Barclays Bank announced new hybrid working requirements, requiring that the majority of its 85,000 staff come to work an extra day per week. The memo was sent out to employees on Tuesday.
The memo states that the bank’s minimum attendance requirement has been increased to three days per week from two.
Most of the bank’s clients-facing employees have been working five days per week, including investment banking staff.
Barclays spokesperson said: “At Barclays we understand the importance of balancing the flexibility of colleagues with the need to work together in our physical locations.” The minimum amount of time spent in the office varies between different business areas, depending on the type of work done and the needs of the company.
David Solomon, Goldman Sachs, described working from home in the US as an “abnormality”.
The Lloyds Banking Group announced earlier this year it would consider the office attendance of executives when awarding bonuses, as it hoped to encourage them to be an example to junior staff.
The British advertising group WPP told its 100,000 employees this month they would have to return to the office four days per week. This move has been met with significant resistance from staff.
Debbie Crosbie is the chief executive of Nationwide. She has stated that women may miss out on opportunities for career advancement if they work only from home. Stuart Rose, a prominent businessman and former M&S/Asda head said that working from home is “not proper work”.
Other UK companies who are tightening the rules on working from home include Santander and Asda.
