Citi employees in hybrid roles can work remotely for the last two weeks of the year to allow flexibility and a break from routine, a spokesperson for the bank confirmed Thursday to Bloomberg.
The perk, which goes against the grain of Wall Street’s attempt to get employees at their desks five days a week, requires only that employees remain in their country of employment during that time.
CEO Jane Fraser told workers they could spend the final two weeks working remotely during a town hall event in November.
Most Citi employees have hybrid roles, working from the office three days a week or more, and from home up to two days a week.
In an interview with Fortune CEO Alan Murray on the Fortune Leadership Next podcast last month, Fraser said she had one thing in mind when deciding on a hybrid working model for Citi employees in March 2021: “Reality.”
“What we saw and what we learned [from early in the pandemic] was that you didn’t have to be in the office all the time. So we took a step back and said, ‘So we know that can work, but also where is it that actually we are better when we’re together?’” Fraser said. “And we saw what was the why: ... Why we do want people together part of the time?
“There is a lot of value that you get from being together and some more of the spontaneity from that and the collaboration, the apprenticeship … But that being said, that doesn’t mean to say you’ve got to be there all the time,” she said.
Her plans differed from many of her peers. Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon has long said he wanted people back in the office, and JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said working from home “doesn’t work for people who want to hustle.”
The culture that requires junior bankers to be in the office late at night “a bit 1980s,” Fraser told Murray, adding, “Once they’ve done the work collaborating together, they can do that at home. We know if they’re doing a good job or not.”
Citi also gave employees permission to work remotely for two weeks in August.