JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon lashes Gen Z, | Australian Markets

Jamie Dimon, the chief government of American banking giant JP Morgan Chase, has “had it” with Gen Z workers and their work-from-home shenanigans.

In a beautiful tirade, delivered to the bank’s workers, Mr Dimon hit out at younger bankers sending textual content messages and taking a look at mail whereas “on the f**king Zoom”.

“Not paying attention, not reading your stuff,” he mentioned.

“If you don’t think that slows down efficiency, creativity, creates rudeness, it does.

“When I found out people were doing that, you don’t do that in my goddamn meetings. If you’re going to meet with me, you’ve got my attention, you’ve got my focus, I don’t bring my goddamn phone, I’m not sending texts to people.

“And don’t give me this s**t that ‘work from home Friday’ works. I call a lot of people on Friday. There’s not a goddamn person you can get a hold of.”

The spray in opposition to distant work, which swept workplaces in response to the Covid pandemic in 2020, adopted a petition from workers protesting the upcoming finish of the hybrid model on the bank.

JP Morgan Chase is ending distant work and Mr Dimon acknowledged bluntly if Gen Z workers didn’t prefer it, they may depart.

“You have a choice. You don’t have to work at JP Morgan,” he mentioned.

“The people who don’t want to work at the company, that’s fine with me. I’m not mad at you. Don’t be mad at me. It’s a free country, you can walk with your feet. But this company is going to set its own standards and do it our own way. I’ve had it with this sort of stuff.

“I’ve been working seven days a goddamn week since Covid. I come in and ‘where’s everybody else?’

“Here and there and the Zoomers don’t show up … that’s not how you build a great company.”

However whereas the highest finish of American finance might quickly wave farewell to WFH, it appears as if Australia’s banking giants will proceed to offer workers the controversial option.

Commonwealth Financial institution, NAB, ANZ and Westpac all offer their employees some variant of the hybrid working model.

NewsWire requested every of the banks whether or not they would proceed to offer WFH all through 2025 and didn’t obtain any indication the preparations could be shelved.

Commonwealth Financial institution and ANZ require workers to entrance up to work in-person a minimum of 50 per cent of the time.

An ANZ spokesman instructed NewsWire the $91bn company recognised the worth of each face-to-face and digital collaboration.

“Being able to work alongside colleagues in person creates a different kind of connection and teamwork than is possible virtually; however, as a global organisation with geographically dispersed teams, we recognise that both face-to-face and virtual collaboration have value in a hybrid world,” the spokesman mentioned.

“Being in the office offers opportunities for informal learning, personal growth and building relationships.

“Interacting with others is one of the most effective ways to foster a sense of community and belonging, particularly for new staff members, as it helps them to feel welcome and accelerates their sense of belonging to ANZ.”

The Finance Sector Union negotiated work-from-home rights for NAB workers of their 2023 enterprise bargaining settlement.

Mr Dimon’s spray, although delivered with apparent frustration, additionally expressed concern that Gen Z workers have been being “left behind” by WFH, dropping out “socially” and in “meeting people”.

Work design knowledgeable Caroline Knight from The College of Queensland mentioned there could be some reality to the declare for some cohorts.

From her analysis with a giant consulting firm with a substantial presence in Australia, she mentioned it was “beneficial” for new workers to start out off within the workplace to satisfy people and “get a sense” of the tradition.

“There’s a big learning curve when you join a new role, particularly for new recruits,” she instructed NewsWire this week.

“I do think it is advantageous to be in the office for a period of time, for a few months maybe, to get to know people, before having a hybrid work set-up.

“That is generally what is emerging in the literature.

“A strong presence in the office initially would definitely help their social skills and knowing how to interact with people and learn for sure.”

However in responding to Mr Dimon’s remarks, she mentioned there was no proof to counsel efficiency declined when workers blended WFH with in-office work.

“From the academic side of research, there’s no evidence I know of to suggest performance is worse when people work say in a hybrid fashion, sometimes from home and sometimes in the office,” she mentioned.

“Generally (WFH) is better for wellbeing. If people are feeling better, they are less likely to go on sick, they are less likely to burn out.

“They are more likely to feel they can manage work demands and home demands.”

FSU national secretary Julia Angrisano additionally warned that employers may wrestle to retain workers with out offering WFH.

“Workers are still seeking out employers who offer flexible work locations,” she instructed NewsWire.

“Employers may find it harder to attract and retain staff when they are forcing workers back to the office with no genuine consultation or flexibility.

“We know from our members that workers who are respected and allowed to do their job with some flexibility are more engaged and productive.”