HSBC orders its 18,500 UK workers to return to their desks three days a week
HSBC is the latest major employer to tell its staff to return to the office, ordering 18,500 UK workers to stay at their desks three days a week from next month.
Employees at HSBC UK – the protected subsidiary of the global lender – were informed last week, after rivals including Lloyds and JP Morgan demanded that staff come in more often.
Birmingham-based HSBC UK has around 14 million customers and 18,500 employees, and had allowed individual teams to set up hybrid work policies.
In some cases, that meant letting staff work from home full time.
Birmingham-based HSBC UK has around 14 million customers and 18,500 employees, and had allowed individual teams to set up hybrid work policies.
HSBC UK said: ‘We have made it clear from the outset that hybrid work would evolve to ensure we serve our clients in the right way.
“Starting in October, hybrid work will mean colleagues will normally spend three days a week in an office or with clients.”
The HSBC group in general has also been affected by hybrid work. In June he said he planned to move from his 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 get employees back to the office have met with friction from some.
The Accord union, which represents staff at Lloyds Bank, expressed its dismay when, in April, it asked staff to spend at least two days in the office.
He said staff had expressed “shock, disappointment and anger at what they see as an unnecessary disruption to their lives.”
Many bosses and politicians are increasingly expressing their desire to return workers to offices to increase productivity and bring life back to city centers.
Perhaps surprisingly, they even include Zoom boss Eric Yuan, who recently admitted that remote workers “can’t have a great conversation” on video.
