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JPMorgan Chase’s announcement that all employees will be required to work from the office five days a week starting in March has predictably sent many workers into a tailspin — and they’re reportedly devising ways to fight back.
The company officially told its some 300,000 employees on Friday that it was ending remote work. A little over half the workforce was already working full-time in the office, but for employees still on hybrid schedules, the news wasn’t particularly welcome.
According to the Wall Street Journal, JPMorgan Chase (JPM-4.30%) had to disable comments on an intranet webpage after it was flooded with aggrieved comments about the new policy. Many employees said the new policy would put a strain on their finances, particularly around child care and commuting costs. Others said it would disrupt their work-life balance.
On LinkedIn (MSFT+0.78%), one employee posted publicly about the decision. “I’ve always taken pride in how our firm leads the way in benefits and culture. Yet, I struggle to see how this move will strengthen our organization or positively impact our people,” the worker wrote, according to Barron’s. “While I have little confidence that me raising concerns will reverse the decision, as a senior leader with a decade of service to the firm, I feel responsible to voice my perspective and stand with others who share these views.”
In the memo announcing the policy, the company said, “We know that some of you prefer a hybrid schedule and respectfully understand that not everyone will agree with this decision.”
“We feel that now is the right time to solidify our full-time in-office approach. We think it is the best way to run the company,” it continued.
Some employees were so perturbed by the new policy that they are considering forming a union, like a small group of Well Fargo (WFC-1.73%) employees did, Barron’s (NWSA-5.07%) reported.
Barron’s reports that many staffers filled out a Google (GOOGL-0.35%) Form expressing interest in forming a union, which would be a rare move for the financial sector where organized labor has a minuscule presence.