The Future of Work in FX – the Ongoing Hybrid Work Discussion That Just Won’t Abate
Posted by Colin Lambert. Last updated: October 16, 2024
The long-term success of FX organisations and the industry as a whole relies on developing and maintaining a talent pipeline that extends far into the future – and that starts by realising that the FX talent of today and tomorrow doesn’t necessarily fit into the work culture of yesterday. Martina Doherty shares her perspectives on the hybrid work discussion.
Amazon recently ordered a full-time return-to-office for its workers, arguing that employees will be able to better “invest, collaborate and be connected”. It is a move that seems to blatantly ignore the research that working from home improves productivity and makes for a happier, healthier workforce who stay with their organisations for longer. It has also reignited the debate around remote versus in-office working.
While Amazon is a far cry from the world of FX and investment banking, Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley are among top-tier investment banks that have all been vocal backers of a full-scale return to the office, and although employees are complying in the short term, the longer-term consequences of such a command-and-control style of leadership remains to be seen.
As an executive committee member of the ACI-UK I recently had the pleasure of chairing a roundtable of Millennials and Gen Z front-office professionals in London for an engaging and insightful discussion into how they view the world of FX. Needless to say, the topic of flexible working came up.
The general feeling from the group was that the expectation to be physically present in the office every day is outdated, particularly as roles continue change as work becomes (and will continue to become) more electronified.
Despite the successful implementation of flexible working arrangements during Covid, most of these have since been revoked and the general feeling among the group was that this was based on a desire to take back control rather than a genuine business need – especially as some work (e.g. coding) can be better suited in a quiet working environment than a busy trading floor. A specific example that seemed to ‘lack common sense’ was where employees were expected to be at their desks, even during periods of low activity such as a US holiday, simply because “that’s the way things are done.”
Everyone involved in the discussion said how much they liked working in the office and really saw the benefits of it in terms of how it helped build a supportive and learning working environment. But it was the command-and-control style of leadership and the non-negotiable office-working mandates that seemed to jar most with their values.
A one-size-fits-all return to the office mandate will never be the answer; nor will a demonstration of muscular leadership by making it mandatory, with no discussion
This presenteeism culture was also especially concerning for the females who felt that even though they love their jobs and the industry as a whole, such inflexibility would possibly impact their future in the sector and potentially force them to leave if they were to have children, since it would be an incredibly difficult lifestyle to manage – especially in roles that involve after-work client entertaining.
The reality is that these young professionals are shaped by a different history than previous generations; technology, social media, gender and social equality, the great recession, climate change, more awareness of corporate and social responsibility and Covid-19 are examples of just some of the events that have shaped their perspectives. As a result, their life and career aspirations are very different to those of the older generations. They also have very different views of the role of work in their lives. Therefore, expecting them to adapt to the working practices and leadership styles of previous generations is extremely short-sighted and unrealistic. After all, the older generations didn’t always conform to the formality of their previous generations (e.g. calling senior staff Mr X or even Sir(!) or women giving up work when they got married!) so why would we expect these younger generations to conform to ours?
Expecting them to do so could also be construed as completely hypocritical for organisations that claim to embrace and support diversity, since diversity encompasses much more than ethnicity, gender or socioeconomic status. Intergenerational diversity is an emerging area of interest and one that every organisation needs to start paying more attention to as they now mostly have workforces comprising at least four of the five generations (Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Baby Boomers and Traditionalists).
We all work differently so while full-time in the office works well for some, a hybrid model might work better for others. A one-size-fits-all return to the office mandate will never be the answer; nor will a demonstration of muscular leadership by making it mandatory, with no discussion.
The bright, talented younger generations have very different expectations of what they want from life and work, and with their natural affinity with technology and the digital world, they really matter to the future of the FX industry. Therefore, the long-term success of the industry will rely on developing and maintaining this talent pipeline far into the future and that means recognising the importance of having a positive and flexible work culture. You can’t just put today’s talent into yesterday’s jobs and expect them to thrive, even if you are a powerhouse like Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley! So don’t expect the hybrid working discussion to abate for quite some time…
Martina Doherty is an independent business psychologist, coach and trainer who specialises in creating and delivering bespoke people development, cultural change and employee engagement programmes in high growth companies. She has 20+ years’ experience in financial markets and is also an executive board member of the ACI UK Financial Markets Association. For more information visit www.martinadoherty.com