Bank of America Traders Feel Pressure to Go Into the Office

When a group of Bank of America employees dialed into a call with their boss, Soofian Zuberi, late last month, they were expecting to hear that they could continue doing their jobs from the safety of their homes. The coronavirus had ravaged New York City and was tearing across the country, leaving well more than a thousand dead. Most firms, including those on Wall Street, were already recommending that people work from home.

Mr. Zuberi provided no such comfort. Instead, the global sales executive praised individuals by name who were still braving the office, calling them out as if they were soldiers in an ongoing battle, according to three people on the call, which took place on March 27. He emphasized that their colleagues in India were so dedicated to the bank that they were sleeping at the office. The upshot, the people said, was clear: Mr. Zuberi’s group, which sells stocks and other financial products and makes a lot of money for the bank, should be in the office, too.

Mr. Zuberi’s message typified the hard-driving culture that has come to dominate Bank of America’s global markets division since Thomas K. Montag, now the bank’s president, joined the firm 12 years ago, traders and other employees say. And while Wall Street by its nature prizes profitability above all else, at Bank of America that ethos has collided with the fears of employees in a way that has made many of them feel their safety is hardly a priority. The markets division includes bankers, traders, stock salespeople and others who conduct business and trades on behalf of corporations and investors. Such businesses often make their biggest profits during times of extreme market volatility, such as now.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/09/business/coronvirus-bank-of-america-workers.html