JPMorgan CEO calls remote work detrimental for leaders

To be successful in the workplace, leaders must discount remote work, according to Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan.

Speaking with The Economist Editor-in-Chief Zanny Minton Beddoes during a recent interview, Dimon said, “I don’t know how you can be a leader and not be completely accessible to your people. I do not believe you can be a leader and not be accessible to your people,” reported Fortune.

While he acknowledged that there are certain job descriptions that benefit from remote work, and JPMorgan has a small percentage of employees who work from home, Dimon does not believe that remote work is good for creativity, management teams, and younger employees under mentorship.

“To the extent it works, I’m okay with it. If it doesn’t work, I don’t mind getting rid of it either,” he said. “We’re not going to make that decision because we’re pandering to employees. That is not the way to build a great company.”

Although he understands that his preference for in-person work is not for everyone, he suggested that employees of JPMorgan who disagree can seek alternative employment. “I completely understand why someone doesn’t want to commute an hour and a half every day. Totally get it,” he said. “Doesn’t mean they have to have a job here either.”

READ MORE: Google moves to get more employees back into the office

JPMorgan’s working arrangements have been centred on working in the office since late 2020, with employees resisting in-person work over the last few years. The global financial services firm, in retaliation, ordered their senior leaders back to the office five days a week under threat of ‘corrective action’.