Spain: leading banks adopt hybrid working at scale amid pandemic

Spain’s largest banking groups have organised a gradual return to the office for staff working in core services but are maintaining remote work to a significant extent. Asked by Planet Labor about their approach, the five largest lenders in the country say the new working arrangements – under which staff can work remotely as much as 50% of the time in some cases – are only temporary and will be adjusted depending on how the pandemic evolves and the health-related measures that are in place. Nonetheless, these efforts to adjust to the environment brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic should pave the way to new ways of working in the long term.
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As staff at Spain’s largest banks return to work, many employees continue to work remotely, with companies still not allowed to fill their premises to their usual capacity. The introduction of hybrid working is only applicable to core services, as employees at branches – considered an essential service – have been back working on site for some time. The new working arrangements are primarily a response to the need to adapt to the pandemic. This has been confirmed by four of the five largest...

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