UBS and The Future of Working From Home

The concept of the home office is taking root: Switzerland’s UBS is developing new structures that will allow up to a third of its personnel to work from home at any one time.

While Switzerland as a country is slowly working its way back into the office, the times of the strict distinction between work and home increasingly looks a concept of a past era. Large companies such as UBS are in the process of implementing new forms of flexible work for its staff.

Sabine Keller-Busse, the chief operating officer of the Zurich-based bank, told Bloomberg that in future, up to a third of the company’s staff will be allowed to work from home

A spokeswoman for the bank said that the bank wouldn’t have a set quota and that the possibility to work from home would be handled flexibly. This means that a third of the workforce working from home will be made up of different people, with many members of staff able to do some home office work in the future.

The bank has the technology available to maintain its services throughout an emergency situation such as the one presented by the pandemic, giving remote access to its bankers to systems they need for their work – anywhere, at any time from any device. Thus, UBS was able to run its business with as many as four out of five staff working from home during the lockdown period.

The extended form of home office for UBS staff evidently will require an adjustment of the office space needed by the bank. The bank has no ready concept yet of such changes, the spokesperson added.