JPMorgan Chase’s new office for employees goes viral in a bad way

JPMorgan Chase, one of the largest banks in the world, recently enforced a significant shift in its workplace culture, which involves dramatically scaling back remote work.

In March, the banking giant enforced its new return-to-office mandate, which requires employees to work in the office five days a week. Before the new mandate went into effect, employees were allowed to work in the office only three or four days a week. 

The move sparked backlash from employees, some of whom even started a petition on coworker.org demanding that the company retain its hybrid work model.

In a memo announcing the decision in January, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon claimed that in-person work “greatly enhances mentoring, learning, brainstorming, and getting things done.”

“We know that some of you prefer a hybrid schedule and respectfully understand that not everyone will agree with this decision,” said Dimon. “We are now a few years out of the pandemic and have had the time to evaluate the benefits and challenges of remote and hybrid working. We feel that now is the right time to solidify our full-time in-office approach. We think it is the best way to run the company.”

JPMorgan Chase's new headquarters faces backlash

Over the past few months, JPMorgan Chase has focused on building its new global headquarters in midtown Manhattan for its corporate workforce amid a new full-time in-office approach. 

The office officially opened on Oct. 21. It is 60 stories high and contains 19 restaurants. It also features smart technology and 2.5 million square feet of flexible workspace designed to “accommodate 10,000 employees and thousands of daily guests,” according to a recent press release.

“The opening of our new global headquarters is not only a significant investment in New York, but also a testament to our commitment to our clients and employees worldwide,” said Dimon in the press release. 

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While the opening of JPMorgan Chase’s new headquarters received praise from New York officials, such as Gov. Kathy Hochul and New York City Mayor Eric Adams, it faced outrage on social media. 

In an Oct. 23 post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that garnered over 16.7 million views, Dell CEO Michael Dell shared an image from inside the new JPMorgan Chase headquarters. The image shows a large communal desk setup for employees that appears crowded and lacks workspace separation.

“Congratulations @jpmorgan on the opening of your new headquarters!” wrote Dell in the tweet. 

Congratulations @jpmorgan on the opening of your new headquarters!