HSBC is the latest big employer to tell staff to return to the office – ordering 18,500 UK workers to their desks for three days a week from next month.
Employees of HSBC UK – the ring-fenced subsidiary of the global lender – were told last week, after rivals such as Lloyds and JP Morgan demanded staff come in more frequently.
HSBC UK, based in Birmingham, has around 14m customers and 18,500 employees, and had allowed individual teams to set hybrid working policies.
In some cases that meant letting staff work from home full-time.
HSBC UK, based in Birmingham, has around 14m customers and 18,500 employees, and had allowed individual teams to set hybrid working policies
HSBC UK said: ‘We have been clear from the outset that hybrid working would evolve to ensure we’re serving our customers in the right way.
‘From October hybrid working will mean colleagues spending typically three days a week in an office or with clients.’
The wider HSBC group has also been affected by hybrid working. It said in June that it planned to move out of its global headquarters in Canary Wharf after more than two decades to the City of London.
That will cut costs, taking advantage of the reduced need for space as a result of employees working from home.
Efforts by banks to make employees come back to the office have met with friction from some.
Trade union Accord, which represents Lloyds Bank staff, expressed dismay when, in April, it told staff to spend at least two days in the office.
It said staff had expressed ‘shock, disappointment and anger at what they see as unnecessary disruption to their lives’.
Many bosses and politicians are increasingly vocal about wanting workers back in the office in order to boost productivity and breathe life back into city centres.
Perhaps surprisingly they even include the boss of Zoom, Eric Yuan, who admitted recently that remote workers ‘cannot have a great conversation’ on video.
#fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle#mobile {display:none} #fiveDealsWidget {display:block; float:left; clear:both; max-width:636px; margin:0; padding:0; line-height:120%; font-size:12px} #fiveDealsWidget div, #fiveDealsWidget a {margin:0; padding:0; line-height:120%; text-decoration: none; font-family:Arial, Helvetica ,sans-serif} #fiveDealsWidget .widgetTitleBox {display:block; float:left; width:100%; background-color:#af1e1e; } #fiveDealsWidget .widgetTitle {color:#fff; text-transform: uppercase; font-size:18px; font-weight:bold; margin:6px 10px 4px 10px; } #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {float:left; display:block; width:124px; margin-right:4px; margin-top:5px; background-color: #e3e3e3; min-height:200px;} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {margin-right:0} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle {display:block; margin:10px 5px; color:#000; font-weight:bold} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage img {float:left; display:block; margin:0; padding:0} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {border:1px solid #ccc} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage img {width:100%; height:auto} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemdesc {float:left; display:block; color:#004db3; font-weight:bold; margin:5px;} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemRate {float:left; display:block; color:#000; margin:5px} #fiveDealsWidget .dealFooter {display:block; float:left; width:100%; margin-top:5px; background-color:#e3e3e3 } #fiveDealsWidget .footerText {font-size:10px; margin:10px 10px 10px 10px;} @media (max-width: 635px) { #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {width:19%; margin-right:1%} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {width:20%} } @media (max-width: 560px) { #fiveDealsWidget #desktop {display:none;} #fiveDealsWidget #mobile {display:block!important} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {background-color: #fff; height:auto; min-height:auto} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem {border-bottom:1px solid #ececec; margin-bottom:5px; padding-bottom:10px} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {border-bottom:0px solid #ececec; margin-bottom:5px; padding-bottom:0px} #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem, #fiveDealsWidget a.dealItem#last {width:100%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {float:left; display:inline-block} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemImage {width:35%; margin-right:1%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent {width:63%} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemTitle {margin: 0px 5px 5px; font-size:16px} #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent .dealItemdesc, #fiveDealsWidget .dealItemContent .dealItemRate {clear:both} }
