Citi doing away with offices...
The nation’s third-largest bank is making the shift to an open-plan layout—a vibe more identified with tech startups than global banking conglomerates—where no one, not even CEO Michael Corbat, will have a door. Most employees won’t even get their own desks....
The layout at the new headquarters is minimalist, and more egalitarian. Since most desks aren’t assigned, employees must lock up their family photos and personal tchotchkes each night. Everyone gets a window view—but no one gets complete privacy.
And when the Head of IB said his employees suggested to the CEO that bankers might be uncomfortable in that setting...
He said Mr. Corbat helped convince him that the new setup will help the bank best serve clients, by fostering collaboration and attracting young talent.
Idk about anyone else, but I'm working in finance for the culture. If I want to feel like I'm working at a startup I will go work for a startup. Curious to hear your thoughts.
The article is here.
Agree 100%. There exists some portion of millennials that do actually want to work in a traditional professional environment and these people tend to gravitate to banking and similar fields.
It won't last.
Sounds like a terrible idea. If Mad Men has taught us anything, it's that offices have one primary function:
/rant
I f**king hate open concept unless it is to save money as a startup.
Our tech department recently went from a cubicle/shared office setup on a high level floor to an open concept on the lower floors. The idea was to increase communication, which made me laugh because introverts don't want this. All they did was make noise canceling headphone twice as important and made it easier to get distracted while you noticed movement in your peripherals. /rant
This article pretty much says it all for me: https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/12/30/google-got-…
For me, this would range on the upper end of a list of possible reasons to leave. I'm easily distracted and getting my single office 2y ago was the best thing that ever happened to my productivity, followed by increased remote working and using a headset for calls. For increased communication, I like the idea of combining classic offices with meeting zones and optional standing-desk meeting rooms. Naturally, this comes with a need for space.
I've worked in both (closed to open to closed) and can honestly say, yes, it was very weird for the first month in the open concept, but then I loved it. Being back in a cubicle environment now, with offices, is fine, but I honestly preferred the open concept. A lot of it will of course depend on the work you're doing, but the ability to communicate and collaborate (as much as it sounds cheeky) was a great benefit for that company. Will be curious to see how it plays out in this space...
This has little to do with cost savings and more to do with what I imagine is low morale at the bank. Some people think that improving morale is as easy and putting the CEO and other high level management employees on the floor with everyone else. Will it work? Only time will tell. As for me, I personally love this type of set up. I recently bought a building and am in the process of renovating the loft space into a new apartment for myself. I wont have a single wall, the bathroom will be wide open for anyone in the apartment to see. I'll update you all once I find out how this goes with visitors.
I've worked in open plan in all my time as a banker (but not the free range desks mentioned in the OP). Previously worked in an office as a junior lawyer, low-rise cubicles as a slightly older lawyer.
I prefer open plan. Particularly when you're working on a live deal.
I don't think I'd like free range desks, though. I usually have 3-4 deals running at a time and 6-7 piles of stuff on my desk. Having to rack and stack that every night and go poaching for a new desk in the morning would be too much wasted time.
I hate low-rise cubes, I don't know that I can handle an entirely open setup. I like my high walls and personal space, I don't want to watch someone eat their lunch everyday like I did when I was in a low-rise, open setting. I will be less productive because I would see all the annoying things people do at their desk everyday and resent nice people just because I am crowded by them.
What if you pick your nose or have a chronic masturbation problem? Makes a no private office environment pretty uncomfortable.
I agree with whomever above said it's a PR move. Personally I would hate to sit in an open environment. I get easily distracted visually and I tend to be on the phone half the day and need to stay focused. I also have calls talking about pretty confidential info and while the investment pros can hear most of it, I don't need some chatty Sally leaking confidential info. I'm sure Citi employees will love it when someone from the mail room overhears the CEO talking about mass layoffs and when he has to lock all of his files into a cubby every night, because that's the best use of an executives time. In reality he'll have a private office and pretend for a couple of hours per week to hot seat it on the floor.
We had a nose picker. That was my worst experience of open plan. I still shudder when I look to the position where he sat.
Lmao. Legendary post.
I'm one of those millennials that prefers the more traditional setup for the most part, but I think the low-rise cubicles are the best. They're tall enough that you can avoid getting distracted by the movement of your co-workers, and all you have to do is raise your head up if you want to talk to someone on the other side. The noise does get bothersome though, but that's what headphones are for.
Liberalism
Open floor plans have their place, but banking isn't one of them.
Google got it wrong: https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/12/30/google-got-…
Not a PR move. I've talked to people at multiple other firms that are doing similar things with their space and its for a simple reason:
to save money.
I've worked in low rise cubes, high rise cubes, and an office with a hot desk policy. Low rise cubes were by far the best, created a sense of personal space while still being able to see and easily communicate with your team. High risk cubicles felt claustrophobic. The hot desk policy was infuriating, although we got to keep our desk if you were there the day before. If you left for a day, there was a good chance you'd come back to no desk and all your "accessories" (monitor, keyboard, laptop stand) gone. With the type of policy Citi plan to put in place, I assume each desk will come fully kitted out rather than just empty "workspaces".
I know guys at a Big 4 office which implemented the same policy and they hate it. When your 1-2 desks away from your MD or Partner there is no down time at all. Even if you have fuck all to do, you have to make it look like you're constantly busy.
To me, this is the single biggest problem with the whole thing. In banking you'll have periods of hours between turns where there is nothing to do and to spend that time either "getting ahead of" other work or straight up pretending to work sounds like sheer torture. Given the volume of hours worked by junior bankers, they need to be able to spend time dicking around on the internet or just saying anything to their peers they wouldn't be comfortable saying aloud. Otherwise, these kids will go insane.
We changed to an open office plan at my last job and this was exactly what happened. I had to spend my time acting busy when I had nothing to do, It did help my posture, though.
We have open office environment, it takes a little while to get used to but isn't that bad after a while. Although taking personal calls or having meetings can be a little tough.
Yup, Open office is a pain. I sit across from Supervisor and next to one the AVPs. It's brutal, absolutely no privacy and I felt like im being babysat half the day. Although it is nice to not be trapped in a cube and able to look around.
I've been hit. This shit is happening to me.
I do not know how the AVP's / jr. VP/ jr. MD's tolerate this.
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