JPMorgan employees describe the ‘fear of God’ and ‘panic’ as the company tracks their office attendance

• JPMorgan has asked hybrid employees to come into the office at least 3 days a week.
• The bank is tracking ID swipes to monitor staffers’ office attendance.
• One executive described there being a “fear of God” and “panic” over the attendance quotas.

JPMorgan has started tracking staffers’ office attendance, and employees say it’s creating an atmosphere of mistrust and panic.

Insider reported Wednesday that the banking giant has taken to monitoring employee ID swipes in order to enforce its return-to-office policies, citing four people with direct knowledge of the program. This data helps generate reports that are then used to enforce in-office quotas.

JPMorgan has asked hybrid employees to work from the office at least three days a week, according to a copy of an internal email viewed by Insider.

In a recent letter to shareholders, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said 50% of the bank’s global employees must return to the office five days a week, 40% can follow a hybrid schedule with some days at home and some in the office, and the remaining 10% can work remotely full-time. The bank employs more than 270,000 people.

The tracking and enforcement actions have stoked frustrations about micromanagement.

“At JPMorgan, nobody trusts you,” a London-based technology staffer told Insider. “The higher-ups don’t trust you to do your job if they’re not constantly watching you in the office.” 

A senior asset-management executive also based in London told Insider the return-to-office measures aren’t a hit with managers either, saying some appeared “deathly afraid” of their teams falling short of 100% compliance.

“I don’t know whether it’s because they themselves are too timid or whether it’s because the fear of God has been put into them by a bank manager,” the executive said. “But every time there’s something that requires participation, you sense the panic.”

Both London-based employees told Insider they’re now looking for work elsewhere as a result.

Read the full Insider story here.