Major corporations in the United Kingdom are actively working to reduce remote work. In particular, there is an analysis that the trend of putting pressure on employees to return to the office is strengthening, with office attendance rates being reflected in performance bonuses and evaluations, especially in the finance sector.
According to the Financial Times (FT) on the 21st (local time), HSBC's UK headquarters informed retail institutional sector employees that their year-end performance bonuses could be reduced if attendance rates are low. In the future, managers will closely monitor each employee's attendance, and the results will be reflected in the annual performance evaluations.
HSBC has required all employees to work at least 60% of their weekly hours in the office or at customer contact points since about a year and a half ago. However, this measure is noteworthy as it directly links that standard to the reward system, including performance bonuses, reinforcing the company's control. HSBC also plans to improve its internal systems to allow managers to more accurately analyze attendance data for approximately 23,000 employees.
This trend is spreading across the financial sector. Lloyds Bank, the largest retail bank in the UK, recently started reflecting attendance rates in the performance evaluations of senior executives, and global investment banks such as JPMorgan and Barclays are also reducing the remote work practices that were expanded during the pandemic. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan, recently publicly criticized remote work as "inefficient" during an internal event.
The accounting industry is no exception. PwC, one of the four largest accounting firms in the world, notified its 26,000 employees last year that they would track attendance times as billable hours, and EY also considers attendance rates a key human resource management indicator.
Experts analyze that the flexible work arrangements that expanded after COVID-19 are being readjusted amid a trend of strengthening control by corporations. FT reported that due to this measure, rewards could vary based on attendance rates regardless of performance, leading to increased employee backlash and the possibility of renewed labor-management conflicts over flexible work arrangements.