Back to the office crackdown: JPMorgan orders ALL execs to return five days a week to be available for 'impromptu meetings' as white collar Wall St law firm will now tie bonuses to office attendance

• JP Morgan Chase & Co is ordering its managers to return to the office full time in order to be present for 'impromptu meetings' and tying pay to attendance
• In a memo sent out this week company leaders said managers need to be 'visible on the floor' and 'accessible for immediate feedback' 
• JP Morgan's announcement comes as Davis Polk & Wardwell told employees they could see their bonuses reduced for not adhering to hybrid policies 

JP Morgan Chase & Co is ordering its managers to return to the office full time in order to be present for 'impromptu meetings' and 'immediate feedback.' 

Company executives are asking for those in charge to 'lead by example' and return to the office five days a week, even threatening that not meeting attendance guidelines could result in consequences.

'Our leaders play a critical role in reinforcing our culture and running our businesses,' the memo obtained by the Wall Street Journal reads. 

'They have to be visible on the floor, they must meet with clients, they need to teach and advise, and they should always be accessible for immediate feedback and impromptu meetings,' the letter continues. 

The push comes as Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP,  a major New York law firm, told staffers that those who don’t adhere to the firm’s three days in office per week policy could see their bonuses reduced. 

JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon has been open about his desire to bring back workers full time, previously stating he was worried the $3 billion Park Avenue building was not being used as much as it should be. 

In August, DailyMail.com reported that Dimon was worried that the 70-floor Manhattan building would sit empty if staff continued to work from home. 

The memo sent out this week appears to address the previous concerns.  

'We need them to lead by example, which is why we're asking all managing directors to be in the office five days a week,' the memo states.

Currently, most employees are working hybrid between home and in office three days per week. Some employees may work more with prior approval. 

Dimon admits that most workers are adhering to the three day in office rule but that others are not meeting the minimum. 

'Most of you are following your hybrid models, but there are a number of employees who aren't meeting their in-office attendance expectations, and that must change,' the memo said.

'You're responsible for meeting your hybrid model requirements,' the memo adds. 

Additionally, there could be consequences for workers who refuse to abide by the three days in office policy for lower-level employees as well as managers who do not to enforce it. 

'Your manager is responsible for ensuring that attendance requirements are being met and in cases where they aren't, taking the appropriate performance management steps, which could include corrective action,' the memo states.

'Corrective action,' however, is not defined. 

JP Morgan's push is just a step behind Davis Polk's idea to tie pay and attendance together.

'We’re very focused on having our team in at the same time,' said Neil Barr, chair and managing partner of Davis Polk in a statement to the Wall Street Journal. 

'The expectation is that you come to the office and you support the culture of the firm by being here in person,' Barr said. 

'When you’re working in a profession where apprenticeship is part of the craft, I just don’t believe it can be done digitally,' he said. 'So we feel really strongly about it.'

He said he understands employees who do not wish for things to change but that he and other executives believe things are more productive in office.  

'I said, "Look, I’m not apologizing for this conclusion,"' Barr said. 

'I think this is a really fundamental part of our ability to be a premier law firm. There are a lot of things about this institution that are special, and you cannot replicate them digitally,' Barr told The Journal. 

Additionally, Barr said he fully believes that tying pay and bonuses to attendance will be successful in the long run.    

'People got the message,' Barr said. 'We think it will work.'

On the West Coast, Walt Disney Co. announced in March that they would bring employees back to the office four days per week. 

The move was met with major pushback as more than 2,000 employees signed a petition to stop the return to office order. 

The mandate, the employees claimed, would lead to 'forced resignations among some of our most hard-to-replace talent and vulnerable communities' while also 'dramatically reducing productivity, output, and efficiency.' 

'Sitting on Zoom calls in an office for four days a week while your co-workers, partners, stakeholders, vendors, and customers do the same in a different part of the world does not meet the core need,' the petition states.

'There is value in being together, but we also need to look forward and embrace new paradigms that add value,' it continues.

Major employers have been pushing to bring workers into the office since the COVID-19 pandemic began and have recently ramped up efforts as fears over the coronavirus subside.