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No. 6: If you don’t give it to me you’ll only lend it to someone else and look where that got us

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July 2001

Inflexible banks will lose top dogs





       
Douglas in
Wall Street:
no wimp
A report published last month warns City employers that they risk losing the fight to attract and retain top people if they do not adopt more flexible work practices.
The research, conducted by the charity Parents at Work and supported by Pricewaterhouse-Coopers, Simmons&Simmons and Goldman Sachs, suggests that the macho working culture prevalent in London financial companies is outdated and is driving the best to look elsewhere for employment. The lunch-is-for-wimps mantra needs to be replaced with a greater emphasis on employees' work-life balance and concessions to allow parents to combine a commitment to their jobs with family life, say the authors.
Investment banks and other City firms insist that they already allow their employees more flexible work structures. But according to Anna Allan, one of the researchers on the report, this is not enough. She agrees that the situation is improving but only for employees that don't want a high-flying job.
"Arrangements and facilities are in place but the prevailing culture impedes employees from taking them up," says Allan. "You can see that organizations are trying very hard but the people that we interviewed in our focus groups were saying things like: 'We've got masses of flexible working policies but you sacrifice career and promotion so people won't take them up'. If people are expressing that kind of opinion then there is clearly some way to go."
JPMorgan is highlighted by the report as being particularly progressive. Kate Grussing, vice-president at JPMorgan, believes that it is not just the mindset of the managers that need to be addressed. "The challenge has been to move the culture in the right direction. It is not just about the managers, though, it's about getting the people who need flexibility to raise their hands." Now, why wouldn't they?
A point the report perhaps misses is that investment banks are now looking to cut staff, not bulk up, and with profits falling, any saving on redundancy pay is welcome. No wonder there are so few volunteers for flexible hours.
This item first appeared at www.euromoney.com.







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