Back in the office, some Citi people are having issues with seating

Last week, Citi emailed 600 people in America and asked them to return to the office. This week, having returned, it seems there might be problems with seating arrangements. 

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Instagram account Litquidity reported today that Citi has asked teams to "shuffle floors and seats" as part of a reorganization. "Many bullpens" are said to be getting separated as seating is altered. There appear to be objections as a result.

Citi declined to comment on the claims. Last week's email requesting that people return to the office full time followed FINRA's edict that supervisors working from home need their offices registered and to be open to site visits from the regulator. Various banks, including Citi, Barclays and HSBC have asked staff to return to the office as a result.

Ten years ago, Citi was one of the earliest adopters of hot-desking in an effort to encourage teamwork and innovation. Even so, Harvard Business Review said people in particular teams liked stability: “Even though the space is completely unassigned seating, I typically sit in the same place each day and so do most of my colleagues.”

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