After months of working from home, banks are still struggling to get their staff back to the office. Some, like UBS, are resorting to unconventional perks of yore.
UBS boss Sergio Ermotti recently revealed that he expects as many as one-third of the Swiss bank's nearly 70,000 bankers and other staff to remain at home permanently. But first, the bank needs to lure the roughly 80 percent of staff still working from home back to the office – a more difficult undertaking than anyone expected.
In London, UBS is resorting to an unconventional lure: the wealth manager is hosting free Friday night drinks for returnee traders in London, according to «Reuters.» UBS isn't the only bank struggling to get staff to return to cramped office space in Singapore, Canary Wharf, Manhattan, or Weehawken, as finews.asia reported last month. At Credit Suisse, 92 percent of staff support the Swiss bank's corona measures.
Carrot and Stick Approach
While UBS is offering drinks, American powerhouse J.P. Morgan is splashing out on free lunches, while Morgan Stanley is tempting bankers back with French patisserie delicacies, «Financial News» reported.
The approach is a marked contrast to an otherwise hierarchical approach favored by most banks. The perks and enticements come against the backdrop of rising infection rates in many countries, including the U.S., Britain, and Switzerland.
