The world’s largest asset manager BlackRock has told its senior staff to return to the office five days a week.
Sources familiar with the company’s plans have told the media that about 1,000 managing directors globally at BlackRock will be expected to work from the office full time. BlackRock has so far not commented on the stories circulating.
The New York-based finance giant tightened its rules on office attendance in 2023, requiring staff to attend at least four days a week. But the latest move is likely to disturb staff who have become accustomed to working from home one day a week, a source has revealed.
The decision is thought to be the result of the company’s desire to bolster collaboration and to ensure that managing directors are leading teams in person to best serve clients, said those familiar with the plan.
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Larry Fin, BlackRock’s chief executive, has previously warned that working from home could erode corporate culture, echoing rival Wall Street bosses who are keen to see their teams back on the trading floors and in their offices with clients.
The asset manager joins other large US financial services groups such as JPMorgan in tightening flexible working policies, with the US bank having already told its managing directors to return to the office five days a week. A number of large banks, including Goldman Sachs, have also told staff to be in the office during the week.
Many companies have retained some flexible working arrangements since the end of the pandemic but some of the world’s largest, including Amazon, have ordered staff to return to the office five days a week.
BlackRock has about 22,000 employees across more than 30 countries and $11.6tn in assets under management.
Data from professional networking platform LinkedIn in March found 72% of people were happy to attend the workplace when their boss thinks it would be meaningful, but 50% did not want more mandatory office days.
The research revealed that overall, workers agree in-person collaboration can be beneficial in building stronger relationships (45%), boosting engagement in meetings (43%) and speeding up decision-making (36%).
However, consultancies such as Gartner have pointed to recruitment risks for companies seeking to impose more draconian return-to-office mandates. Its own research found that 64% of candidates preferred to work remotely at least 50% of the time.
Meanwhile, younger workers who started work after the pandemic expect to be paid more to work in the office full time, according to a recent study by BSI and think-tank ResPublica.
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