Bank Of America Threatens Staff To RTO (Jan 2024)
Bank of America returned to the office on June 1, 2022 with the expectation for all employees to show up full time (five days per week). Bank of America leadership has taken a pro-office stance with little flexibility for remote work. Managers have provided cupcakes, staff lunches, and more perks to entice employees back to the office (which allows us to assume the employee sentiment toward a full office return is negative).
On October 18, 2022, Bank of America released a new policy with more flexibility built-in. Most senior-level managers will be in the office, most finance teams will be in the office, some teams will be in three days per week, and others will get to decide at the department level.
Then on January 24, 2024, B of A sent “letters of education” to employees threatening action if they aren’t in the office for the expected days, according to the Financial Times:
“Failure to follow the workplace excellence expectations applicable to your role within two weeks of the date of this notification may result in further disciplinary action.”
Here is everything you need to know about Bank of America’s return to office plan: the current policy, the timeline of delays, and sentiment from Bank of America leadership about how work will be done in the future at the company.
Bank of America’s Return To Office: Current Policy
- Return To Office Date: October 18, 2022
- Location Policy: Office-first
- Office Visit Expectations:
- Most: 3 days/week
- Senior managers, finance department: 5 days/week
- Office Space Footprint: Unknown (we’re unable to determine if they are growing or shrinking their total office square footage)
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Bank of America’s RTO Timeline
January 3, 2022: Delayed one week
“Bank of America is encouraging employees to work remotely in the first week of January.”
January 10, 2022: Delayed indefinitely
“The company encouraged U.S. employees to work remotely through the week starting Jan. 10 as the bank evaluates its next move, according to an internal memo sent Thursday.”
March 1, 2022: Delayed indefinitely
“All U.S. employees who have been invited to work in the office should ensure that they have transitioned back into the workplace as of March 1,” the memo said, noting all vaccinated employees have been invited back. “These teammates should all be working in the office as of this date, and going forward, for their normal work schedule.”
June 1, 2022: Bank of America’s first return-to-office date
“Bank of America told staff earlier this week that it plans to bring workers back to offices by June 1, including those who are not vaccinated. Staff will return in a series of stages, although workers have already begun returning to offices in some cities.”
October 19, 2022: Updated policy with more flexibility
Bank of America released a new policy with more flexibility built-in. Most senior-level managers will be in the office, most finance teams will be in the office, some teams will be in three days per week, and others will get to decide at the department level.
January 24, 2024: B of A sent “letters of education”:
“Failure to follow the workplace excellence expectations applicable to your role within two weeks of the date of this notification may result in further disciplinary action.”
Sentiment From Bank of America Leadership
Stance on hybrid work
- “Officially, the company’s policy is to encourage employees to work from the office — but not to prohibit those who need it from enjoying occasional flexibility to work from home” (source).
Stance on remote work
- Catherine Bessant, Bank of America Vice Chair, Global Strategy, tells CNBC’s @Work Summit, “We are definitely a company that has worked from office culture” and is “very focused on getting our people back to the office” (source).
Stance on office space
- “Bank of America was among the two dozen major San Francisco companies who signed on to a plan by Mayor London Breed to start bringing workforces back in March in hopes of rejuvenating San Francisco’s pandemic-ravaged downtown” (source)
View All Return To Office Plans For The Fortune 100
Every month, we update every Fortune 100 company’s return-to-office policy. You can download the Fortune 100 RTO spreadsheet below.
RTO news & sentiment by company: Alphabet (Google), Amazon, Apple, Bank Of America, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, Meta (Facebook), Microsoft, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo |
