The future of work in banking: How will bankers do business post pandemic?

WITH work-from-home no longer the default mode in Singapore and vaccines being rolled out across the world, it is a matter of time that bankers will not only return to their offices, but also take to the skies. Even so, it is clear that the pandemic has forever changed how bankers work, with implications for the entire industry that will reshape workforce planning, office space and organisational culture, among others.

With the situation still fluid, the future of work in banks is an exercise in imagining possibilities. The Business Times talks to banks and industry watchers to find out what they expect work to look like and how it would impact people.

The global health crisis and all it entailed, including various safe-distancing measures and lockdowns, changed how people did their jobs. Once deemed impossible, Singapore banks found that they could still continue running, with up to 90 per cent of their staff working from home during Singapore's "circuit breaker" period between April to June 2020.