According to the recent Markets Live Pulse survey, approximately 50% of finance professionals would switch jobs if their employers mandated increased in-office presence. Out of the 1,585 respondents, comprising 1,320 financial professionals and 265 retail investors, over half expressed a preference for a hybrid work setup, while only around 20% favored working exclusively from the office.
The survey’s participation exceeded the average for recent MLIV Pulse surveys, indicating that the return to the office remains a prominent concern for professionals. However, it should be noted that voicing intentions to quit over hybrid work is often easier anonymously than taking action.
Wall Street executives, including JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s CEO Jamie Dimon, have been vocal advocates for a full return to the office, with JPMorgan ending remote arrangements for managing directors in April, requiring them to be in the office every weekday.
The MLIV Pulse survey reveals that approximately 40% of financial professionals currently work from the office four days a week or more, which is about twice the number of respondents who expressed a preference for working exclusively from the office.
According to Rob Sadow, co-founder and CEO of Scoop:
“Employees are really nervous to give even a fingernail on flexibility. Because they think if they give an inch, the employer might keep pulling. So you might see really strong rhetoric or response on flexibility because they think it’s not just that they’re going to be asked to come in a day more — it feels like a gateway to being asked to come in full time.” Rob Sadow
