COVID-19: Corporate America under pressure to allow work from home

Amid the unprecedented coronavirus outbreak, anxiety is rising inside major United States corporations regarding differing work-from-home policies. While Wells Fargo & Co became the latest to implement stay at home orders, Corporate America is also under mounting pressure to allow employees to work from home. Cities across the country including New York and San Francisco have shut down bars and other public gathering spaces in a bid to contain the spread of the deadly virus. 

According to an international media report, Wells Fargo & Co ordered employees, who don’t interact with customers and can effectively work remotely, to work from home. Branch, call centre and operations centre employees and their managers are among those considered essential and will continue reporting to their offices. A spokesperson from the bank reportedly said that authorities continue to explore alternatives and are taking significant actions to ensure the safety of the team while also ensuring customers are provided with the services they need. 

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Corporate America, on the other hand, is reportedly under pressure to allow work-from-home. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the financial service is a critical infrastructure and, therefore, many bankers are still reporting to the office. The situation has also caused unease among bank employees from investment bankers to tellers. Several employees have also ignored guidance from managers to report to the office and reportedly claimed that they can do everything from home. 

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Coronavirus disrupts financial services

As the number of confirmed cases increasing rapidly, the spread of the deadly virus has also disrupted trading floors and bank branches. Several companies including Goldman Sachs Group and Citigroup Inc have also opted for a partial work-from-home structure in which teams are split into groups who rotate from home and coming into the office. On the other hand, some banks including JPMorgan Chase & Co have reportedly said that their policies were precautionary and meant to keep employees safe without compromising the quality of service for clients and customers. 

However, banks have also taken measures to make their employees feel safer coming into the office as they have increased cleaning supplies available to workers. As per reports, Well Fargo & Co even ordered over 30,000 hand sanitizer pumps, 30,000 disinfectant wipes and 2,000 hand sanitizer stands. Although, employees still feel that the supply was scarce and they even claim that hand sanitizer and Clorox wipes were still missing. 

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