Three years into the return to office battle, an exasperated JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is not mincing words.
Earlier this month, JPMorgan senior leaders asked hybrid workers to continue coming in three days a week at minimum and managing directors to start coming in full-time. Workers would still have flexibility to work from home for things like family issues or doctors appointments, but it seemed there was an or else implied for those who wouldnt comply.
The memo, which Fortune reviewed, said that failure to come into headquarters when required would result in appropriate performance management steps, which could include corrective action.
Many JPMorgan workers up and down the totem pole, including managers, didnt take fondly to it. They pushed back on what they called a tone deaf and divisive order on the companys messaging platform, Reuters reported in an exclusive published Thursday.
They vented about being stuck in a Zoom culture, in which in-person staffers are yanked into virtual meetings and conference calls. They also, per Reuters, expounded upon the logistical difficulties of balancing commuting with other responsibilities.
Most people on my team (and even other teams around me) live pretty far from the office, one commenter wrote. Being stuck in traffic more often and paying even more for gas (prices are rising) is not good for myself and many others.
Less than a day after the committee shared the memo and scores of workers reacted, comments were reportedly turned off. JPMorgan declined to comment to Fortune, but Dimon said in an earnings call this month he understands his workers concernsbut stands by his stance. He sent the memo, titled The importance of being together, because, some people werent following the rules.
We dont want to punish everybody because of that, but people agreed to do three days a week; we expect three days a week, Dimon said, adding that he gets why people dont want to do it. But in his mind, those people can not do it elsewhere.
Dimons words bear striking similarity to those of fellow pro-office stalwart Elon Musk. In a leaked memo to his staff at Tesla last spring, the bombastic billionaire said remote work is no longer acceptable. Sowing doubt of remote workers commitment and productivity, he then tweeted that remote workers should pretend to work somewhere else.
What Dimon says, goes
Despite pushback from his worker, Dimon is often the rock that redirects the course of the river on Wall Street.
As the chief executive of the nations largest lender, his word tends to create a ripple effect among his peersand detractors. That holds true on financial matters as well as cultural ones. You cant miss Dimon. His annual shareholder letter is an industry event, and he was the one to rush to First Republics rescue after its stumbled during the implosion of Silicon Valley Bank.
Because Dimon, who has helmed JPMorgan for nearly two decades, cuts such an influential figure in Wall Street culture, his beliefs and mandates about the future of work will likely set the tone for New Yorks entire banking landscape; he has shepherded JPMorgan from triumph to triumph while many of his peers have struggledor been wiped out.
Among the major U.S. employers, leaders in the banking industry have been bullish on their pro-office stance. Dimon, alongside Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon and Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman, has been outspoken about the values of in-office collaborationand the drawbacks of working from home. (For his part, Solomon called remote work an aberration; Gorman thinks the discussion should not include workers at all.)
Back-to-work mandates might be futile
This isnt JPMorgans first go-around. Dimon initially called workers back to their desks about two years ago, but backed down when scores of staff failed to show up. Not for lack of trying. Im about to cancel all my Zoom meetings, Dimon said in May 2021. Im done with it. He added that remote work, on the whole, doesnt work for people who want to hustle.
He said at the time that he expected a return to workplace normalcy in the fall of 2021. And everyone is going to be happy with it, he added. And yes people dont like commuting, but so what.
The office is vital for fostering spontaneous discussions, Dimon insisted earlier this month. This has been his party line for some time; at Davos in January, he said remote work doesnt work for young kids (meaning new employees), or spontaneity, or management.
Workers on the inside fear Dimons turn of phrase for managing directors is just the tip of the iceberg, and soon workers at all levels will be folded into the five-days-per-week edict.
There is a growing concern that.they may informally start asking the juniors to be in there as well, one employee told Reuters. That might be enough for them to leave the high-paying company altogether; for most American workers, flexibility in a role is more important than pay.
