Lloyds Bank ties bonuses to office attendance
Senior staff at Lloyds Bank may have their bonuses cut if they do not go into the office at least twice a week, according to reports.
The Guardian reported that the lender is reviewing office attendance as part of its bonus targets for around 60,000 of its most senior employees.
The move is the latest example of firms’ attempts to get workers back into the office more often following the revolution in working habits imposed by the pandemic.
Many white-collar employers kept hybrid working schemes in place following the lockdowns because it offered their staff greater flexibility.
A report from the Centre for Cities found that Londoners work an average of 2.7 days per week in the office, down from around four before the pandemic.
However, there are growing concerns that home-working hurts productivity as well as employee development because it limits the scope for face-to-face interactions.
As a result, firms worldwide have sought to turn the clock back.
Return to office mandates
JP Morgan told its employees last week that they will need to be in the office full-time starting in March, joining firms like Amazon, which also requires staff to be in the office five days a week.
But these moves are not always popular.
Last week City PM revealed that staff at ad giant WPP will be made to come into the office four days a week, prompting over 10,000 people to sign a petition calling for the company to change tack.
Thousands of civil servants working at the Land Registry will take part in industrial action later this month after they were told to be in the office three days a week.
A Lloyds spokesperson said the bank was “proud to offer an industry-leading approach to flexible working which delivers many benefits for our colleagues while ensuring that we are well-placed to deliver on our ambitious strategy to transform our business and continue to deliver for our customers”.