Traders defy return to work regime
Published: 04:02 PM,Feb 01,2022 | EDITED : 07:02 PM,Feb 01,2022
While staff of most departments are being brought back to offices gradually, since last week, traders at companies who are pushing for a return to pre-pandemic working arrangements think the inflexibility will leave them at a disadvantage.
Though more than two thirds of both service providers and fund management firms said they were moving to a flexible working model — defined as three days or fewer at the office — a sizeable number of companies are asking for traders to be in for four or five days, according to a survey by Redlap Consulting for 2021 for the Plato Partnership.
With most firms looking to make the hybrid-working model a permanent change, bosses are worried about the consequences of pushing their staff to come in. “The message from the top publicly, maybe we are back for five days a week, but you have to be more flexible just to stop people walking’’, said one survey respondent, described only as a head of trading at a large global sell-side firm.
The survey comes as office workers around the world re-examine priorities and shift their working habits. Financial services are among the world’s most regulated industries, with workers accustomed to office cameras, record calls and strict compliance policies.
In the UK, traders at banks and fund management firms are considered key workers, essential frontline staff exempt from lockdowns and work-from-home policies. Traders have said that even at the height of Omicron’s spread, bank trading floors were havens of activity.
But heads of trading said returning to a rigid work structure would leave their company at a disadvantage in hiring and recruitment. The survey found job retention and work-life balance was the top reason why many companies were offering flexibility.
“If firm A can work from home but firm B can’t, there is a risk in draining staff. You have to find out the best way of supporting your PMs (Portfolio managers) yet supporting the traders. It is short-sighted to not have any interest in ever coming back but we need to keep the flexibility’’, said one head trader at a medium-sized UK asset manager.
Another head of trading at a large buyside asset manager echoed this sentiment: “It represents permanent change, but my firm fails to recognise this. It helps in broadening the talent pool and it broadens staff expertise. Why do I have to be based here? I could be in Boston, South Africa or Texas. It’s irrelevant, and my firm’s failure to recognise this means they are losing people.” Some traders voiced their frustration at the fact that they were being forced back into office.
“Initially, the trading desk had to be there everyday, which was ludicrous because we have proven that it has been seamless working from home. If PMs are working remotely, where is the benefit?” said one head trader at a small asset manager.
Even though many firms officially say they are flexible or that heading into the office is voluntary, subtle pressure is being applied to employees to be in more often than not.
Barclays and Goldman Sachs are among firms that have subtly, if not officially, communicated that trading staff must come into the office at least a few days per week, insiders at those firms said.
Traders also fear their firms’ inflexibility will mean losing out on attracting junior staff. One head trader at a medium-sized global asset manager responded: “Generation Z want to be paid fairly for the work they do but they are not chasing money — they are chasing balance.”
Though more than two thirds of both service providers and fund management firms said they were moving to a flexible working model — defined as three days or fewer at the office — a sizeable number of companies are asking for traders to be in for four or five days, according to a survey by Redlap Consulting for 2021 for the Plato Partnership.
With most firms looking to make the hybrid-working model a permanent change, bosses are worried about the consequences of pushing their staff to come in. “The message from the top publicly, maybe we are back for five days a week, but you have to be more flexible just to stop people walking’’, said one survey respondent, described only as a head of trading at a large global sell-side firm.
The survey comes as office workers around the world re-examine priorities and shift their working habits. Financial services are among the world’s most regulated industries, with workers accustomed to office cameras, record calls and strict compliance policies.
In the UK, traders at banks and fund management firms are considered key workers, essential frontline staff exempt from lockdowns and work-from-home policies. Traders have said that even at the height of Omicron’s spread, bank trading floors were havens of activity.
But heads of trading said returning to a rigid work structure would leave their company at a disadvantage in hiring and recruitment. The survey found job retention and work-life balance was the top reason why many companies were offering flexibility.
“If firm A can work from home but firm B can’t, there is a risk in draining staff. You have to find out the best way of supporting your PMs (Portfolio managers) yet supporting the traders. It is short-sighted to not have any interest in ever coming back but we need to keep the flexibility’’, said one head trader at a medium-sized UK asset manager.
Another head of trading at a large buyside asset manager echoed this sentiment: “It represents permanent change, but my firm fails to recognise this. It helps in broadening the talent pool and it broadens staff expertise. Why do I have to be based here? I could be in Boston, South Africa or Texas. It’s irrelevant, and my firm’s failure to recognise this means they are losing people.” Some traders voiced their frustration at the fact that they were being forced back into office.
“Initially, the trading desk had to be there everyday, which was ludicrous because we have proven that it has been seamless working from home. If PMs are working remotely, where is the benefit?” said one head trader at a small asset manager.
Even though many firms officially say they are flexible or that heading into the office is voluntary, subtle pressure is being applied to employees to be in more often than not.
Barclays and Goldman Sachs are among firms that have subtly, if not officially, communicated that trading staff must come into the office at least a few days per week, insiders at those firms said.
Traders also fear their firms’ inflexibility will mean losing out on attracting junior staff. One head trader at a medium-sized global asset manager responded: “Generation Z want to be paid fairly for the work they do but they are not chasing money — they are chasing balance.”