- JPMorgan Chase told workers of its Columbus, Ohio, campus to prepare to return full-time April 21.
- The memo noted there will be additional parking, a new shuttle service, and upgraded dining options.
- Not everyone is enthusiastic about the changes, and three employees told Business Insider why.
Employees of JPMorgan’s largest US campus received their return-to-office marching orders this week in a memo that also outlined the bank’s plans for addressing a lack of key amenities, like food and parking.
The bank told workers of its Polaris campus in Columbus, Ohio — a tech hub that houses roughly 12,000 employees — to return to the office five days a week beginning April 21, according to an internal memo viewed by BI.
“We’re focused on making your full-time return to office as smooth as possible,” read the memo, which was sent to employees of the Polaris office on Monday.
“To ensure everyone can find parking, an offsite parking lot, located nearby, will offer free and ADA compliant, shuttle service, ensuring convenient and accessible transportation to and from the office throughout the day,” the memo said. The bank also promised “upgraded” dining options.
Polaris employees who spoke to BI, however, said they were unimpressed with some of the solutions offered in the Monday memo, including the off-site parking.
“The last thing that I want to do after a full day of work is stand with a group of my coworkers, hope there is enough room on the next bus, ride for 10 minutes to my car parked at the mall, and then drive home,” said a product manager who commutes about 30 minutes one-way to Polaris. He said he’ll try to get to the office early to avoid the hassle.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon in January called the bank’s hybrid workers, who made up less than 30% of its total headcount, back to the office five days a week starting in March. The RTO deadline for employees of the Columbus office, however, was delayed to give the bank time to get it ready.
“Our teams have been working hard to ensure our sites have the capacity and amenities employees will need to return to the office full-time,” a spokesperson told BI, adding, “We have about 12,000 employees working in Polaris. We would not have asked employees to return if we did not have the capacity to accommodate them.”
Polaris, which houses many of the bank’s tech workers and is key to several of its cloud-focused initiatives, was built to accommodate some 12,000 workers. According to internal documents about the property reviewed by Business Insider, the site is home to 13,601 employees with a total seating capacity of 11,930.
The JPMorgan spokesperson, however, said that the 13,000 number includes “engineers, service staff, security guards, and other folks who aren’t in the building daily.”
Still, employees have complained about what they perceive as a lack of desks, parking, or conference rooms, including in employee group chats. In one recent chat, employees discussed a document that appeared to outline how the bank might enforce its RTO mandate, as BI reported last week.
Food upgrades
In addition to parking, the memo also promised of upgraded dining options, such as a “new chef’s table option,” “more guest restaurants in the atrium,” as well as “an exciting new on-campus dining option” coming later this fall.
Two other Polaris-based employees told BI that having more on-site dining choices will be key to ensuring a smooth return now that workers won’t want to give up coveted parking spots or take the shuttle to and from their cars. They noted that one of the two cafeterias at Polaris have been closed for years.
“Leaving for lunch will no longer be an option,” one software developer told BI.
Still, one expressed concern that even with more on-campus dining options, five days RTO will eat into their productivity.
“The complaint that we have really is that everybody’s lunch is 12 to 1,” said a different tech worker. “Trying to go to lunch at that time means you’re in a line forever.”
The Polaris campus is among JPMorgan’s largest at 2 million square feet. It was renovated in 2023 with state-of-the-art technology, including lights that automatically dim in the daytime and water-saving faucets and flushers, according to a JPM press release post-renovation. It is also the site of a leaked town hall with Jamie Dimon in February over the bank’s return-to-office mandate.
Polaris workers told BI they are also bracing for a potentially messy desk situation.
“It’s all open seating with no walls between you and the people sitting around you, who may not even work in your department,” said the product manager. “Everyone is on their own Zoom calls, which can be distracting if you are trying to put your head down and get work done,” he added.
Workers who don’t snag a desk are being told to “just log in using their own device in the atrium or conference center,” the software engineer said, adding, “they are so not prepared for this.”
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