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    Scoop: World Bank reveals back-to-office policy; some staff troubled

    World Bank employees in Washington, D.C., will have to report to the office at least four days a week beginning in September, according to a new policy announced to staff this week.

    By Adva Saldinger // 28 July 2023
    World Bank Group employees will be required to go into the office four days a week starting in September, according to an email obtained by Devex detailing a new hybrid back-to-work policy, a move the staff association called “deeply troubling.” World Bank leadership says that returning to the office and working in person will help improve efficiency, urgency, and creativity at a critical moment for the lender as it undergoes reforms. But the staff association said the new policy is “unacceptable in its current form” in a statement published Friday. The new policy has “flexibility built in at the core” and staff will not need management approval for which day to remain at home, or to determine an hourly schedule when they come into the office, according to the email from Diariétou Gaye, the World Bank Group’s vice president for people and culture. The World Bank confirmed the contents of the email. “We know formulas don’t work, life happens, and that there is no one-size-fits-all approach for balancing personal and professional demands,” Gaye said. At a June town hall meeting, new World Bank President Ajay Banga outlined his vision for the policy. While he wants to maintain a flexible workplace, he wants staff in the office more than three days a week, according to audio of the meeting heard by Devex. He will also take advantage of the flexibility by heading to the gym around 4 p.m. some days or working remotely on either side of the weekend to visit family, he said. Banga said he doesn’t believe in tracking hours closely or dictating employee hours. Employees should manage their own schedules to ensure they can collaborate effectively and get things done, he said at the town hall meeting. But the staff association has a different take. Some staff oppose the decision because they say it will have a negative impact on productivity, it is not backed by evidence, will hurt recruitment and retention as employees seek more flexibility elsewhere, may damage mental health, and vulnerable and junior staff may suffer the most from the changes, according to the statement published Friday. The association also complains that the announcement has been rushed with no guidance on how to apply the new “flexibility” and managers were not consulted on how to implement the changes. The result is “utter confusion and resentment” and that “flexibility” has become little more than a buzzword, it said. Many headquarters-based teams have worked from home since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020. And as Devex reported in May, last year staff at the Washington headquarters of the World Bank went into the office an average of 2.1 days per week, but not always for full days. By contrast, staff at missions in many borrowing countries — about half of the lender’s 16,000 full-time employees — have been back in the office for some time. The new policy will help align policies globally and may resolve complaints from officials in shareholder countries about remote work causing friction in setting up meetings during visits to Washington, according to Devex sources. The email closed with another announcement: The World Bank globally will close on Dec. 25 and reopen Jan. 2, making permanent a year-end holiday break.

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    World Bank Group employees will be required to go into the office four days a week starting in September, according to an email obtained by Devex detailing a new hybrid back-to-work policy, a move the staff association called “deeply troubling.”

    World Bank leadership says that returning to the office and working in person will help improve efficiency, urgency, and creativity at a critical moment for the lender as it undergoes reforms. But the staff association said the new policy is “unacceptable in its current form” in a statement published Friday.

    The new policy has “flexibility built in at the core” and staff will not need management approval for which day to remain at home, or to determine an hourly schedule when they come into the office, according to the email from Diariétou Gaye, the World Bank Group’s vice president for people and culture. The World Bank confirmed the contents of the email.

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    About the author

    • Adva Saldinger

      Adva Saldinger@AdvaSal

      Adva Saldinger is a Senior Reporter at Devex where she covers development finance, as well as U.S. foreign aid policy. Adva explores the role the private sector and private capital play in development and authors the weekly Devex Invested newsletter bringing the latest news on the role of business and finance in addressing global challenges. A journalist with more than 10 years of experience, she has worked at several newspapers in the U.S. and lived in both Ghana and South Africa.

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