Why Jamie Dimon Wants Employees to Stop Working Remotely

According to Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, younger employees who want to progress in their careers need to start coming into the office.

At the Hill and Valley Forum, Jamie said that being in the office is crucial for early-career talent, as they still need to learn critical workplace skills.

He told attendees: “They learn by going on a sales call. They learn by seeing you make a mistake. They learn by how you deal with the mistake.”

This stance also applies to managers, says Jamie, as it makes it more challenging for them to check up on their employees.

“There’s very little follow-up, a lot more game playing, you know, rope-a-dope type of politics,” Jamie said.

JPMorgan Chase’s return to the office

Jamie has been an advocate for in person work, saying that he believes employees being in the office can help improve their overall wellbeing in the long term. 

In 2025, JPMorgan Chase issued a return to office mandate for five days a week. Prior to that, around half of its employees had been on a hybrid schedule. 

Nearly 2,000 employees signed a petition protesting the return to work model, but Jamie said at the time that he believes this would make employees happier overtime – telling Bloomberg “you can’t learn working from your basement.”

He said: “I gave a very detailed answer about why [work from home] doesn’t work for young people, why it doesn’t work for management, why it doesn’t work for innovation.

“I completely applaud your right to not want to go to the office every day. But you’re not going to tell JPMorgan what to do.”

Shifts in remote work

JPMorgan Chase isn’t the only company encouraging employees to increase their in-office attendance. 

In 2025, Microsoft announced it was updating its flexible working policy to have employees coming in three days per week. 

This began at its Puget Sound location at the end of February and will scale out to its other US locations before launching outside the US. 

According to Microsoft, this decision has been made because employees are “more energised, empowered and they deliver stronger results,” when working in person. 

In a memo to employees, Amy Coleman, Chief People Officer of Microsoft, said: “Our goal with this change is to provide more clarity and consistency in how we come together, while maintaining the flexibility we know you value. 

“We want you to continue to shape your schedule in ways that work best for you, making in-person time intentional and impactful. 

“Importantly, this update is not about reducing headcount. It’s about working together in a way that enables us to meet our customers’ needs.

Improving work-life balance

In March, JPMorgan Chase announced that it was introducing a pilot programme designed to improve work-life balance at the company. 

The programme monitors the working hours of junior investment bankers through video calls, keystrokes and meetings to help the bank build a better understanding of staff workloads. 

This move follows the introduction of an 80 hour cap on working in 2024 but, according to reports from the Financial Times, employees often underreport working hours to avoid being told to take breaks or be taken off deals. 

According to JPMorgan Chase, this programme is designed “to support transparency, wellbeing and encourage open conversations about workload.”