Leaked JPMorgan Internal Survey Reveals Returning to the Office Hurt Morale The internal survey linked declines in health and well-being scores to return-to-office mandates.
By Sherin Shibu Edited by Melissa Malamut
Key Takeaways
- JPMorgan Chase asks employees for feedback on company culture every year.
- This year, 90% of its workforce, or 284,000 employees, participated in the survey.
- The survey showed that fewer employees think JPMorgan prioritizes their health and well-being compared to last year.
A leaked internal memo shows that more JPMorgan employees are dissatisfied with company culture compared to last year — and the return-to-office mandate is to blame.
In JPMorgan's annual survey of company culture, which asks employees to assign a score to things like internal mobility, work-life balance, and health and well-being, fewer JPMorgan employees viewed their health and well-being as important to the company compared to last year.
Related: JPMorgan Will Fire Junior Bankers Over a Common Practice That CEO Jamie Dimon Calls 'Unethical'
In response, company leadership tied the lower scores to its return-to-office (RTO) mandate. JPMorgan ordered employees back to the office five days a week in March, prompting some staff to look for jobs elsewhere and others to sign a petition calling for hybrid work. Still, the company and CEO Jamie Dimon did not budge.
"Health and well-being scores remain favorable, though they dipped slightly year on year," Dimon and Chief Human Resources Officer Robin Leopold wrote in a leaked memo to staff, which was obtained by Barron's. "We know return full-time to the office has been an adjustment and one that not everyone agrees with, but we continue to believe in-person is how we do our best work and how we foster connections and mobility opportunities."
In the survey, employees also reported lower scores compared to last year for work-life balance and internal career opportunities. Dimon and Leopold reassured employees in the leaked response email that JPMorgan prioritizes "career mobility" as well as "flexibility."
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon. Photographer: Cyril Marcilhacy/Bloomberg via Getty Images
JPMorgan asks employees to take the survey once every year, and this year, 90% of its workforce, or 284,000 employees, responded to it. The participation rate was similar to previous years.
Other banks have asked employees to come back to the office full-time even earlier. Goldman Sachs told U.S. employees in August 2023 that they had to work from the office five days per week.
However, one bank has held onto a hybrid work policy. Citigroup has decided to stick with a hybrid schedule for most of its 229,000-person staff, allowing for up to two days of remote work per week. According to a January report, Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser told directors on a quarterly call that Citigroup's hybrid work policy gave it an advantage in recruiting talented staff.
JPMorgan anticipates that AI will allow it to eventually reduce employee count by 10% in some departments, including operations and account services. The bank, which is the largest in the U.S. with $3.9 trillion in assets, has grown its headcount from around 255,000 in 2020 to 317,000 in 2024.
