HSBC to test Zoom-free Fridays

HSBC is piloting Zoom-free Friday afternoons for some of its staff as it becomes the latest major UK business to tackle working from home fatigue and burnout during the pandemic.

Sources said that HSBC’s UK bank is testing out the idea as part of a taskforce looking at the future of work for employees.

If the idea goes ahead then it would mirror steps already taken by Wall Street firms to combat the blurring of lines between home and work as a result of lockdowns.

Citigroup banned Zoom meetings on Fridays earlier this year after its chief executive Jane Fraser said it had become “apparent we need to combat the ‘Zoom fatigue’ that many of us feel”. She also announced a company-wide holiday on May 28 to avoid the risk of burnout during the pandemic.

A decision is expected to be made in the coming weeks and could see HSBC join the raft of UK companies to introduce “meeting amnesties” to tackle burnout.

Tesco told office staff earlier this year that they can block out “thinking time” every week where no meetings can be scheduled while Channel 4 introduced daily one-and-a-half hour lunch breaks alongside meeting-free Fridays.

In the UK, consultancy KPMG last week said that staff could take 2.5 hours off during any point of the week.

If HSBC’s UK bank introduces a policy of meeting-free Friday afternoons then it will likely pressure the lender’s investment banking unit, which is heavily dependent on meetings and where hours are typically longer, to follow suit. The banking sector is notorious for its long working hours and the pandemic has reignited concerns about well-being in the sector.

A group of 13 Goldman Sachs analysts earlier this year begged the bank to cap working weeks at 80 hours as “inhumane” expectations were leading to mental health issues. One said they were not eating, showering or doing anything else other than working from morning until after midnight. The bank was forced to make changes as a result.

Moves back to the office are being led by US banks, with British players such as HSBC taking a more flexible approach and seeking to slash office space.

Goldman and JP Morgan both led the charge on encouraging London bankers back to the office after the UK’s stay at home order was lifted in March.

Goldman last week told all its UK staff to be back at their desks by June 21, the day UK restrictions are due to be lifted. In comparison, HSBC has said it plans to axe 40pc of its global office space, equivalent to 112 football pitches, as it prepares for change in the way it works.

• Read more: Even the Zoom founder has Zoom fatigue

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