Don’t ask us to come into the office more — or we'll quit, investors say

financialpost.com:

Financial professionals have a warning for their employers: Don’t ask me to come in to the office more often, or I’ll quit.

That’s according to the latest Markets Live Pulse survey, which found that roughly one in two people who work in finance would change jobs —  or already have — if their managers required them to spend more time in the office. More than half of the 1,585 respondents globally, which included 1,320 financial professionals and 265 retail investors, prefer a hybrid arrangement, while only about 20 per cent favour working from the office.

The number of people responding to the survey was well above the average participants in recent MLIV Pulse surveys in a sign that return to the office is still top of mind for many professionals. Of course, pledging to quit over hybrid work is easier said under the veil of anonymity than followed through with actions.

Wall Street chiefs have been among the loudest in pushing for a return to the office five days a week. JPMorgan Chase & Co. ended remote arrangements for its managing directors in April, saying they now must be in the office every weekday. The policy comes on the heels of comments from the bank’s chief executive Jamie Dimon earlier this year that working from home “doesn’t work” for younger staff or bosses.

About 40 per cent of financial professionals say they already work from the office four days a week or more, according to the MLIV Pulse survey — roughly double the number that said they prefer working from the office.

Though the financial sector hasn’t seen layoffs at the same scale as tech or retail, a report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., an executive coaching firm, shows that the industry has cut nearly 37,000 jobs in the United States so