Nearly a year after JPMorgan made a five-day return to office compulsory, an employee petition calling on Chairman and Chief Executive Jamie Dimon to reverse the decision remains active but has attracted only around 2,000 signatures from the bank’s more than 300,000 employees worldwide.
In January 2025, JPMorgan announced that all staff would be required to work from the office five days a week starting March 2025, formally ending the hybrid work arrangements introduced during the pandemic. Shortly after the announcement, employees launched an online petition addressed to Dimon seeking the reinstatement of hybrid working.
According to media reports, the petition stated that employees were concerned about the future of the workplace, including its integrity, employee satisfaction and what they described as increasing toxicity in company culture over recent months.
Some employees reportedly sought guidance from the Communications Workers of America on the possibility of forming a labour union, an uncommon development in the US financial services sector.
However, the Financial Times reported that some staff feared signing the petition could amount to career suicide. The newspaper cited internal backlash to the five-day mandate, with employees expressing confusion over management’s insistence on full-time office attendance despite globally distributed teams. One employee who signed the petition told the Financial Times that their team was spread across two continents and three time zones and questioned why a global company could not accommodate home-based work. The employee added that hybrid working was effective and popular among staff.
Dimon addressed the issue shortly after the petition emerged during a Town Hall meeting, where his remarks drew widespread attention. Responding to a question about the in-person policy, he said employees should not waste time on the petition and stated that he did not care how many people signed it. The comment prompted laughter from some attendees. Dimon emphasised that employees had the choice of whether to work at JPMorgan and described the United States as a free country.
Dimon, who has led the bank for 19 years, argued that remote working had reduced efficiency and creativity. He stated that there was no chance he would leave enforcement of in-office rules to managers and described what he termed abuse of remote working as extraordinary.
In a subsequent interview with CNBC, Dimon maintained that the policy would not change, stating that he was not opposed to working from home in principle but opposed it where it did not work. He added that around 10 per cent of the bank’s roles remain fully remote.
Later, speaking to Bloomberg, Dimon clarified his Town Hall remarks, stating that he had provided a detailed explanation of why remote work did not function effectively for younger employees, management or innovation. He said he respected employees’ right not to want to attend the office every day but stated that staff would not determine company policy.
As March 2026 approaches, marking one year since the full return-to-office policy came into force, the petition remains live but participation remains limited relative to JPMorgan’s global workforce.