JPMorgan eases return-to-office rules after pushback

A top JPMorgan Chase executive reportedly briefed some employees this week that they could reduce the number of days they spend onsite — a move that followed internal tensions over the bank’s strict return to office politics.

In a memo addressed to JPMorgan’s “CTO and TRAIN members,” Drew Cukor, chief executive officer of JPMorgan, revealed that affected workers could now only work away from the office two days a week instead of three.

Cukor is an artificial intelligence and machine learning executive at JPMorgan.

“I know many are working effectively from the office, from home, and everywhere in between. I’m grateful for everyone’s hard work and patience over the past few months,” Cukor said in the memo obtained from Business Insider.

“Productivity and providing effective solutions to our business partners is always a top priority, alongside the health, safety and satisfaction of every member of our team,” Cukor wrote. “I respectfully ask that all members of our team take the two days seriously with this generous change.”

Cukor said the change was based on feedback from “many from within the company,” which prompted the department to make “some adjustments” to the policy.

The bank has Reportedly took drastic measures to ensure compliance with the return-to-office policy, including tracking employee IDs to measure attendance. Some employees described feeling stressed about the exertion.

A JPMorgan employee wrote on the corporate message board Blind that, according to Insider, it “feels like every move is being followed.” “We are treated like children who don’t want to do their homework and need constant supervision.”

JP Morgan Chase did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the memo.

Jamie Dimon, chief executive of JPMorgan Chase, is among those urging workers to return to the office — though he conceded in his annual letter to shareholders last month that “working from home will become more permanent in American business.”

In the letter, Dimon predicted that about 50% of the bank’s total workforce would likely need to work full-time onsite in the future, while 40% would adopt a hybrid model and about 10% would be allowed to work remotely full-time.

During a Wall Street Journal event last summer, Dimon said the bank was “taking a hit because it’s coming back internally, but that’s life.”

Business Insider reported last week that, according to leaked internal documents, JPMorgan has a “general expectation” that hybrid workers across the bank will work in the office at least three days a week.

Demanding return-to-office plans are causing trouble on Wall Street – especially among junior staff.

As The Post reported earlier last month, some junior executives at Goldman Sachs have complained that they are being “bullied” for working on-site five days a week.

“At GS, top management says it’s employee choice, but internally they track which team has the most office attendance,” a Goldman employee wrote on the corporate message board Blind.