Finance firms like BlackRock, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs are trying hard to get their staff to show up more often in the office. But occupancy rates seem to be stuck at permanently lower levels than pre-pandemic. Isabel Berwick hears from Professor Scott Galloway at NYU, on why he thinks more office time would be good for us all. And the FT’s Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson has been listening to chief executives voicing their concerns about an epidemic of loneliness.

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BlackRock calls employees back to the office four days a week

Lonely bosses seek opportunity in a crisis of disconnection

You can’t pin workforce problems all on GenZ

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Presented by Isabel Berwick. Produced by Audrey Tinline. Executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Mix by Jake Fielding. The sound engineer is Breen Turner. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Why back to the office mandates aren’t working

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