Wells Fargo fires workers for ‘simulating’ being at their keyboards

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Wells Fargo has fired several employees for allegedly trying to fool their bosses into thinking they were working when they were not, in the latest example of a crackdown on non-compliant staff in the era of hybrid work.

The bank said the workers were discharged last month after it determined they had sought to “create the impression of active work” through “simulation of keyboard activity”, according to regulatory filings with Finra, one of the top US securities industry regulators.

All of the employees appear to have worked in the bank’s investment and wealth management divisions. Many were relatively recent hires, joining in the past two years, but at least one had been with the bank for more than seven years.

In a statement, Wells Fargo said it “holds employees to the highest standards and does not tolerate unethical behaviour”.

The regulatory filings did not say what techniques the employees had used, or whether they involved office or home computers. The news of the firings was first reported by Bloomberg.

But news of Wells Fargo’s crackdown comes just a few weeks after Finra reinstated workplace rules that it had suspended during the pandemic, requiring closer supervision of managers’ working set-ups. Many groups warned this would require inspections of employees’ home offices and make it harder for them to continue hybrid work arrangements.

Wells Fargo had been one of the banks that embraced hybrid work for most employees, requiring them to be in the office for only three days a week.

Banks were among the first employers to call workers back to the office after Covid-19 created the need for remote work. Still, a survey earlier this year by workforce consultant Scoop found 82 per cent of large financial companies had retained hybrid work arrangements.

Nonetheless, in the past six months, a number of large banks have either pressed workers to return to the office more often, or have stepped up their efforts to make sure workers are complying with workplace rules.

Earlier this year, Bank of America sent staffers “letters of education”, warning them of disciplinary action for not reporting to work the minimum number of days each week. Goldman Sachs told junior employees earlier this year that they would no longer be able to expense meals when working from home, even if they were working late or otherwise would qualify for a meal in the office.

Late last month, Barclays and Citigroup both told hundreds of staffers they would be required to be in the office five days a week starting this month. Both banks said they were reacting to the recent changes in Finra’s regulations that would make it harder for them to keep remote workers.