Finance workers draw line on work-life balance

HSBC recently made headlines after warning UK branch staff they could lose bonuses if they didn’t return to the office often enough. It’s the latest in a wave of major employers tightening hybrid working policies – with some pushing for four or even five days a week back at the desk.

From Wall Street banks to high street giants, there’s a growing sense that the great remote work experiment is over. Yet if the 2025 ICAS Careers Survey is anything to go by, many finance professionals didn’t get the memo – or simply aren’t buying it.

When Rutherford Cross last contributed to the ICAS Careers Survey in 2023, the findings reflected a profession in flux – shaped by the pandemic and recalibrating its values around work. Two years on, the 2025 survey confirms what many in the profession have felt intuitively – the changes weren’t temporary. They are structural, generational, and here to stay.

Firms could benefit from reshaping career paths to benefit older and newer workers (Picture: Adobe)

At the heart of this shift is a demand that no longer sits at the bottom of a benefits list – work-life balance. It has become the headline.

Despite 2024 being a tough year for many – with economic tightening, squeezed budgets, and geopolitical uncertainty – finance professionals are more discerning than ever. Career advancement and improved compensation still matter, but they’re no longer pursued at the expense of wellbeing. The data shows this clearly – while perceived opportunities for progression dropped 7%, expectations for changing roles in pursuit of career advancement rose. People want more, but not at any cost.

This is emblematic of a broader renegotiation between employers and their people. Gone are the days when flexibility was a perk. Now, it’s a baseline expectation, and arguably one of the biggest levers for attraction and retention. Those clinging to blanket office mandates may be at risk of hollowing out their workforce, or at the very least, failing to engage their top performers.

The happiest ICAS members this year were those who work either fully remotely or predominantly from home as part of a hybrid pattern. The least satisfied were those pulled back into offices more frequently, particularly without clear rationale.

And yet, a number of large employers are reversing course, tightening hybrid policies or mandating four days in the office. This has left many employees, particularly younger ones who began their careers during or after the pandemic, wondering why they’re being asked to give up the flexibility they’ve always known. For them, this isn’t about nostalgia for how things used to be. It's about equity, autonomy, and efficiency.

Interestingly, many mid-to late-career professionals – those in their 40s and beyond – seem more amenable to returning to the office. They remember life before Zoom, welcoming the structure and the human contact. What’s clear, however, is that a one-size-fits-all policy won’t work. Employers now need to manage across three lived-experience cohorts – the pre-Covid, the Covid-era, and the post-Covid workforce. Each group has fundamentally different expectations.

The companies handling this best are the ones putting trust at the centre. They’re not mandating specific days but encouraging teams to decide what works best. They understand that forcing people in five days a week doesn’t automatically equate to higher performance – and in many cases, it risks alienating talent, particularly where the work is technical, process-driven or fully digital.

Some organisations have been tempted to revert to pre-pandemic models under the assumption that proximity drives productivity, but the data – and experience – doesn’t necessarily support that. For many roles, especially in finance, cloud-based systems and virtual collaboration mean physical presence isn’t always required. The question leaders must ask is not, “How do we get people back?” but rather, “What do we gain by bringing them back – and is it worth the cost?”

When employers choose trust and autonomy, they often reap the rewards in morale, loyalty and performance. Those who revert to control risk higher churn and a disenchanted workforce.

There is, however, a nuance here. One legitimate concern voiced by many professionals – particularly younger ones – is the potential lack of development in a remote-first world. They fear missing out on those career-shaping moments that happen when you're ‘in the room’.

This is where employers must step up. If younger professionals are less willing to trade flexibility for advancement, organisations need to find new ways to deliver mentorship, exposure, and stretch opportunities. If we want to grow and retain future leaders, hybrid working can’t mean sidelined development. It's time to invest in better pathways that match the new world of work.

Work-life balance isn’t just about presenteeism or perks. In Scotland especially, with some of the highest rates of sickness absence and early retirement in the UK, it’s about longevity. The traditional finance career, marked by 60-hour weeks and high stress, has become increasingly unsustainable. People are burning out – and opting out – by their mid-50s.

We’re starting to see a rise in ‘fractional’ working – experienced professionals stepping back from full-time roles without retiring completely. If employers can design more flexible career arcs, making the first half of a career less punishing and the second half more adaptable, we could significantly reduce burnout while retaining critical experience in the workforce for longer.

The 2025 ICAS Careers Survey shows that finance professionals are clear on what they value: opportunity, yes – but not at the expense of their health or autonomy. There’s a standoff of sorts: employees want growth and balance; employers want commitment and performance. But this doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game.

The employers who thrive in the next decade will be those who reject blanket policies, listen to their people, and design careers that work – in every sense of the word.

Mark Lewis is Managing Director at Rutherford Cross, a market-leading search and selection business focusing exclusively on senior finance professionals in Scotland and the UK​