March 2020.
Wells Fargo has also postponed its return-to-office plans, citing the “changing external environment” in a memo to employees. “There are approximately 100,000 workers coming to Wells Fargo locations throughout the pandemic, and all locations are available for use by vaccinated employees on a voluntary basis,” the bank said.
JPMorgan has told its US employees who do not work in bank branches that “each group should assess who needs to come to the office” and “who needs to work from home on a more regular basis over the next few weeks”. needed.”
Citigroup, which has called people back two days a week since September, is giving its New York and New Jersey employees the option to work remotely, and Morgan Stanley employees have also been given more flexibility to stay home . On the other hand, Goldman Sachs has asked its teams to postpone the rest of their holiday parties.
