JPMorgan: All U.S. Employees to Return to the Office By July

“We will give employees notice about their scheduled return to the office at least 30 days ahead of time, and plan to follow all appropriate health and safety procedures and protocols,” she said.

Goldman Sachs Plans

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon was more vague on the timetable for all of his firm’s employees to return to the office during that firm’s recent earnings call.

“For Goldman Sachs, our people operate at their best when they are forging close bonds with colleagues and furthering the apprenticeship culture that has defined us,” he told analysts. “We have found the best way to do that is to work together in person on a regular basis.”

He stressed that “achieving the objective of bringing our colleagues back to the office is not inconsistent with the desire to provide our people with the flexibility they need to manage their personal and professional lives which is the way we have always run this firm.”

Based on what has been seen in the past year, he said: “I’m more confident than ever in our ability to facilitate this approach going forward.”

Many of the firm’s employees have already returned to their offices. “Over the course of the past few months, we have been welcoming thousands of colleagues back to the office in a manner consistent with safety guidelines in each city in which we operate,” Solomon said.

The company “implemented testing and other protocols across our offices to make for a safer work environment and to provide those returning to the office with a sense of confidence in the return,” he pointed out. “Importantly, I look forward to increasing number of employees returning as vaccination programs around the world expand and we welcome new joiners to the firm’s offices this summer.”

Other Firms’ Plans

Speaking at Ameriprise’s annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday,  Jim Cracchiolo, its CEO and chairman, said: “While we’ve operated extremely well working virtually, we’re looking forward to working together in-person again. As conditions continue to improve with the vaccine roll-out and with many states lifting restrictions, we’re planning to transition more of our employees back to the office over the balance of” 2021.

“The health and safety of our employees and clients is priority” for Wells Fargo, a spokeswoman for that company told ThinkAdvisor on Monday. “We will soon allow advisors in Wealth & Investment Management (WIM) to voluntarily return to a Wells Fargo Advisors (WFA) branch or wealth hub location, up to the capacity set by local ordinances but not exceeding 40%,” she said.

Wells Fargo “previously allowed no more than 20% of any location’s employees to be in a branch or hub location at the same time,” she said, adding: “Safety measures continue, including facial covering requirements, reconfigured office space, and employee health screenings.”

Raymond James, meanwhile, has been “discussing return-to-office and mobility with advisors and associates,” a spokeswoman for that company told ThinkAdvisor on Friday. She added: “We have not yet established specific timelines, but associate, advisor and client safety and CDC guidelines will continue to guide any practices and plans.”

Like JPMorgan’s Dimon, Ronald Kruszewski, Stifel CEO and chairman, commented on the subject in his letter to shareholders last month but didn’t provide any specifics on a return-to-office time frame.

“There is no doubt in my mind about the importance of physically working together,” he said. “The benefits are clear — in training, collaborating, innovating, networking, and more. It is simply the best way to continue to build on our culture.”

Noting that as he was writing the letter the U.S. was “in the process of vaccination,” he went on to say: “I can see life returning to some normalcy, although not yet to completely pre-pandemic conditions. For Stifel, this will include a return to our offices. Rest assured, I am committed to ensuring that this occurs in a safe and fair manner.”