How the battle for hybrid work is turning into a war among City firms

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Hybrid working was meant to be a light in the finance world's darker side in which bulging pay cheques come with the severe cost of burnout and declining mental health.

However, City firms have moved from a light-touch approach to lure employees back to the office after the pandemic, to demands with consequences attached. These have not gone down well with staff contacted by Financial News, and employers that have stuck with hybrid working patterns are touting it as a competitive edge in the battle for talent.

CEOs at banks including Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan have made it clear that they want a full-scale return to the office among their employees. Meanwhile, Citigroup has stuck with a three-day-a-week policy outlined by boss Jane Fraser in the early days of the pandemic and European banks like Deutsche Bank are reducing real estate footprints in a sign the world has shifted.

Three years on from global lockdowns that forced financial services firms to upheave the way they work, the debate rages on about the right approach.

Financial News has written extensively about the hybrid-work battle — here's the best — and latest of our coverage:

Top investment banks battle over hybrid working demands: ‘People are just choosing to resign’

LDC invests £10m to combat lawyer burnout and boost remote working

BlackRock calls staff back to the office four days a week

JPMorgan v Citigroup: Who will prove right in the great work-from-home debate?

Gen Z lawyers would take pay cut for more flexible working

More than 80% of City workers mulling job change due to burnout

JPMorgan tells senior bankers to ‘lead by example’ and spend five days a week in the office

Is working from home dead for dealmakers? ‘The debate has moved on’

Why UBS’s Claire Tucker gave up on ‘work beyond trading hours’

Man Group CFO Antoine Forterre: ‘Hybrid work enables us to attract and retain diverse talent’