Women who work from home miss out on the top jobs, says Nationwide Chief

The chief executive of Nationwide claims that women could miss out on opportunities for career advancement if they work only from home.

Debbie Crosbie, a BBC Radio 4 Today presenter, said that physical presence is important for career advancement and that more men than woman are returning to the building society’s office.

Under the leadership of then-CEO Joe Garner in 2021, this business was a pioneer for “work from anywhere” policy, which allowed all employees to choose their own working location.

Crosbie reversed the after an agreement with Nationwide Group Staff Union in December 2023, which required staff to come into work at least twice per week, except for some exceptions.

The building society announced that it would monitor data on office access, but added that it would not punish noncompliance with this data.

Crosbie told BBC she noticed that men were more likely than women to attend the office since the policy was implemented.

She said having a female CEO as a mentor in the early stages of her career was beneficial to her and that “being seen by other leaders and being seen yourself is an important part of developing”.

She said, “I learned a lot from observing some excellent leaders and their ability to navigate difficult problems.”

Crosbie said that it is important that businesses support women returning to work through flexible childcare policies and other options. She also acknowledged that businesses play a part in promoting a healthy balance between work and life.

She said, “We need to be careful not to inadvertently stop women from taking advantage of some opportunities by not being at the office when it is beneficial to both their skills and the business.”

International Workplace Group’s research last year revealed that the strict return to office mandates had a negative impact on employee retention. Two-thirds of all recruiters reported an increase in candidates who were looking to leave employers that require full-time attendance at their offices.

Several employees at Starling Bank resigned as a result of the chief executive’s demands that they spend more time working in the office.