UBS to let two-thirds of staff adopt permanent hybrid work

Bloomberg

UBS group will permanently allow as many as two-thirds of its employees to adopt a hybrid model of working from home and the office, according to a person familiar with the plans, as it seeks a competitive recruitment edge over some US banks taking a more hardline approach.
The lender’s move is being led by CEO  Ralph Hamers. The bank is also committed to offering staff the flexibility of a hybrid work arrangement based on roles and locations.
The bank’s internal analysis shows that two-thirds of its workforce were in positions suitable for hybrid working, while some roles, such as traders and branch staff, will have to work from site, the person said. No date for a return to the office has been set.
UBS Chairman Axel Weber and former CEO Sergio Ermotti had hinted at start of year that a flexible working model was under consideration and that at least a third of UBS’s workforce could work permanently from home.
The move by UBS is in stark contrast with many of its US rivals. Goldman Sachs Group Inc has required almost all US employees to report to their desks, JPMorgan Chase & Co is asking most of its US workers to start regular office schedules July 6, while Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman fired off a warning shot: “If you can go to a restaurant in New York City, you can come into the office and we want you in the office.”
Citigroup has also told most workers that they can adopt a hybrid schedule between home and the office longer term.
Dealing with a global workforce also poses the challenge of a more universal corporate policy with new waves of the outbreak prompting lockdowns and other restrictions across the world.
For some banks, the moves have meant re-evaluating their footprint and use of office space.

Among European lenders, Deutsche Bank AG told US investment bankers that it expects them back in the company’s offices by early September, though the company has said it’s working on plans to allow staff to work from home up to three days a week.
Dealing with a global workforce also poses the challenge of a more universal corporate policy with new waves of the outbreak prompting lockdowns and other restrictions across the world.
For some banks, the moves have meant re-evaluating their footprint and use of office space. UBS started a review last year of its real estate properties, echoing comments from Deutsche Bank that desk-sharing would be accelerated as more people stayed home at least part of the time.