HSBC Holdings Plc is considering telling all its employees to work from one of the bank’s offices at least three days a week, as it looks to tighten some of its flexible policies that have been in place since the pandemic.
The new arrangement is under discussion and no decision has yet been made, a person familiar with the matter said, asking not to be identified discussing internal deliberations. A representative for the British lender declined to comment.
The London-based bank’s return-to-office plans may, however, have to contend with a severe shortage of desk space it is set to face once it moves out of its current Canary Wharf headquarters to a new building in the City. Senior managers have been informed of a potential 7,700-desk shortfall there, Bloomberg News has reported earlier.
Under the current system, HSBC has given individual managers the freedom to set their own in-office staffing rules based on their business requirements. The bank has about 211,000 full-time equivalent employees worldwide, according to its website.
HSBC is among the latest global banking giants considering a gradual return-to-office mandate. It has already told its own UK-based retail banking staff to expect smaller bonuses if they fail to attend office frequently.
Bigger Wall Street rivals such as JPMorgan Chase & Co. ordered staff earlier this year to return to office five days a week. Defying that trend, however, Standard Chartered Plc Chief Executive Officer Bill Winters said this week that he would maintain current flexible working arrangements as they remain “right” for his firm.
The Financial Times first reported on HSBC’s deliberations.
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