Renowned British multinational investment bank and financial services company, Barclays Plc is planning for normal office life to return.
In a recent interview with Bloomberg Television, Chief Executive Officer Jes Staley said, “We have some 60,000 people working from their kitchen tables. It’s important to get people back together in physical concentrations."
Keeping in mind the health and safety concerns, Jes Staley emphasised precautionary measures would be paramount but didn’t specify any timeframe.
As per BBC news report, the British bank got back a few staff members to offices in the U.K., U.S. and India in July. While, the company told the rest of its workforce to stay home at least until the end of September.
Further giving an insight into his workforce, Staley stated that currently about a quarter of its people are working at Barclays premises. “We have 20,000 people in the U.K. that are actually working from offices. They’re working from our branches, they’re working from our call centers.”
Meanwhile, Staley has previously claimed that headquarters built to house thousands of staff might be a “thing of the past,” also if social distancing meant only two people could take an elevator at a time. Also in April, the American CEO suggested that investment bankers might work from local branches instead, "we want our people back together to make sure we ensure the evolution of our culture and controls, and I think that will happen over time.”
So far few financial hubs in Europe and the U.S. have plans to welcome workers in the next few months, after top offices were closed to slow the spread of the coronavirus, BBC news further reported.
Highlitening about the second-quarter earnings, Barclays said it took a 1.6 billion-pound ($2.1 billion) charge in anticipation of bad loans, and stated that it expects a prolonged stretch of economic contraction.
Amid all the fear of a second wave in the US, companies have pushed back the return for employees. NatWest Group Plc has told most employees to work from home until next year as a precaution against the pandemic.
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