Working Conditions are changing. Again.

Working Conditions are changing. Again.

I have been reminiscing on my tenured experience of recruiting into Financial Services. In particular the buzz of the City of London for 5 days a week.

It was only a few years back where one of the most important parts of going to work was to build face time with peers and seniors, to help credibility with career advancements and enhancing camaraderie. Not forgetting the fun factor too. It’s crazy to think that this was almost eradicated when COVID descended upon us.

Times have changed, we are now in a huge transition with working conditions, taking our journey back to pre-COVID times.

We are finding that remote roles are almost extinct, that’s for sure. Most firms are still adopting a 3/2 or 4/1 routine, however, there is a surge in companies now insisting on 5 days in the office, and is becoming normal again.

We get lots of candidates coming to us because their companies are enforcing 5 days in the office, and justified with lots of research out there that proves there is less productivity with companies that adopt weekly WFH arrangements. Employees have become accustomed to the new routine of it all – less commuting time and saving money on commuter costs, and yes, being able to take delivery on that all important item you need.

What I find flabbergasting is that we still get job applications of recent graduates who still want to work fully remote, with no idea of what the City used to be like, and expect to be rewarded and have impatient desires for career advancements

My team here at CassonX have seen that many companies now want to do face to face interviews again, not exclusively video, and certainly with those who have a 4/1 or 5 day in office week policy.

Fast forward 3 years, I think everyone will be back to 5 days in office, except for the much larger firms who want to save on office space, and can have more processing type of roles that can be done at home without supervision.

And just to think, 10 years ago I was reminiscing of working in the City where there was open outcry stock markets, and not just seeing it on Trading Places or The Wolf of Wall Street.

I wonder what I will be reminiscing on in 10 years to come…