Mastercard to allow staff to work from home until virus fears subside

[BENGALURU] Mastercard will not ask employees to return to its worldwide corporate offices until they are comfortable that the sometimes fatal coronavirus is under control with vaccines or other measures, a senior executive told Reuters on Wednesday.

The world's second-largest payment processor is also looking at its real-estate footprint and considering consolidating offices, chief people officer Michael Fraccaro said.

"We expect in the coming weeks and months that more employees will continue to work from home than come into office," he said. "And we are OK with that. We support that choice."

While some Mastercard staff have young children or parents to look after, others are concerned about taking public transport to work.

"We have stated upfront to all our employees, that it is their choice ... we want them to make the decision on when they feel comfortable returning to the office," he said.

The company employs nearly 20,000 people globally, with its main headquarters in Westchester, a New York City suburb. Mastercard owns that campus, which it purchased from IBM in 1994.

When the situation stabilises, companies around the world may find that their offices are only about 30 per cent full, Mr Fraccaro said, leading Mastercard to think about its future real-estate needs.

Mastercard joins other technology and financial firms that have said they do not plan to implement widespread get-back-to-the-office initiatives any time soon, including its main rivals American Express and Visa.

Mastercard has created a "future of work" task force that is figuring out how best to handle real estate and employee needs, Mr Fraccaro said.

About 90 per cent of its workforce is operating remotely, including those based in overseas locations including Beijing and Shanghai, Mr Fraccaro said. Employees who work in offices must follow social distancing rules, wear masks and undergo temperature checks, he said.

"Once there is adequate testing and there is a vaccine and people feel comfortable to return, then we may see more," he said. "But in the early phases it will be vastly less than what we had."

REUTERS