Citi bank boss wants staff in the office as they ‘work better together’
Citi today said that it expects its UK-based staff to come into the office at least three days a week once Covid restrictions are lifted, claiming that the “business works best from being together”.
Speaking on the BBC’s Today Programme this morning, James Bardrick, the UK head of Citi, said that the company is asking employees to return to the office to discuss how to work in a way that serves their clients, the firm, and themselves.
“The vast majority of people will be coming into the office up to three days a week but having up to two days a week where they can agree how they might work best and not necessarily in the office,” Bardrick told the BBC.
“We strongly believe that our business works best from being together. We are better together, we succeed for our clients and our organisations together.”
Office encouraged
Hundreds of thousands of Brits have worked from home for more than a year and as lockdown eases, all eyes are on whether this trend will continue.
Citi, which employs 6,000 people in London and 3,000 in Belfast, does business in more than 160 countries across the world.
“To do your job well, to develop as an employee, to get the best out of yourself and for the team, we need to be together. So, three days a week we expect people to be in the office,” Bardrick said.
Can unvaccinated staff come in?
Earlier this week, US investment bank Morgan Stanley said that staff who are not fully vaccinated against Covid will be barred from entering its New York offices.
When asked whether Citi will take the same approach, Bardrick told the BBC that the company will not enforce vaccinations but focus on testing instead.
“Some of our younger people haven’t had that opportunity yet (to be vaccinated), they are just getting it and many are taking it up, but for others it is either not possible or not something that they personally want to do,” he said.