RBC asks staff to return to office four days a week

Royal Bank of Canada signage is pictured in the financial district in Toronto Sept. 8, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Lahodynskyj

TORONTO — Royal Bank of Canada has asked employees to be in office four times a week starting in September, according to a memo seen by Reuters, prompting disapproval among some staff discussing the changes in internal chat groups.

The memos from various business heads were sent to staff on Thursday shortly after the bank reported second-quarter earnings that were lower than analysts’ expectations due to a rise in loan loss provisions to prepare for uncertain times.

The memo said the rule does not apply for roles that are fully remote or are already in full-time office arrangements.

“RBC is a relationship-driven bank and in-person, human connection is core to our winning culture. We set the expectation in 2023 that we’d come together in the office for the majority of the time, with the flexibility to work remotely one to two days a week,” a spokesperson said.

A company-wide internal chat group that discussed the change in policy raised questions such as additional travel time and expenses related to transport, a source told Reuters.

The Canadian lender’s decision comes shortly after U.S. bank JPMorgan Chase, in January asked its employees who are on hybrid work schedules to return to the office five days a week starting in March.

RBC has over 94,000 full-time employees across global offices, as of April 30.

(Reporting by Nivedita Balu in Toronto; Editing by David Gregorio)