Bank of America sends letters threatening 'disciplinary action' to employees who aren't coming into the office

• Bank of America is issuing warning letters to workers who aren't coming into the office. 
• The bank has been sending letters to correct workplace attendance since late 2023.
• Wall Street institutions have been ramping up their return-to-office policies over the past year.  

Wall Street continues to crack down on workers who are reluctant to return to the office.

In its latest effort to herd its employees back to the office, Bank of America has been sending out warning letters it's calling "letters of education" to those who haven't been turning for work.

"Failure to follow the workplace excellence expectations applicable to your role within two weeks of the date of this notification may result in further disciplinary action," read one "letter of education" that was seen by the Financial Times.

Business Insider has confirmed the bank has been issuing the letters.

Since October 2022, Bank of America has been requiring the majority of its employees to come into the office at least three days a week. Those in more client-facing roles in departments, like investment banking and sales and trading, have been asked to come in five days a week, with some flexibility.

While most of the bank's employees have complied with workplace attendance policy, the bank began sending letters late last year in an attempt to rear any stragglers back to the office. Workers usually receive an initial notice before receiving a more formal "letter of education," BI has learned.

Bank of America is just one of several major financial institutions that have ramped up efforts to call their workers back to the office in the last year. In April of last year, JPMorgan's CEO Jamie Dimon mandated the firm's top executives to come into the office five days a week. Goldman Sachs maintains one of the strictest RTO policies in the business — it asks its workers to come into the office five days a week. Morgan Stanley's CEO James Gorman has said that he doesn't expect workers to come in at pre-pandemic levels, but he wants to see them in the office "three or four" days a week.

The good news for those who are making the trek into the office is that it could put you in a better position for a promotion. Stanford economist Nick Bloom said that coming into the office three days a week can give workers more visibility with higher-ups and help them better compete for a promotion. Recent studies have indicated a similar takeaway.