Social interaction is a vital part of the banking industry that we limit at our peril.
We are all now on the starting line, braced for the return to work (RTW), in whatever form it comes. The RTW follows on from what many have judged a successful work from home (WFH) for the banking industry. The pandemic has tested the industry’s contingency thinking, but broadly everyone coped. This experience colours much of the debate on the RTW today. Do we go back to the office or increasingly work remotely?
Virtually everyone has an opinion on the RTW, but there seems little consensus on what should happen next. Maybe this is more of a question: return to what? It rather seems that everyone is a self-appointed expert on the subject, although it is difficult to distinguish personal preferences from real business needs, or even optimistic hopes of cost reduction from genuine promotion of more flexible working. Some employers may indeed be stealthily cutting infrastructure costs under the cover of new working practices. Whatever the motivation, this is a good opportunity to debate the future of work in the banking sector.
Remote and semi-permanent home-working might well suit some industries. Better broadband availability, laptops and communications apps have allowed all of us to keep working, which will have come as a revelation to many. Increased home-office flexibility will probably be with us to stay. Nevertheless, we need to be careful as we evaluate the terms of our return. Most parts of the banking industry should be expected to resume more regular office work, once it is safe and appropriate to do so, of course.
The implementation phase
The RTW is now entering the hot phase of implementation, heralded by varying degrees of obligation, potential enforcement and enticements. There are diktats to return, compulsory vaccinations required and free lunches on offer. There may be some move towards shift working and more hot-desking, with work increasingly taking the form of a hybrid experience of time divided between office, home and travel. Nevertheless, we must be careful not to lose sight of the essential needs both of our industry’s staff, clients and other stakeholders. This is a people business.
On a practical level, we should recognise that many people have found working at home very difficult. Although late-career people (who include most of the current RTW decision-makers) found it easier to operate, benefiting from quieter conditions in leafy suburbs, early- and mid-career staff have faced greater challenges. Working couples, people with small children (or boisterous pets) or early-career staff in small accommodation were hard pressed, with inadequate facilities.
Building morale, ideas generation, training and mentoring, leading and networking are all best done in person
Moreover, it is not all about physical workspaces. There are increasing reports of mental health issues arising from isolation and stress. Remote managers have often been unable or ill-equipped to address these issues and may themselves be suffering. Furthermore, there have been physical health problems, such as repetitive strain injuries arising from poor posture under makeshift working conditions.
Certainly those businesses that choose to adopt part-homeworking in future will have to consider how to better support staff and ensure they are adequately equipped to safely work from their homes. Providing a nice laptop alone does not solve the problem if the only workspace is a noisy kitchen table or the end of a bed.
However, these considerations aside, banking is essentially a people business. It requires the building and maintenance of strong relationships with clients, colleagues and other key stakeholders. Building morale, ideas generation, training and mentoring, leading and networking are all best done in person. Networking is at the heart of our industry, but it has been very hard to do during lockdown.
Indeed, the experience of lockdown has proven that however good the technology currently on offer, it will not yet beat sitting across from the client to make the pitch, grabbing a coffee to catch up informally, meeting someone new, or going into a room to discuss something important. Pre-arranged Zoom calls lack spontaneity and cannot replace the exchange of information and thoughts that oil the wheels of our business. Much unspoken human communication is simply lost in cyberspace.
Questions of management
Turning next to questions of management, the banking industry has been much criticised in the past for its poor people management. Individuals were not necessarily promoted on the basis that they could manage people — rainmakers got big jobs because of their rain, not their damp people skills. Diversity and inclusion, of course, suffered. The industry has nevertheless made efforts to address much of this. However, most aspects of dealing with staff recruitment, team leadership and training requires human contact. Moreover, dealing with all the various issues that arise in teams of highly motivated, but sharp-elbowed people requires deft handling in person.
The banking industry will be far poorer, less efficient and more impersonal if teams don’t regularly meet, private chats don’t happen, coffees are not grabbed or clients not visited. Interactions between real people at real times, in real places, is an important aspect of this industry that we must seek to preserve, not hot-desk and remote-work away.
Finally, banking is a very highly regulated and monitored industry. Remote working away from tightly controlled offices is likely to increase the risk of mistakes, misunderstandings and regulatory problems. Compliance issues will increasingly arise from hard-to-monitor home activity, however good spyware and intrusive technology might try to address the issue.
Maybe the office is facing a defining moment, but social interaction is surely a vital part of the banking industry that we limit at our peril. The hour-long commute may not be my favourite part of the day, but at least it represents a watershed between work and home. I, for one, am looking forward to going back in when the moment comes to meet, greet and order those coffees and beers. I know I am not alone in this. Roll on the RTW.
Tim Skeet is a career banker in the City of London.
