BB CEOs summoning monkeys back to office - tone deaf or harsh truth?

Jamie Dimon - “We want people back to work, and my view is that sometime in September, October it will look just like it did before”

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/04/jamie-dimon-fed-u…

Moyniham - "“The basic concept is from now to Labor Day or mid-September, you’re kind of in that transition mode. The idea is the vaccinated teammates should be back to work after Labor Day.”"

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/06/14/bank-of-america-c…

Solomon - "“in the US, we ask those who have not yet done so to make plans to be in a position to return to the office by Monday, June 14.”

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/04/goldman-sachs-ceo…

Gorman - "By Labor Day, I'll be very disappointed if people haven't found their way into the office and then we'll have a different kind of conversation,"

https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/16/investing/morgan-s…

I'm at one of these firms, so it looks like the dream of continuing to work from home and make more money than I've ever made without putting on dress shoes is over. since PWM is revenue generating, it's possible we'll have some flexibility, but the message is still clear - office or else.

my $0.02 - it's incredibly difficult to make global policies be nuanced so there's no way to make people 100% happy, and I understand that if you're an analyst in a cramped apartment, working in a nice office is likely preferable to being stuck at home, but the harshness of these comments is a bit striking. everyone had record profitability during a 100% WFH environment, tech companies have LONG had flexibility and made it work (even in bizdev, you WFH then travel to see clients), and I've personally never been more productive, healthier, had a stronger marriage, better sleep, the list goes on. WFH may have been one of the best things to ever happen to me, so I'll be fighting tooth and nail for flexibility and spending the absolute bear minimum in the office unless there's a client or team meeting.

what does everyone think about this? am I being too much of a snowflake diva? are these CEOs being too curmudgeonly? am I one of the few who actually LOVED working remote? tell me WSO!

22 Comments
 
Controversial

I would say it's a bit different for you maybe since you are in a revenue generating role but overall you are a snowflake diva if you are complaining about having to go into the office. You are an employee. You don't make the rules bub. Get back in line son, this kind of questioning of management's decisions makes me question your loyalty to the firm.

 

i've saved a tonne of time on commuting and lots of cash on rent.

I hardly even left my bed yesterday (work from laptop).

think its the harsh truth though. there is something missing while working from home. something about human interaction. and if I can WFH there no reason my job cant be offshored.

 

>They've already offshored everything that would save them short-term or long-term $/cents.  Anything left (IB, AM, etc.) are functions that require time zone congruency, relationship management, attention to detail, etc.

Talk you your friends outside banking... this simply isn't true. More and more complex jobs like engineering and software are being offshored, 10 years ago this was unthinkable. 

 

I love WFH, never ever want to go back to the office. But I think it’s foolish to think BBs and other large financial institutions would let people work from home permanently. These firms make bank (pun intended) collecting fees and providing financing for mega real estate developers, owners, and management cos. If these institutions suddenly minimized their footprint in NYC and other major cities (which would also lead other firms to follow their lead), thus precipitously dropping occupancy aka demand and rent, their clients would NOT be happy. Plus the BBs definitely have large interests in these same buildings and developments

 

I just want a shorter "in-office" work week. I think Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mandatory in the office with Monday / Friday being optional and Saturday / Sunday being work from home is a great compromise. I just personally think that it's super important for all employees to be in the office a few days a week so that people still get those "organic" learning opportunities from asking questions or shooting the shit with senior bankers and the rest of the bullpen.

 

In a pandemic environment I think that WFH was always going to work, because it had to. Everyone was working from home so there was no longer that competitive advantage of seeing clients, pitching in person etc. 

The reality is that we are exiting the Pandemic and you will soon start to see a disparity in results from the firms that WFH and those that do not. Also please stop comparing Tech to Banking, not even remotely similar. If you are in a FO role in high finance and are analyst you should want to be in the office to receive mentorship and build camaraderie. People to need to fuck off with complaining about coming in during the week. All your bosses did it before you. 

As you become more senior, I think that is where you could argue it doesn't make as much sense for Director or MD in IB to come in everyday. Also because they weren't doing that before the pandemic. 

Many companies especially in tech will begin to pay employees less if they decide to WFH, which whether you like it or not makes sense. 

Point is, there is definitely some validity in arguing that there is no longer any reason to come in on Saturday or Sunday unless its absolutely necessary, But if it is during the week, just come into the office. 

 

Not an intern, just never changed it. I don't disagree with your point that it will go hybrid, I just think that is so hard to monitor. I think that either the hybrid model will be implemented, or things will eventually go back to the way they were in 2-5 years. So in reality it doesn't affect any of us on here except future analysts.  

I personally think there is a lot of value to be gained in being in the office. WFH absolutely has its benefits. But I think many of your Type A analysts will be going in every day of the week. I know I would. Whether you sleep under your desk or work in the office on the weekends thats something I think that will be common much less common.

 

Sint esse asperiores quam soluta tenetur. Praesentium ullam laudantium vitae praesentium beatae suscipit. Quae id fugit veniam facilis earum.

Cupiditate sunt sed inventore sunt doloremque minus non. Dolores adipisci id qui soluta et quo itaque. Voluptates natus illum unde quisquam voluptatem.

Fuga nam vitae officia quae ut qui. Laudantium repudiandae asperiores sed magnam. Aperiam similique consequuntur possimus magni quae in qui. Qui ut fugit quisquam sit. Qui qui doloremque reprehenderit rerum occaecati tempora. Quis non earum magnam.

 

Rerum ipsam deserunt voluptas vel sit reprehenderit. Delectus explicabo quam corrupti adipisci nesciunt. Nihil laboriosam officia praesentium numquam explicabo rerum quo. Quae dolorem repellat quas ullam explicabo et in corporis.

Veniam perferendis voluptatem libero eligendi sit. Sunt expedita cupiditate pariatur debitis perferendis. Architecto repellendus vel occaecati officiis sit neque cupiditate repudiandae. Est velit dolores et.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 98.9%
  • Evercore 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (79) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
bolo up's picture
bolo up
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”