Finance bosses plan to get more office time from staff

More than three quarters of Britain’s financial sector bosses plan to push workers to spend more time in the office over the next 12 months, according to a survey of 150 industry leaders by KPMG UK.
More than a third of those bosses will expect employees to be in the office at least four days a week, with 45 per cent planning to track staff using swipe systems and just under a third saying they would install digital cameras to monitor attendance.
Many employers have struggled to entice their workforce back to the office since the pandemic, when lockdowns forced millions to work from home.
Another study by KPMG in July last year found that only 10 per cent of financial services staff wanted to work in the office full-time.
The reluctance to return to pre-pandemic working patterns has crushed occupancy rates at many expensive city centre headquarters and junior staff are finding it tougher to collaborate with more experienced colleagues.
Some bosses are also worried about the regulatory and risk pressures posed by hybrid working, though 58 per cent of those polled said flexible working could help them be more competitive.
One of Amazon’s top executives told staff this month they were welcome to work elsewhere if they objected to the company’s policy of coming into the office five days a week, echoing similar sentiments expressed by executives at Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan.
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“There is no one-size fits all approach to this and businesses are still trying to find the hybrid working sweet spot more than two years on from the pandemic,” Karim Haji, global and UK head of financial services at KPMG, said.
“Leaders see the commercial value of hybrid working models, particularly when it comes to attracting and retaining talent, but they are still expecting greater office attendance in the coming months to retain collaboration with colleagues and clients.”