Barclays’ London bankers lament their last Friday at home

It’s the end of a brief era for Barclays’ bankers in London. 

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As we reported earlier this week, they are being summoned back to the office full-time to coincide with the new FINRA rules in America, even though the FINRA rules don’t apply in the UK. It's apparently just a coincidence. 

Barclays insiders say the edict to return five days a week applies from June 1st, making this the last week they’ll get to work from home. Until now, Barclays' London bankers say they’ve been given leniency on whether to come in or not, and that homeworking varied by team. Some worked from home two days a week. Some worked one. Most people were at home on a Friday.

Not anymore.

“The majority of us are not too happy with this, but it remains to see how enforced it will be,” says one Barclays associate of the new rule. Working from home on a Friday brought lifestyle benefits, he adds: “It allowed people to do things they wouldn’t otherwise do – like going to the gym in the morning instead of the commute, and having plans for the evening.

“I think we just valued the flexibility more than anything,” he muses. 

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