Citigroup Rolls Out Summer Remote Work Option For Employees, While Rivals Argue 'You Can't Learn Working From Your Basement'

Citigroup C announced Monday that it will offer employees in eligible roles the option to work fully remote for two weeks in August.

What Happened: Chief Human Resources Officer Sara Wechter issued a memo, shared by Business Insider, explaining why the company chose August for this policy: "We’ve selected August because it is traditionally a quieter time for some of our businesses and clients, when many are already out of the office due to vacations."

The memo also highlighted its success with a hybrid model, introduced during the pandemic: "In particular, our hybrid work model helps us attract and retain top talent and sets us apart from other companies in our industry — and we remain committed to this model."

Why It Matters: Citigroup's approach is in contrast with the policies adopted by other major organizations.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon has repeatedly criticized the model, arguing that young workers, especially, benefit immensely from on-site work. “I think our employees will be happier over time. And the younger people will learn the right way, it's an apprenticeship system. And you can't learn working from your basement,” Dimon said.

In April, reports emerged alleging Alphabet Inc.'s GOOG GOOGL Google is directing certain remote employees to switch to a hybrid work schedule or take a voluntary exit package, as part of its wider push to reduce costs.

Last year, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt cited work-from-home and flexible hours policies as the reasons why the company is lagging behind OpenAI in terms of AI innovation.

Tesla Inc.'s TSLA CEO, Elon Musk, once called remote work “morally wrong,” and accused “the laptop class" of "living in la-la land.”

While Citigroup made headlines this week for going against the tide, it was also in the news last week for reportedly planning to slash 3,500 technology roles in China's Citi Solution Centers in Shanghai and Dalian.

Price Action: Citigroup stocks rose 1.06% pre-market, trading at $79.00 at the time of writing, according to data from Benzinga Pro.

The stock scored high in Momentum and Growth, but low in Quality. For more details, check out Benzinga Edge.