When Deutsche Bank mandated that its employees should work from office thrice a week, it did not expect so much resistance and criticism from the workforce. The employees have protested on the internal messaging board in Germany, with some saying there is not enough space for everyone to work from the office.
The new return-to-office policy will come into effect starting June 2024. During the pandemic, many of the employees had been allowed to work from home for as much as 60 per cent of their work hours. At that time, employees had been permitted enough flexibility, which helped the financial institution reduce its real-estate expenses too.
Now the Bank has sent out a memo asking its staff members to work from office three days in a week, one of which should be a Monday or Friday. The employees have been permitted to work remotely for not more than 40 per cent of their working time. That means, they can work remotely for only two days in a week. The managers, on the other hand, are expected to be in office four days a week.
Due to lack of sufficient space and other related bottlenecks, some employees are already apparently coming in as early as 7 in the morning to be able to occupy some work space for themselves and their teams.