Return to Office.
My role is based out in Nashville. But over the last 2 years due to the Pandemic I was working from home. Initially I was there in Nashville for 5 months but later moved back to the west as my wife works here and she already bought home here. They recently mailed out something that few roles will be permanently remote and communicated the same to other media outlets like Bloomberg and CNN. Now they are making a mandate for the employees to come to office weekly every Tuesday and after Labor Day twice a week to the office. Weekly commuting to Nashville from west to Nashville is not feasible or sustainable and moving to nashville doesn’t make any sense with this high inflation and real estate rentals as their pay isn’t that great compared to the other banks here in the west. Now should I ask for a fully remote to stay with the UBS or just leave and find another one within the west coast. I do have couple of offers and all of them are remote. Just been with the bank for 2 years. Honestly coming to Nashville is no way adding value as most of the team sits in Poland, Newyork and London, the team and the work culture is also ok ok.
Leverage your offers to try and get the full remote. I‘ve only seen JPM offer remote roles as counters to people leaving. If the other offers are better, then might as well see what they’ll counter you, otherwise take the other offers.
A fellow bank employee here. Banks will never go fully remote. The first RTO directive within banks (in 2021) was brainstormed by bank executives in NYC. You see, the real estate costs per employee, thanks to pandemic, and the move by certain banks to set up offices in new locations (away from east coast to escape real estate costs) will prompt banks to make every employee come to office, there’s no escaping that! They don’t want their investment go waste.
UBS gave up lease in the Franklin office and now they are using downtown building which is not sufficient for all the employees. I mean my whole team is located in different parts of the world and there is no one that need to interact in the Nashville office. So basically to cover up the bank s investment I should spend commuting which basically adds no value to the work that I do.
They right sized the Chicago office and did a whole redeisgn right before the pandemic hit, it's super fancy and so needs more seat warmers. Some boomer managers/traders want face time, so everyone else are forced to dance along. Especially the old fogs in Zurich. F this place
For the love of everything sane please leave. They will 100% ding your future prospects in career with remote, I'm being told my promotion will depend on showing my face at work regularly (twice a week), and that this year the bonus is F******. So run, just don't even think twice. If situation calls for it, remotes will be axed first, unless you are willing to be a seat warmer your skip levels wouldn't care. Go somewhere else, you will thank yourself for it.
Are you still with UBS ? If so how are things working with you ?
Take the new offer and be with your wife.