The future is hybrid, even for the finance sector

In mid-2021, as soon as finance hubs in the US and the UK began to open up after a year of COVID-19 lockdowns, financial service organizations made it clear that remote work would not be a permanent fixture for employers.

Memorably, Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon described remote work as an “aberration”, while Morgan Stanley’s CEO James Gorman declared that younger workers in particular would miss out on learning opportunities if working from home became the norm.

This put the finance sector in sharp contrast to other sectors, most notably tech. But now research by the London School of Economics, in partnership with non-profit organization Women in Banking & Finance (WIBF), has found it also puts financial services employers at odds with their employers.

According to an intensive survey with 100 workers from across the sector, 95% believe that the future of work is hybrid. Just 5% want to return to traditional fully in-office work, and none of them mentioned fully remote work.

The main reasons for their enduring support for some in-person work is the learning opportunities, and the chances to network and be visible to leaders. However, many also saw remote as a safe space, particularly for those with long-term needs and caregiving responsibilities.

Hybrid options were also positive, according to the respondents, because it enabled them to have a better work-life balance. But what they needed is leaders to role model good behavior around the boundaries between work and people’s personal lives.

Building the right hybrid model

While hybrid was the preferred model, there are lots of different iterations of what this looks like in practice. Trust and experimentation were key to figuring out the right model for the organization and individuals – there are lessons here for sectors outside finance.

The main aim of the experimenting was to figure out how much autonomy to give employees. While there is a need to experiment to figure out the number of days in the office that is right for your organization, the consensus was not to have people in the office just sitting on calls on day.

36% said that in-person work must be about collaboration and problem solving, as well as learning opportunities (56%). Plus, there must be regular social activities a few times a year to bring the fun back into the world of work.

The report concluded: “Overall, it is clear that the future of work is hybrid, with the mix between autonomous working and being on-site still under negotiation. It is important that this negotiation is driven by productivity and operations needs rather than one or few persons’ viewpoints.”

Beyond flexibility about where employees work, WIBF’s study found that employees want flexibility about the hours they work. This comes back to the autonomy they are seeking – they want to be trusted to manage their own time – as well as a desire for employers to move beyond inputs and presenteeism and towards output.

“The majority view is that in the future of work leaders should focus on output over hours, and this is what should be assessed when it comes to promotions, appraisals and pay”, noted the WIBF’s research.

Ultimately, 51% of the respondents said they were more productive when they were autonomous and had hybrid working opportunities. This is because they could cut out the commute.

Choose a variation here -> Ultimately, a successful hybrid working model for the finance sector, and beyond, is one that makes the time and cost of the commute worth it.

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