JPMorgan people lament "noisy" office, Revolut staff flaunt working by the beach
Last month, Revolut seemingly fired some indirect shots at JPMorgan regarding its decision to bring staff into the office five days per week. Now, Revolut's employees might be adding fuel to the fire.
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Lucia Burgos from the fintech's sourcing team took to social media today to post a video of herself riding a horse on a beach in Morocco, "thanks to [Revolut's] working from abroad policy." She also flaunted other parts of the trip, like riding quad bikes in the desert and enjoying the country's Ramadan celebrations.
Burgos said that "having the freedom to experience places like this while staying on top of work is a game-changer." Revolut has been expanding the policy; it allowed employees to work 60 days per year from a pre-approved country in 2021, but now allows staff to have a "workation" for up to 120 days per year.
Remote workers don't seem to be harming Revolut. Schroders, which has historically been conservative in its estimates of Revolut's valuation, upgraded the value of its stake in the firm to imply a valuation of $48bn.
Tech staff at JPMorgan, meanwhile, seem less enthusiastic about where they're working. It announced in January that it is bringing staff back into the office five days per week; the bank has been adamant on the change, despite objections, to the effect of Jamie Dimon going on a viral rant when confronted by objectors.
Concerns over the commute aside, JPMorgan engineers simply don't seem to be enjoying the office itself. Reviews for the company on forum Blind repeatedly criticise the open-desk plan of the office, calling it "noisy and difficult to work in." Another employee said it is "impossible to concentrate in an open office setting."
Staff say the office is "cramped" as well as loud. Engineers say they "can't find seats" and that there's "not enough room for everyone to come in but they make us come in anyway."
One employee that allegedly took to Reddit instead to complain was Nicolas Welch, who famously contested the decision in a company town hall. An account linked to Welch through a group chat of disgruntled employees condescendingly referred to Jamie Dimon as "unc" and demanded that he "tell us exactly what it is about our work that is substandard" when working from home. Dimon famously complained in the town hall that he calls "a lot of people on Fridays, and there’s not a goddamn person you can get a hold of."
For the firm's New York technologists, the malaise may be temporary. JPMorgan is building a new high-tech headquarters on Park Avenue with an in-house Irish pub, tracked coffee preferences and a "signature scent." The bank does not appear to be installing a Moroccan beach in the building any time soon, however.
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