Deutsche Bank orders staff: Use office more, don’t work from home on these days

Deutsche Bank issued a shift in its work-from-home policy which mandates that employees should not work remotely on Fridays and subsequent Mondays. The recent directive focuses on balancing office presence throughout the week marking a major change in the financial giant’s hybrid work arrangements. As the bank reassesses its real estate strategy after global shift towards hybrid work, it realised that offices are often underutilized and should have a better and more balanced occupancy distribution, as per Bloomberg.

In an internal memo to staff, Deutsche Bank stated its intention to “spread our presence more evenly through the week” to address inefficiencies identified in the current utilization of real estate resources. As the bank observed erratic occupancy levels throughout the week with offices being approximately 60% full on Tuesday to Thursday and only 40% full on Monday while being occupied only a quarter full on Fridays, it changed the process, the report added.

The decision was flanked by data from Kastle Systems badge data which showed a 60% occupancy rate compared to pre-pandemic levels from Tuesday to Thursday while Mondays witness a 40% occupancy and Fridays are comparatively quieter as only a quarter of the workforce present.

Deutsche Bank has applied the rule from June but this will make it an outlier among firms mandating specific days for in-office presence. According to Scoop Technologies, a mere 6% of firms like Deutsche Bank enforce a physical office presence on Fridays as new work-from-home policies have resulted in managing directors to be present in the office four days a week, while other staff members are expected to adhere to a three-day in-office schedule in such firms.