Wells Fargo bank recently dismissed several employees who were reportedly pretending to work when they weren’t, in an ongoing move to discipline staff who are not complying, especially in the current hybrid work setting. According to documents filed with the key US securities industry regulator, Finra, it was found that these employees endeavoured to give off the illusion of active work by simulating keyboard movements, leading to their termination last month.
Most of these employees belonged to the bank’s investment and wealth management divisions. A chunk of them were newly recruited over the past two years, while at least one staff member had a stint of over seven years with the bank.
Wells Fargo stated that it regards unethical behaviour as unacceptable and insists on maintaining the highest standards amongst its employees. However, the files from the regulatory did not offer specifics on the methods employed by the workers, or if the deception involved office or home computers. This dismissal news was initially reported by Bloomberg.
This move by Wells Fargo is subsequent to the reinstatement of work rules by Finra that were relaxed due to the pandemic, necessitating a more stringent scrutiny of managers’ work frameworks. Concerns were raised that this would lead to checks at staff’s home workspaces, hence complicating hybrid work arrangements.
In the past, Wells Fargo was one of the financial institutions championing the cause of hybrid work, necessitating employees to be physically present at the office merely three days a week.
Banks were amongst the early adopters of the work-from-home model during the Covid-19 crisis. However, a survey by workforce consultant Scoop exhibited that 82% of major financial companies still maintained hybrid work plans earlier this year.
Nevertheless, several large banks have in the last half-year either urged employees to show up at the office more frequently, or intensified their endeavours to ensure compliance with office rules. For instance, Bank of America earlier sent its employees ‘educational letters’, cautioning them about potential disciplinary action for not meeting the obligatory number of in-office days weekly.
Earlier this year, Goldman Sachs notified its lower-level employees that the company would cease to cover meal costs while they work remotely, regardless of the hours they put in or if their conditions would usually entitle them a subsidised meal in the office setting.
Just last month, Barclays and Citigroup each informed hundreds of their employees of an incoming requirement to be physically present in their respective workplaces for all five working days a week, initiating from this month. Both banking corporations have suggested that these alterations in policy have been induced by the recent modifications in Finra’s rules, posing challenges for their capacity to retain employees in remote positions. This information is protected under the copyright of The Financial Times Limited 2024.