JP Morgan bankers have moaned they are being ‘forced’ back to the office as the firm tries to stamp out the work from home culture after the pandemic.
Workers complained about having their ID card swipes monitored by bosses as they reportedly tried to track their attendance.
Staff blasted them for putting the ‘fear of God’ into them and for whipping up an atmosphere of panic.
Meanwhile Goldman Sachs was also said to be mulling over the idea in discussions at the weekly meetings of investment bank managers.
The New York-based titan has grappled with how to coax employees in after some threatened to quit if they could not work from home.
It comes as businesses across the US desperately try to get staff back to the office after two years of working from home during the pandemic.
JP Morgan (pictured, its New York HQ) bankers have moaned they are being ‘forced’ back to the office as the firm tries to stamp out the work from home culture after the pandemic
Meanwhile Goldman Sachs (pictured, its New York HQ) was also said to be mulling over the idea in discussions at the weekly meetings of investment bank managers
Four sources told Business Insider JP Morgan workers were having their ID swipes checked to ensure they were going into the office.
Some employees are reportedly on hybrid rotas where they only go in for three days a week.
CEO Jamie Dimon is said to have recently told shareholders he wants half of the 270,000 workforce back in the office five days a week.
He is reported to have said 40 per cent can remain on the hybrid system while just 10 per cent can stay home all the time.
But staff are said to be livid with the changes and blasted bosses for micromanaging them.
One London-based worker said: ‘At JPMorgan, nobody trusts you. The higher-ups don’t trust you to do your job if they’re not constantly watching you in the office.’
Another, more senior member, said even managers were not keen and had left them ‘deathly afraid’ of their teams not having 100 per cent attendance.
They said: ‘I don’t know whether it’s because they themselves are too timid or whether it’s because the fear of God has been put into them by a bank manager.’
They added: ‘But every time there’s something that requires participation, you sense the panic.’ The two sources reportedly said they were looking to leave the company.
Meanwhile Goldman Sachs has also reportedly been looking at ways to coax workers back in the office.
Sources told DealBook bosses had talked about the idea for younger bankers at their weekly meetings.
They were apparently mulling over scheduling in-office appointments so they had to attend in person.
Last month junior Goldman Sachs bankers whose salaries start at $110,000 threatened to quit their jobs after the firm demanded they turn to the office five days a week.
The bankers, who had complained of working 100-hour weeks, claimed they were being ‘bullied’ into working in the office for the five days by top managers.
The investment bank demanded employees return to the office five days a week earlier this month, after CEO David Solomon (pictured) branded working from home an ‘aberration’
‘In Goldman Sachs, the top management says it’s employees choice but internally they track which team has most in office attendance,’ an employee wrote on the message board Blind, according to New York Post.
‘It’s f***ing bulls**t from top management saying they are people first,’ they added. ‘In our team meeting, manager showed us the excel where the MDs [managing directors] are tracking which department has not met in-office commitments.’
Another Goldman Sachs employee wrote on Blind: ‘Apparently they are tracking everyone’s attendance and managers are getting lists of people who have low attendance so they can bully them into coming in.’
The investment bank demanded employees return to the office five days a week earlier this month, after CEO David Solomon branded working from home an ‘aberration’.
‘It’s an aberration that we’re going to correct as quickly as possible,’ Solomon said last year.
‘The CEO has repeatedly argued that remote work ‘is not ideal for us, and it’s not a new normal.’
Pictured: People wait in line to enter outside the Goldman Sachs headquarters building in New York City on Monday, June 14, 2021
Meanwhile this month Goldman Sachs scrapped Covid perks for New York City-based staff including a free car to and from work, as well as free lunches.
The upcoming policy changes, made by CEO David Solomon, comes after the Wall Street giant put an end to two years of free lunches and breakfast at the office.
Both were designed to incentivize workers to come work in-person amid COVID-19 and a surge in crime in New York.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams stressed in February the need to get workers back to offices.
Adams seemed to allege he was seeing many people going from work-from-home Monday to Friday, to going out on the weekends.
‘You can’t tell me you’re afraid of Covid on a Monday and I see you in the club on Sunday,’ Adams joked.
The mayor previously told leaders of major companies in the city to prioritize getting workers back in the office to stimulate the city’s economy.
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