JPMorgan issued a memo to employees on Wednesday informing managing directors of a new requirement to be in the office five days per week. The announcement also reminded other staffers of the current mandate of working in person three days per week.
The memo, which was obtained by Insider's Carter Johnson, warned employees of Wall Street's largest bank of potential "corrective action" if they fail to meet office attendance requirements.
It also stated that the responsibilities of managing directors include being "visible on the floor," along with meeting with clients and being available for feedback and advice with lower-level employees. JPMorgan has about 1,600 managing directors, according to 2019 CNBC report.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has been a public skeptic of remote work, and said as early as April 2021 that he was confident most employees would eventually return to the office. In his annual shareholder letter in 2021, as well as in past interviews, Dimon said he believes remote work lacks many of the features of working in an office, including in-person spontaneity like immediately following up on an idea with a coworker after a meeting.
The Wednesday memo also thanked employees who work in the bank's retail branches, and don't have the choice to work remotely. For employees who work a hybrid schedule, JPMorgan reminded them of the three-day-per-week requirement, and cautioned there will be ramificaitons for staffers that do not adhere to the mandates.
"You're responsible for meeting your hybrid model requirements," the memo reads. "Your manager is responsible for ensuring that attendance requirements are being met and in cases where they aren't, taking the appropriate performance management steps, which could include corrective action."
