Bank CEO breaks from the pack on return to office. He goes in 4 days a week but leaves the rest up to the ‘adults’ he works with

In an interview with him recently with Bloomberg TV, Winters was not unambiguous: “We are working with adults, and adults can have a conversation for adults with other adults and determine the best way to manage their team.” He stressed that the approach is “working for us,” adding, “How do other companies make this work? Everyone got their own recipes.” For Standard Charted, this recipe is rooted in flexibility, allowing teams and managers to agree on time tables that suit their business needs and personal lives.

Winters, who follows a hybrid schedule and aims to have four days a week, says his approach is to enhance responsibility. He said: “Our MDS wants to come to the office. They come to the office because they are cooperating. They run their members. They are leading the difference. But if they need flexibility, they can get it from us.” This non -hands stance helped the bank to retain talent, maintain a decrease in attrition, and according to Winters, maintain a fruitful workforce that managed to achieve results in the post -guardian scene.

Standard Charterd’s performance flourishes at the present time. In the second quarter of 2025, the bank informed a 48 % jump in pre-tax profit-winter refers to verifying the validity of the flexible model. In the profit call in the second quarter with analysts, Winters commented on strong results, saying they are “a testimony to our ability to provide exceptional services to support the needs of our customers, and it is clear that our strategy is working.”

A bank is not different from others

The flexible policy of the bank contrasts with an increasing wave of office delegations of industry competitors. JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and HSBC have tightened the office attendance requirements last year. Jimmy Damon, CEO of JPMorgan, criticized work remotely to slow decision -making and inhibit innovation, which recently directed most employees to return to the office full time. David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs, refused to actively work as “not a new natural”, but “the deviation that we will correct as quickly as possible.” HSBC has also recently directed its administrative managers to return to the office at least four days a week.

Other banks, such as CITI, are still more flexible but still require at least three days of attendance at the office, with hybrid employees appoint Windows to work remotely. The trend is directed across many sectors, including technology and telecommunications, towards more stringent requirements in the office, where some senior employers warn that continuous distant work may endanger jobs.

Despite these pressures, Standard Charterd holds it. Winters and the bank’s leadership are still in conviction that flexibility works-determining strong business results, decreased attrition, and positive comments from employees, especially those who balance the responsibilities of care or the preference of unconventional tables. The company was among the first major banks to officially adopted hybrid works in November 2020 and showed only a little tendency to change the path, even with industry morale transformations.

Companies that stand beside the work schedules say that they lead to a better group of talents, a lower rotation, and a happier workplace, while critics say it erodes the human element that is appropriate for wonderful teamwork. Winter rejects such fears. He insists that with the right leadership, the teams remain cooperation and participant, and that forcing employees on solid templates can already hinder the performance, rather than help.

While Wall Street and other sectors discuss the future of work, Standard Charterd approaches a convincing case of value – and the logic of work – to enable employees to achieve their own balance.

Standard Chartard did not respond to the comment.

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