

The New York Post reported the comments made during an internal conference call. According to the American news outlet, O’Dea said to young bankers: “If you’re 21 to 35, you are nuts not to be in the office all the time.
His comments are in line with those made by the firm’s CEO James Gorman, who earlier in 2021 said: “I fundamentally believe the way you and I develop our career is by being mentored and by watching and experiencing the professional skills of those who came before us.
“You can’t do that sitting at home by yourself – there’s a limit to Zoom technology.”
And some research suggests that workers agree on the benefits of face-to-face working.
Last month, one in five professionals expressed anxiety about the prospect of missing out on both learning opportunities, and chances to progress when not in the office, according to a new report from Momentive.
However, Goldman Sachs' own data found that businesses are now, on average, three per cent more productive per hour since the start of the pandemic – more than double the figure before remote work became more widely spread. The bank’s stats suggested that this would continue to rise – with increased automation and worker efficiency also playing its part – to a huge four per cent in 2022.
And studies have also shown that ending remote working entirely could be actually be detrimental to the careers of some workers.
More than half of women said that working from home would help them progress at work, according to a survey recently commissioned by the BBC. The study found that 56% of UK females said their job opportunities have been boosted as childcare and caring duties become less of a hindrance to working full-time during the pandemic.
The survey also found that 65% of managers think working from home helps advance women's careers.
Work-life balance improves due to WFH
Research has often touted the benefits of remote and hybrid working. Data released in 2021 indicated that organisations that have committed to supporting remote work seem to be carving out more inclusive work experiences for staff members.
The latest analysis from Glint – which looked at aggregated data from millions of staff engagement surveys from over 600 global firms – found that staff members at remote work-friendly organisations were 14% more likely to say that they felt safe to speak their minds.
Elsewhere, nine per cent were more likely to state that their leaders value different perspectives, compared to peers in organisations that haven’t enabled remote work.
Glint’s study also highlighted that virtual work could create a range of opportunities that can help to strengthen feelings of inclusion among employees.
For example, the data stated that virtual ways of working can provide increased flexibility for those with caregiving responsibilities and bypass location bias among other things.
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