(March 10): HSBC Holdings plc said customer-facing staff in Hong Kong, including traders and salespeople, must either be with clients or in the office five days a week, ending the pandemic era of work from home for frontline personnel in the city.
The new demands, outlined in an internal memo that detailed the updated hybrid working approach, come into effect on April 1.
In addition, managing directors and senior staff who have direct reports are expected to come to the office at least four days a week, while attendance for all other staff in Hong Kong will be at least three days a week, of which one day must be either a Monday or a Friday subject to office space availability, the memo said.
“To our people managers, you are instrumental in driving good practice and experience,” the memo said. “We ask you to role model the change with clear guidance.”
A spokesperson for HSBC confirmed the contents of the memo and said these practices are already embraced by many staff.
HSBC is the biggest bank in Hong Kong and employs more than 20,000 staff in the Asian financial hub. The lender last year asked all managing directors to work in the office for at least four days a week to “set the tone from the top”.
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Six years after the pandemic fueled an unprecedented boom in remote work, bank executives have become more vocal in their insistence that workers should return to the office.
US banks have summoned staffers back to the office at a faster rate than their European rivals, with JPMorgan Chase & Co last year telling all its employees to be in five days a week. London-based peer Standard Chartered plc has maintained a high degree of flexibility, with chief executive officer Bill Winters last year saying he didn’t see a need to force senior bankers to be in the office more.
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