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European Edition
20th May 2022
 
THE HOT STORY
Banks ordered to pull staff out of the City
The European Central Bank (ECB) has told eight unnamed banks to shift staff out of London, saying it has identified 56 groups of traders who should be doing their jobs from within the EU following an investigation into whether the institutions are seeking to dodge post-Brexit rules. An ECB exercise known as “desk mapping” found that the banks, which all have headquarters outside the EU, haven’t boosted sufficient local capabilities to manage their business in the region, people familiar with the process said, adding that part of the reason for the staff shortfall is a reluctance among senior executives to move from London to cities including Dublin, Frankfurt and Paris. The ECB’s review included US lenders such as Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley, and also Barclays, HSBC and UBS, the people said. It is noted that the number of professionals leaving the City post-Brexit has been much smaller than initially predicted. EY estimates that around 7,000 roles have moved since 2016, far fewer than the 200,000 job losses that were forecast before the Brexit vote. 
WORKPLACE
The death of ‘forced fun’ in the office
BBC Worklife reports on how a complete overhaul of office culture has effectively ended the ‘forced fun’ of the pre-pandemic era, including mandatory monthly birthday celebrations, afterhours drinks and outings to obstacle courses.  Participation out of obligation creates a “corporate cult,” according to Paul Lopushinsky, founder of Vancouver, British Columbia-based consultancy Playficient, “where it’s almost indoctrination. You end up with fake smiles. ‘Oh yeah, of course, it’s great here, I just love these activities.’ It’s a culture of harmony with a lot of disharmony just below the surface.” Nevertheless, a new kind of work fun is increasingly important. Events that people actually want to attend are a helpful way to facilitate team bonding, and to give those who’d prefer to remain mostly remote a good reason to re-join their colleagues. Smart companies are working to identify the types of ‘fun’ workers actually like: the things they’ll show up for because they want to, not because their arm is twisted. 
WORKFORCE
A bad commute can set the tone for the day
New research quantifies the cost of commuting on performance. The data show that a difficult morning commute precipitates ill-effects felt down the line throughout the day. “Commuting, especially if it’s not well-planned and predictable, raises stress levels,” said study co-author Pino Audia, a professor of management and organisations at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business. The researchers meanwhile found that walking or cycling to work could make a worker more productive.
HIRING
Irish employers set for record hiring spree
Ireland will see record-breaking hiring activity in Q3, according to an employment outlook survey by ManpowerGroup. The overall employment outlook in the Irish labour market is the strongest in Europe, with 42% of employers intending to hire between July and the end of September. This represents a 10-point rise on Q2 and a 24-point year-on-year jump. However, more than 79% of employers in Ireland are having difficulties filling vacancies, up seven points on Q2.
MANAGEMENT
Sberbank CFO exits sanctioned Russian lender
Three board members of Russia's Sberbank have left their posts, in the latest in a series of senior departures from the state-owned lender since Russia invaded Ukraine. CFO Alexandra Buriko and deputy board chairman Sergei Maltsev decided to terminate their employment with the bank, and board member Natalia Alimova has also resigned.
Leaders learn tough lessons about resilience
The pandemic is boosting demand for leadership capabilities such as empathy, and executive education providers are increasingly putting skills such as compassion and emotional intelligence at the forefront of leadership development.
DIVERSITY
Nike’s diversity chief to leave company after two years
Felicia Mayo, who has served as Nike’s chief diversity officer since July 2020, will leave the world’s largest sportswear maker at the end of July after two years in the role.
RISK
Employers scan for ‘insider threat’
Some private companies in the US are keeping tabs on employees and subjecting them to semi-automated and near-constant assessments of perceived trustworthiness, at times using behavioural science tools like psychology, reports Sarah Scoles for the New York Times. The developments come as some corporate employers fear that employees could leak information, allow access to confidential files, or contact clients inappropriately. “There is so much technology out there that employers are experimenting with or investing in,” cautions Edgar Ndjatou, the executive director of Workplace Fairness, a nonprofit organisation. He believes that there will be a reckoning precipitated by the technology's unintended consequences. “Certainly what we're hoping for, in terms of the workers' rights community, are more checks in terms of what employers can and can't do — not only in the workplace but at home.”
INTERNATIONAL
Australia urged to intervene in Irish telco’s tax dispute with PNG
The Australian government is being urged to intervene in Irish telco Digicel’s tax dispute with the Papua New Guinea (PNG) government in a last ditch attempt to sell its Pacific assets to Telstra. The shock $130m tax imposed on Digicel by PNG’s parliament in late March has put the Telstra deal in doubt. A recently lodged legal claim in the Supreme Court of PNG will argue that the legislation the PNG government is relying on to tax the company is unconstitutional as it was designed purely to target Digicel. Sources familiar with the matter said Digicel was escalating the matter to the International Arbitration Centre in Singapore in addition to filing documents in court. Digicel also wants the Australian government to make representations to the PNG government.
Wells Fargo accused of faking interviews
Former Wells Fargo wealth management executive Joe Bruno has accused the US bank of scheduling fake interviews with black and female candidates for roles that were already filled in order to boost its diversity statistics. Mr Bruno claims he was fired after he blew the whistle to his bosses about the alleged fake interviews. He is one of seven current and former Wells Fargo employees who claim their bosses in the bank's wealth management unit instructed them to interview diverse candidates for positions that had already been filled. “To the extent that individual employees are engaging in the behaviour as described by The New York Times, we do not tolerate it,” the bank’s spokesperson, Raschelle Burton, said.
Saudi megacity NEOM to stay within the law
Saudi Arabia has dismissed suggestions that the kingdom’s planned futuristic megacity - known as NEOM - will abide by different rules and function like a “country within a country.” Andrew McEvoy, head of NEOM's tourism sector, had told UAE's The National newspaper: “NEOM will be treated as a country within a country, with its own economic zone and its own authority. We need to make sure its laws and regulations match the ambitions of those we are trying to attract to work and live here.” Mr McEvoy said that residents of the $500bn Red Sea project would be known as “Neomians” rather than Saudis and that alcohol, which is banned in Saudi Arabia, could potentially be sold there. But the company that is developing NEOM has said the site will be “absolutely subject to the sovereignty and systems of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” according to a report by the official Saudi Press Agency, which observed that NEOM will be “subject to all rules that are applied to any part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in terms of issues related to security, defence and border protection,” although it  “will enjoy some special regulations related to investment.” A senior Saudi official said last year that NEOM would be home to its first businesses and residents by 2025.
 


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