Morgan Stanley Interns Prefer Flexible Work Over Office

A majority of Morgan Stanley interns across Europe and the US prefer flexible work over staying at the office. This is in contrast to what the company’s CEO prefers. 

RELATED: JPMorgan Chase CEO Wants Workers Back At The Office

Survey Says New Batch of Workers Want Flexible Work Over An Office Desk

In an internal Morgan Stanley survey, 72% of the company’s 120 interns in Europe favor flexible working when they join full time. In the meantime, 66% of their American counterparts want the same flexibility. 

However, CEO James Gorman already made it clear what he thinks about flexible work. He expects Morgan Stanley workers to return to the office. Last month, he said that Morgan Stanley “would be flexible where flexibility was called for.” 

Employee Expectations Over Flexible Work

The survey presents the divide between employees' and management’s expectations on how to proceed with business. While many employees relished the chance to stay at home with family and while remaining employed, many senior officers believe that employees do their best work when in the confines of corporate offices. 

While Morgan Stanley thrived during the pandemic with many employees working remotely, Gorman insists that “we do our work inside Morgan Stanley offices.

That's where we teach, that's where our interns learn, that's how we develop people, that's where you build all the soft cues that go with having a successful career that isn't just about Zoom presentations,” he said.

By July, some Morgan Stanley employees already returned to the company’s Times Square headquarters on a part-time basis. According to the CEO, workers already completed their vaccination before being allowed to return to their desks. 

Cautious Approach in Asking Workers Back

In asking workers to return to the office, Morgan Stanley took a more cautious approach compared to its peers. Staff must have complete COVID-19 vaccination to get access to the New York office, Despite the requirements, the bank has yet to impose an official deadline to return to the workplace. 

Unofficially, Gorman expects a blanket return in September. “I'll be very disappointed if people haven't found their way into the office and then we'll have a different kind of conversation,” Gorman said. 

New York Rates

Gorman’s hardline approach to getting back to the office reflects the belief that employees have to be where the action is. “If you want to get paid New York rates, you work in New York, none of this ‘I’m in Colorado, working in New York and getting paid like I’m sitting in New York City’. Sorry, that doesn’t work,” the CEO said during a June investor conference.

In addition, he also said that “If you can go to a restaurant in New York City, you can come into the office. And we want you in the office” during the bank's U.S. Financials, Payments & CRE Conference later that week. 

The CEO also believes that with the increasing vaccination rates across the country, working at the office will remain safe. Vaccination rates within the 60,000-employee firm are also high, which makes him confident that working shoulder-to-shoulder on the bank's trading floors won’t be a problem.

Watch the Yahoo Finance video featuring Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman: If you want to make NYC money come back to NYC:

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As an employer, do you prefer workers back at the office? Or, are you okay with them remotely working until the pandemic ends? As an employee, would you prefer going back to the office over staying remotely connected?

Let us know what you think about returning to work in an office capacity. Share your comments in the comments section below.