JP Morgan Making Employees Actually Show Up for Work

[CooCooforCoCoPuffs]

It is about time! Have been a manager before, some people don't want to work at work, let lone if they were sent home to motivate themselves to work...
While the cat is away the mice will play.
Not sure I'd ever get anything DONE, I have too many distractions at home.

 

[HermitHogan]

I worked from home for over 10 years, but as a contractor, so if I didn't work, I didn't make any money.

 

[KSav]

I worked from home for over 10 years, but as a contractor, so if I didn't work, I didn't make any money.

Same here, for about 25 years and still doing it. The flexibility is nice, but my deadlines don't move: Whether one of the kids was screaming from an ear infection or I myself had the stomach flu, I still had to get the work done, unlike in an office job, where if you're sick you just don't go in. It's not the cake walk a lot of people seem to think it is.

 

[jujube]

My granddaughter taught school "remotely" six hours a day during Covid while the schools were shut down. That was with a 4-year-old and a1-year-old underfoot because the day care center was also closed.

This was teaching chemistry, biology and general science to middle-and-high-schoolers who were autistic, no less.

No, "working from home" wasn't a walk in the park.

 

[Dr. Jekyll]

I guess I was old school enough that I felt like I had to be in the office to "be at work". As a software developer I literally could have done my job from anywhere in the world, and there were times when my "team" was literally scattered around the world - but I knew myself well enough to know that I would be too easily distracted with other things if I were at home all the time. I certainly appreciated the flexibility to be able to be at home when needed to keep a sick kid, or when the repair folks were coming, etc.; but I never wanted to work from home full time.

 

[Twostep]

I worked from home for 25 years. Contractor and in-house

It is about time! Have been a manager before, some people don't want to work at work, let lone if they were sent home to motivate themselves to work...
While the cat is away the mice will play.
Not sure I'd ever get anything DONE, I have too many distractions at home.

Why so scratchy?
I worked from home for 20+ years in a cut throat industry. My targets were met!

 

[Aunt Bea]

Working remotely was relatively new in the company where I worked in the early 2000s.

I wasn’t allowed to participate because my management believed that I was too valuable.

That idea or theme was pretty common and many people believed that the ability to work remotely on a regular basis was a career ender because you needed to be seen and interact with people to reinforce the fact that you added value.

I’m not a big fan of working remotely other than an occasional day to deal with sick kids, school closures, etc…

For me, it would be too tempting to toss in a load of laundry, watch a television program, or do a little cleaning while deluding myself into believing that I was putting in a hard day at the office.

I need the structure provided by physically going to work.

Maybe new generations will be able to integrate work into their normal daily routine with good results.

It does make sense and would result in savings for employers and employees.

 

[January]

I dont know who JP Morgan is - but If you wouldn't work well from home and would get too distracted, opt not to do it..

Many other people can achieve just as much at home, and perfectly valid and productive for them to do so.

 

[JustDave]

I'm too old to comprehend how working from home can have a positive outcome for a corporation. Some can do it well I have no doubt, but with AI and automation, the workplace will have less need for workers. Those who can produce the necessary output from home will survive. Those who produce less because they just like to be at home will be on a permanent vacation. Maybe I see this working out after all.

 

[VaughanJB]

There's a lot of benefits from working at home. Poor managers might need to find new ways to ensure productivity targets are met - poor people.

I say this as someone who much preferred being in the office. But for some roles, it makes no difference whether someone is at home or not. Plus, working from home saves a business money in many cases.

 

[HermitHogan]

I guess I was old school enough that I felt like I had to be in the office to "be at work". As a software developer I literally could have done my job from anywhere in the world, and there were times when my "team" was literally scattered around the world - but I knew myself well enough to know that I would be too easily distracted with other things if I were at home all the time. I certainly appreciated the flexibility to be able to be at home when needed to keep a sick kid, or when the repair folks were coming, etc.; but I never wanted to work from home full time.

The greatest benefit I found working in close proximity to other developers was the ability to brainstorm ideas. Of course, it can be done with virtual meetings and chat, but it's not the same. And it's not as fun as working directly with people, providing they're good people and working towards the success of the project. When you're working with a-holes, telecommuting is far better. I've experienced both.

 

[Twostep]

I dont know who JP Morgan is - but If you wouldn't work well from home and would get too distracted, opt not to do it..

Many other people can achieve just as much at home, and perfectly valid and productive for them to do so.

Here you go:
J.P. Morgan Australia & New Zealand | About us

 

[HoneyNut]

Maybe if going to "the office" meant going to "an office" that would have some benefit (though also plenty of negatives), but I only had a real office for my first job out of college, after that it was cubicles whose walls gradually became lower and lower until we were all staring at each other (and hearing each other), and the size of the cubicles shrank eventually to the size of a box (just big enough to fit the chair).

The first job I had that let us work from home some days of the week had a very good system of encouraging us to improve the home environment and we'd fill in surveys with our 'lessons-learned', such as the first lesson I learned was that I needed a phone that had a speaker and that I could mute myself. Then I learned how to send commands to servers as if I was physically at the console, which was not only helpful for my own local office servers but gave me control of servers in other states.

But by the time of Covid we had so many collaboration tools that even if we were in the office we'd be collaborating and communicating via our computers, so the only benefits to the office were going for walks together and access to donuts or cookies in the break room. Plus realistically half our teammates were in different states so if we were to just communicate privately with the people co-located with us, that would have been extremely unprofessional and cause problems.

Though a few times the ability to spread information without having our names associated with it was useful, such as when another team used unsanitized (real) customer banking data and our teammate in that city didn't want to rat them out, she texted me and I said out loud 'omg we can see real bank account data' and that got the notice of a VP within hearing distance and he gave us 10 minute deadline to properly report it or he would, so we just let the time expire so he had to be the bad guy getting that other team in trouble. That was kind of fun and exciting.

 

[WhatInThe]

The purpose of job is to serve the business and their customers. The business/employer gets to decide what the job requirements are. If want one doesn't want to go to an office find another job.

Personally brokerage and banking services sucked during the lockdowns with at home employees. I got drunks, call dumpers, idiots much of which would've been a non issue in an office with supervision. And with banking/finance of anykind I really don't like my personal information on a computer screen where a non employee could see it. And if a corrupt employee they could do things like take a picture of it and use for crime later.

 

[Tommy]

I know of a young person who works 100% from home as a software consultant. The company has consultants throughout the world and does not have any "office". Even the president works from home.

 

[dilettante]

A lot of pink collar jobs have a high proportion of "fluffer nutters." They can be difficult to isolate and expensive to terminate within a bureaucratic organization, so some degree of inefficiency and cost to the organization's image is inevitable. Especially in the era of DEI, which is now ending in most private companies.

Meta ends diversity programs, joining McDonald's, Walmart and other major companies to back off DEI

Meta is ending its key diversity, equity and inclusion programs, joining other corporate giants like Ford, McDonald's and Walmart that have pulled the plug on their DEI initiatives.

These jobs were the easiest "at home" candidates. It's not like they were an easy problem to keep cleaned up at the best of times.

 

[CooCooforCoCoPuffs]

I worked from home for 25 years. Contractor and in-house
Why so scratchy?
I worked from home for 20+ years in a cut throat industry. My targets were met!

I just come across "scratchy" as I am one of those who would never be able to work from home, WAY too distractible!
Example: every morning, I get up; get coffee; INTEND to read the WSJ cover to cover, then READ my financial stuff through, check accounts, etc>

HOWEVER: What REALLY happens is I go straight to SF and "hang out" at the water cooler. ROFLOL.

Not sure why...I do this, either?

Also get "scratchy" because have managed people many years, and so few are ones who are ABLE to work and get things done alone at home without "supervision"?

I admire those of you who CAN do so, and are trustworthy and or non-distractible!

 

[CooCooforCoCoPuffs]

A lot of pink collar jobs have a high proportion of "fluffer nutters." They can be difficult to isolate and expensive to terminate within a bureaucratic organization, so some degree of inefficiency and cost to the organization's image is inevitable. Especially in the era of DEI, which is now ending in most private companies.

Meta ends diversity programs, joining McDonald's, Walmart and other major companies to back off DEI
These jobs were the easiest "at home" candidates. It's not like they were an easy problem to keep cleaned up at the best of times.

The last 5 years felt like some weird business world social experiment or nightmare. I was never so thankful I was NOT working as a manager/supervisor between 2019 and today. What a mess. I personally don't know if I'd been able to do it.

I pray to GOD they never shut down our society again. So much damage was done that now we are trying to FIX.
I see reports of people who "don't want to go back to the office" - such as FEDERAL employees, specifically, as whiners. Geez, people, that is WHY you get paid: to do your job AT work - and they NEED you there as a group to function in MOST instances.

 

[Twostep]

I just come across "scratchy" as I am one of those who would never be able to work from home, WAY too distractible!
Example: every morning, I get up; get coffee; INTEND to read the WSJ cover to cover, then READ my financial stuff through, check accounts, etc>

HOWEVER: What REALLY happens is I go straight to SF and "hang out" at the water cooler. ROFLOL.

Not sure why...I do this, either?

Also get "scratchy" because have managed people many years, and so few are ones who are ABLE to work and get things done alone at home without "supervision"?

I admire those of you who CAN do so, and are trustworthy and or non-distractible!

It takes a good manager to put a remote team together and keep it going.

 

[VaughanJB]

The purpose of job is to serve the business and their customers. The business/employer gets to decide what the job requirements are. If want one doesn't want to go to an office find another job.

Personally brokerage and banking services sucked during the lockdowns with at home employees. I got drunks, call dumpers, idiots much of which would've been a non issue in an office with supervision. And with banking/finance of anykind I really don't like my personal information on a computer screen where a non employee could see it. And if a corrupt employee they could do things like take a picture of it and use for crime later.

That's a really negative view, imo. Surely it's not all black, there must be some white? Nothing about serving the business and customers dictates being at a central location. At least for the most part.

Also, if your staff act as you suggest, then they're bad employee's either way. The business really needs to take a look at its culture and why they seem to hire people with these attributes. IMO.

A lot of pink collar jobs have a high proportion of "fluffer nutters." They can be difficult to isolate and expensive to terminate within a bureaucratic organization, so some degree of inefficiency and cost to the organization's image is inevitable. Especially in the era of DEI, which is now ending in most private companies.

This must be dependent on the state you're in. In Texas, for example, getting rid of someone was very easy. But better yet, hire good people you don't want to get rid of.

I see reports of people who "don't want to go back to the office" - such as FEDERAL employees, specifically, as whiners. Geez, people, that is WHY you get paid: to do your job AT work - and they NEED you there as a group to function in MOST instances.

"At work" doesn't mean in an office, imo. It's time based. I was "at work" while I was working for the business and not myself. Every team I worked on had core office hours, but we'd also be on-call any time of the day and night. One essentially contracts with a business to dedicate X number of hours to do the work that is required.

Some of the ideas stated in this thread strike me as being old-fashioned thinking. Times change, efficiencies can be gained by working smarter. Long, and expensive commutes, are not a good way for your employees to spend their time. The idea that "well, if they don't like it they should get another job", is a pretty damning attitude at a time when everything is moving online. We don't need dictators stuck in their old, ways, we need people with a vision, people who are flexible.

For example, the Federal government. Don't we all want our governments to be more efficient, lightweight, and focused? Do they really need huge buildings in often expensive real estate?

It's the future people!

 

[Twostep]

The last 5 years felt like some weird business world social experiment or nightmare. I was never so thankful I was NOT working as a manager/supervisor between 2019 and today. What a mess. I personally don't know if I'd been able to do it.

I pray to GOD they never shut down our society again. So much damage was done that now we are trying to FIX.
I see reports of people who "don't want to go back to the office" - such as FEDERAL employees, specifically, as whiners. Geez, people, that is WHY you get paid: to do your job AT work - and they NEED you there as a group to function in MOST instances.

You have been negative about Federal employees. Please correct me - were you not on .gov payroll and now retirement?

 

[CooCooforCoCoPuffs]

That's a really negative view, imo. Surely it's not all black, there must be some white? Nothing about serving the business and customers dictates being at a central location. At least for the most part.


...Some of the ideas stated in this thread strike me as being old-fashioned thinking.

It's the future people!

Do you actually know just how difficult it is to recruit, hire and keep really good employees: those who show up; show up on time; don't take sick leave or personal time every other week for lame excuses? Thos who give their best each day; hold themselves responsible for doing a good job; don't blame shift; don't steal other employee's lunches or snacks from the kitchen; don't bring home dramas to work so much other employees roll their eyes? Get along with others? Dress appropriately for public contact, out of respect for others? Have you managed more than 100 employees in 14 separate departments? Dealt with unions?

"Old Fashioned" thinking? Ageist statement if I ever saw one.
Hmmm...what would that be like? Experience perhaps?
Some common sense, enough to realize things can be situational, and in fact are; are in fact NOT black and white at all?
Of course your litany of 'caveats' are valid, though. Lots of those to go around.
Yup, Texas is an at will state.

We need people with "vision". ROFLOL seriously, dude? I'd be happy with people with some fortitude who know how life goes; who stays off their iphone long enough to take a potty break and not stay in there hiding texting friends while they are on MY DIME to accomplish a mission of the organization!

Don't try to fix something that isn't broke.

 

[Twostep]

Do you actually know just how difficult it is to recruit, hire and keep really good employees: those who show up; show up on time; don't take sick leave or personal time every other week for lame excuses? Thos who give their best each day; hold themselves responsible for doing a good job; don't blame shift; don't steal other employee's lunches or snacks from the kitchen; don't bring home dramas to work so much other employees roll their eyes? Get along with others? Dress appropriately for public contact, out of respect for others? Have you managed more than 100 employees in 14 separate departments? Dealt with unions?

"Old Fashioned" thinking? Ageist statement if I ever saw one.
Hmmm...what would that be like? Experience perhaps?
Some common sense, enough to realize things can be situational, and in fact are; are in fact NOT black and white at all?
Of course your litany of 'caveats' are valid, though. Lots of those to go around.
Yup, Texas is an at will state.

We need people with "vision". ROFLOL seriously, dude? I'd be happy with people with some fortitude who know how life goes; who stays off their iphone long enough to take a potty break and not stay in there hiding texting friends while they are on MY DIME to accomplish a mission of the organization!

Don't try to fix something that isn't broke.

Very few US states are not at will. An employer firing " at will" is not likely to happen.
If you were dealing with 100+ you had an HR department handle the brunt.

 

[January]

Some of the ideas stated in this thread strike me as being old-fashioned thinking. Times change, efficiencies can be gained by working smarter. Long, and expensive commutes, are not a good way for your employees to spend their time. The idea that "well, if they don't like it they should get another job", is a pretty damning attitude at a time when everything is moving online. We don't need dictators stuck in their old, ways, we need people with a vision, people who are flexible.

I agree with this.

Times change and technology changes, good management is flexible and adapts to that. Rather than saying we should be doing the same as we always did
Why use computers, pen and paper were fine in my day?

I also think good management brings out the best in people - if lots of employees are taking lots of sick leave and not doing their job well, why is that?
It could be that it is so hard to find good staff these days - or it could be the workplace is toxic and people lose motivation and that is how it shows.

Many jobs that used to need people to be physically at the same location no longer do.
I think most people work better with some real connection to others and very few jobs are entirely done from home since Covid - but many are combination now - ie some work from home days and some in the office days.

And, no, I haven't managed 100 employees or whatever qualification we needed to have a valid opinion - but I have worked in work places that turned toxic with change of management- my response when that didn't improve was to change jobs. But not everyone has that option.
Nor have I ever worked from home or been in a job that could be done from home - but I don't think that stops me from understanding how technology has changed.

 

[VaughanJB]

Do you actually know just how difficult it is to recruit, hire and keep really good employees: those who show up; show up on time; don't take sick leave or personal time every other week for lame excuses? Thos who give their best each day; hold themselves responsible for doing a good job; don't blame shift; don't steal other employee's lunches or snacks from the kitchen; don't bring home dramas to work so much other employees roll their eyes? Get along with others? Dress appropriately for public contact, out of respect for others? Have you managed more than 100 employees in 14 separate departments? Dealt with unions?

Do I manage now? No. I was however a Director for Europe for a software company with responsibility for Support, Professional Services, and Training. I interviewed all candidates to these three departments (along with the managers that reported to me).

If someone is having a hard time finding good people (let alone the horrors you're listing) then I think any good manager would turn their eyes inward. Why are you attracting such people? Is your environment toxic? Why is the interview process making it difficult to weed out the good people from the bad? Do your people truly know what they're looking for, and know how to interview? Are your salaries not competitive?

Either, as you seem (but may not) to be suggesting, the US is suddenly full of losers and shirkers, or the business is failing to take the time to find the right people. Interviewing is never easy, on either side. I used to allocate time for an interview with myself (and they would be as long as it took for me to get a real feel for how technically competent the candidate is), an interview with the direct manager/s in question, and then - if we were in agreement (and ONLY if we were in agreement) time with the team members with whom they'd be interacting.

I'm not going to claim everyone we hired was brilliant, but the only real loser I had was a guy I inherited. I'm a strong believer that the employees are the prime resource for a business. They're not simply head count, they're not stop gap.

"Old Fashioned" thinking? Ageist statement if I ever saw one.
Hmmm...what would that be like? Experience perhaps?
Some common sense, enough to realize things can be situational, and in fact are; are in fact NOT black and white at all?
Of course your litany of 'caveats' are valid, though. Lots of those to go around.
Yup, Texas is an at will state.

Ageist? Not only am I likely as old as yourself, but in your terms, is there anything suggesting something is the result of old fashioned ideas, that couldn't be considered "ageist"? I call it progress. Things move on. Things change. Things we held sacrosanct become redundant.

From what I read earlier, I pictured a cantankerous old man screaming orders at his slaves, telling them off at every opportunity. This kind of draconian employer/employee model is old school, and I'd certainly never have worked at such a place for long. Common sense to me is pushing the business forward, and having the right people on the bus to help you push it. Not square holes causing problems, which breeds a toxic environment.