Standard Chartered CEO Works At the Office Only Four Days A Week

Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters is standing out in the global banking sector by maintaining a flexible hybrid work policy and resisting the rigid office mandates now sweeping Wall Street.

Winters' hands-off stance has helped the bank retain talent, keep attrition low, and maintain a productive workforce in the post-pandemic landscape. (Photo: Standard Chartered)

While peers at firms like JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs push for a full return to traditional office schedules, Winters has adopted a philosophy of employee autonomy and trust, setting his bank apart from U.S. and U.K. rivals, Nick Lichtenberg reported for Fortune.

In a recent interview with Bloomberg Television, Winters was unequivocal: “We work with adults, and the adults can have an adult conversation with other adults and decide how they’re going to best manage their team.”

He emphasized that the approach is “working for us,” adding, “How other companies make that work? Everybody’s got their own recipe.”

For Standard Chartered, that recipe is rooted in flexibility, allowing teams and managers to agree on in-office schedules that meet both business needs and personal lives.

Winters himself follows a hybrid schedule, aiming to be in the office four days a week.

His philosophy is about fostering responsibility: “Our MDs want to come to the office. They come to the office because they collaborate. They manage their people. They lead teams. But if they need the flexibility, they can get it from us,” he said.

This hands-off stance has helped the bank retain talent, keep attrition low, and maintain a productive workforce in the post-pandemic landscape.

Standard Chartered’s performance backs up the strategy: in the second quarter of 2025, the bank reported a 48% jump in pre-tax profit—results Winters cites as proof that the flexible model works.