UBS Embraces WFH as Morgan Stanley Doubles Down on Office Return

The company had been using a hybrid approach since the pandemic started, gradually increasing the number of days in which many employees work in their offices at the firm.

The firm will offer “some flexibility” for employees who face certain hardships, Gorman said. However, “that doesn’t mean, ‘Hey, it’s Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and, you know, I’m in Florida,’” he said. “If you want to get paid New York rates, you work in New York. None of this, ‘I’m in Colorado and work in New York and getting paid like I’m sitting in New York City.’ Sorry, that doesn’t work.”

Although he does not want to be “dictatorial” about exactly when employees return to the office full time, he said: “I’ll be very disappointed if people haven’t found their way into the office” by the Labor Day holiday, “and then we’ll have a different kind of conversation.”

After all, “if you can go into a restaurant in New York City,“ he said, “you can come into the office, and we want you in the office.”

Giving the People What They Want

UBS pointed to a global survey that found 86% of UBS employees stated they valued more flexibility, including the ability to maintain a remote or hybrid work arrangement. As technology enhancements and positive adoption of virtual work continue, UBS said it’s “finding new ways to engage with clients and build trusted relationships.”

“Hybrid working has positively reshaped the future of our workplace,” according to Tom Naratil, president of UBS Americas.

“We’re reimagining the way we work and believe this framework will provide an enhanced work-life balance for some of our employees, appeal to a more diverse pool of applicants and increase employee retention,” he said in a statement. “We recognize the world has changed and we continue to adapt so that we can deliver the best for our clients and our people.”

UBS employees who participate in the virtual worker framework “will benefit from virtual engagement opportunities, full access to the firm’s technology platform and applications, and periodic in-person events that will help them build strong relationships with their teams and clients,” it said.

Noting that the company has long supported flexible working, Marc Montanaro, head of human resources at UBS Americas, said in the news release: “We recognize that many employees feel they are more productive and satisfied when they have greater control over their schedule.”

UBS employees “have different needs and demands on their time based on their location, family and personal life, career stage and other factors — some of which change over time,” he added. “This framework will allow employees to more seamlessly balance their responsibilities at UBS with other parts of their life.”

In the future, working with their management teams and partners in HR, employees that participate in the virtual worker framework “will have the opportunity to modify their remote work arrangements in the event they would like to return to the office or work in a hybrid arrangement,” according to UBS.

Wells Fargo’s Strategy

Wells Fargo’s strategy, meanwhile, seems to fall somewhere in the middle of Morgan Stanley and UBS on the flexibility scale among the wirehouses.

“As planned, beginning March 14, 2022, most U.S. employee groups began to return to a hybrid flexible model,” a Wells Fargo spokesperson told ThinkAdvisor on Tuesday. “We are thrilled to begin welcoming the rest of our employees back to the office so we can once again be together, reunite with familiar faces, and build new relationships.”

“We strongly believe in the benefits of seeing our colleagues on a regular basis,” she said, noting, it “will help each of us foster stronger relationships, support in-the-moment collaboration, and allow us to better serve our customers and communities.”

She added: “Our go-forward approach will be office-based, with flexibility. In practice, this means the flexibility to have up to two days a week of remote work, and spending a minimum of three days a week in the office.”

Merrill Lynch/Bank of America did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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