There is no flexibility or consideration of work-life balance - Senior Program Manager First Republic Employee Review

First Republic preaches that it is all about relationships. However, this does not extend to its employees. The Bank does not believe in remote work. When the pandemic first started, the bank was initially very progressive by allowing remote work (while still encouraging employees to come in anyway). The economy was still doing well at the time, so employees were leaving in droves for better opportunities, especially when the Bank tried to end its remote work policy. Reluctantly, the Bank implemented a hybrid model of 2-3x per week in the office for all employees to stop the attrition. The economy is now turning for the worse and the Bank seized on this by requiring its employees to be in the office 3-4x per week for most of the Bank. Eventually, the plan will be to require a full 5x a week in the office. This is a big mistake, as once the economy turns, First Republic will lose its best and most talented people who will leave for competitors or other opportunities with far more flexibility. First Republic does not prioritize the mental health or physical well-being of its employees. Instead, they expect them to commute (some commute about 3-4 hours a day), only to take Zoom calls from our cubicles. That's up to 20 hours a week spent commuting, that people do not get to spend with their families, exercise, or get to do things that need to be done at home. Executives do not acknowledge this because they themselves live close to the office and enjoy coming in. Most surprisingly, the Bank fails to recognize that all the commute time had turned into work time for those who were on a hybrid or remote schedule. This will now become lost productivity for the Bank, in addition to employees becoming increasingly unhappy. If you are considering joining this company, please reconsider if you value flexibility.