Morgan Stanley boss to young bankers: You’re ‘nuts’ if you’re not in the office
Young master of the universe-in-training without a spouse or kids? Get back to the office.
That appears to be the common refrain of Morgan Stanley’s execs as the bank’s leaders continue to beat the drum to get people to return to in-person work.
“If you’re 21 to 35, you are nuts not to be in the office all the time,” Chris O’Dea, a Morgan Stanley managing director, said on a conference call last week.
It’s the prime time to be soaking up knowledge from older, more experienced bankers — and it’s not going to happen in your PJs on a Zoom call, Morgan Stanley brass contend.
Earlier this year Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman said he’d be “disappointed” if employees of all ages didn’t return to their desks by Labor Day — and said that those who didn’t return could face a pay cut.
The bank has yet to mandate employees return five days a week as Goldman Sachs has. But most employees, including analysts, have chosen to return, a source with direct knowledge told The Post.
Most people who self-select for a competitive job are motivated to build a career, get to know people and put themselves out there, this person adds.
And for months, Morgan Stanley senior leadership has driven home the importance of face-to-face work.
“I fundamentally believe the way you and I develop our career is by being mentored and by watching and experiencing the professional skills of those who came before us,” Gorman said over the summer. “You can’t do that sitting at home by yourself — there’s a limit to Zoom technology.”
Of course, Gorman and O’Dea aren’t alone in emphasizing the importance of returning to the office.
The debate over working from home has roiled major banks on Wall Street. At Goldman Sachs, most Big Apple staff were required to be back at their desks in June. JPMorgan Chase brought back staff in July with the goal of keeping 10 percent of the company’s 225,000 workforce at home permanently.
Elsewhere on Wall Street, firms like Citi and UBS have sought a more flexible approach that emphasizes lifestyle considerations.
UBS — Switzerland’s largest bank — is striking a difference from its American counterparts and is letting most employees permanently work from home at least some of the time.
Citi, run by CEO Jane Fraser, cited childcare issues as the reason she’s waiting to force staff back in.
Morgan Stanley did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Source: NYPost - https://nypost.com/2021/11/22/morgan-stanley-boss…
Funny how tier 1 BB have a much more rigid approach to remote working than tier 2 and tier 3 BB.
Business is about people. Critically important, especially in your early yrs, to see and be seen. In person exposure to ideation, mentorship, impromptu team meetings, happy hours, team meals, etc. Unless your role is entirely without human interaction (100% coding but even then you're part of a team that would benefit form live white board meetings - in person with all the various personalities vying for leadership), in person has major advantages for career development.
If you don't want to be at the office, don't complain when your bonus and promotion pale in comparison to those who played the game properly. Work isn't about you and your likes / comforts. It's about your firm, their success, and what you can do to make them more successful. YOU get taken care of along the way if you are a major contributor. That's the way it works.
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Yes so inspiring to be in the office james.
Since I've been in, mds routinely walk past the bullpen without saying hi.
Give 95% of comments through email or blackberry.
Really only talk to us junior bankers on the phone or through email.
vps get annoyed if you ask them for help ("ask a peer first")
Theres very little "soaking up knowledge".
Maybe actually mentor and build positive in person relationships with the junior team if you are going to say that?
So you're either in a crappy situation or you're viewed as insignificant (not you personally but your role). Perspective - I'm the boss of your bosses boss. Assuming you're competent at your job, the only thing I (and those at my level - industry agnostic) care about is identifying future leaders who we can put in front of clients, build revenue, and will ultimately run the firm. That's it. If you're not one of those, we want you to leave. They're plenty of you to choose from. We want to see how you interact with the team. How you handle stress. How you speak to people. We gauge your overall acumen. Desire to take on more responsibility quickly. Who stands out and who doesn't. Who has leadership potential. It's virtually impossible to gain insight on any of that when you're not here. It just is, again because this is a people business, as almost all are. If you're here for the two yrs to go to X, guess what, same thing exists at X. They want leaders. Be in the office. Be visible. Make a difference. And without being a pain in the ass, make them notice you.
I'm on the trading side, not banking, so obviously the experiences aren't going to be 1:1. That said, the smoothness of the work experience is so much higher on the floor when there are people nearby. Just being able to talk to others on the desk about trade ideas, random internal bs, deal flow,...etc is so much better in person. We have a hybrid model, where most people are in 3-4 days a week, with the option to remote in for a week+ if someone want to get away without taking too much time off. Seems pretty optimal IMO, as flow tends to be dead on Fridays unless there is some big market news.
We have two analysts, and one of them is in every day and the other takes Fridays and sometimes Mondays WFH. The difference between them is astounding. Like you may argue that the first guy is a bigger hardo and would be better anyways, but I think there is a ton of stuff to learn side-by-side on the job, and it's just way more efficient to learn with someone walking over something with you than over a screenshare.
Maybe I'm just becoming old, but I think there are definite advnatages to being there in person. 5 times a week? Probably not needed, but I think it's closer to correct than zero.
Also, what I'm not sure I understand is that WSO was on fire last year as junior bankers complained that WFH made their lifestyles even worse. If that's the case, I don't understand the huge pushback to sort of return to the old normal? Genuinely curious.
Know several juniors in all aspects of finance who say the same thing. Being there is not just more productive, but way more enjoyable. It's like the difference between having your game face on and just going through the motions. Even if your actual job is not stimulating, having others around you going through the same process helps. A kid in a sales role recently told me there's no comparison between his office environment and WFH. He missed the buzz and sense of urgency of the trading floor. He physically could do the same job WFH. Just not the same vibe.
Ideal is a mix of both. Limited facetime culture where you're trusted to know when you need to be in the office or when it doesn't matter.
pre-COVID being expected to be in the office from 9am until 2am was idiotic. Nobody should be in the office past 6pm or 7pm unless there are very specific reasons for it
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