RTO Squeeze: Flexibility Means Retention in Financial Marcomms
Our 2026 Salary Survey, released in May, says 69% of financial marketing and communications professionals rank flexible working as a top factor when choosing an employer. 87% say they value hybrid or remote work as a benefit. For many, it's no longer a perk. It's a baseline expectation.
But across financial services, the direction of travel is heading the other way. PNC Bank announced a full five-day return to office starting May 2026. Fidelity is bringing many teams back five days a week.
Citigroup's decision to stay hybrid was framed explicitly as a talent acquisition weapon against competitors with stricter mandates. Across the industry, hybrid arrangements that felt settled a year ago are quietly being tightened, with three-day mandates becoming four and four becoming five.
The pushback isn't just passive. JPMorgan disabled comments on an internal page announcing its policy after 300 were posted in the first hour. At WPP, an online petition calling for the CEO to reverse its four-day mandate has collected more than 18,000 signatures. When employees are organizing against your workplace policy, flexibility has stopped being a preference and turned into a fault line.
During a panel discussion marking the release of the survey, leading recruiters and strategists shared what they're seeing on the ground.
Susan Goodwin Thomas of Heyman Associates is seeing the tension play out in real conversations with candidates: "You can hear a lot more comparison of lifestyle and compensation. Candidates are saying, well, if that were two days a week in the office, then I'd be happy with that compensation." Extra office days carry an implied cost, and candidates expect to be compensated for it.
Sarah Leembruggen of The Works Search noted that flexible working is now "something we're asked about as standard." Where companies aren't delivering on it, she said, "it isn't helping them to hold on to their staff." She also pointed to a related benefit that candidates consistently ask for: more time off. "Lots of holiday. Everyone loves a holiday."
Our Salary Survey data reinforces this. Corporate culture (72%), flexible working (69%), and quality of team (58%) all ranked as leading factors in employer selection alongside compensation (92%). Hybrid and flexible work came second only to health insurance when professionals were asked which benefits they value most. And when asked what benefits their company is missing, better leave and time off ranked third.
Nearly half (47%) of the marcomms leaders surveyed are considering a job move in 2026, yet those who feel secure are largely staying put. Flexibility may be the factor that tips someone from thinking about it to actively looking.
Jack Cody of Opinium reinforced this during the panel: "Compensation is essentially just the hygiene factor. Corporate culture and flexible working opportunities, that will really be the differentiator."
Agencies are already feeling the shift. Leembruggen described a market where the overwhelming majority of candidates want in-house roles, and flexibility is a significant part of why. Goodwin Thomas added that even when employers hold the power in a tight market, the smartest ones are selling something beyond pay: "Be really clear about the long-term opportunity. Build your narrative around what the opportunity is to your candidate."
The data has settled flexibility matters. The question is whether your firm's policy reflects what your best people actually want. The full 2026 Salary Survey report is available for Financial Narrative members.
Click here to download the report
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