How could the collapse of California’s Silicon Valley Bank, a bank with tens of billions of dollars, have happened?
That’s a question a lot of people are asking, from their tech company customers to the people who work or formerly worked for the bank.
One explanation might surprise you. In a report from Axios today on an analysis by the Financial Times of what happened, it is suggested that the bank’s commitment to allowing their employees to work from home is to blame.
According to the Financial Times, when Silicon Valley Bank imploded last week, most of its 8,500 employees were still working remotely.
And the report says that in a government regulated filing just last month, the bank admitted that they “face risks from a prolonged work-from-home arrangement.” But the bank’s execs said they were prepared to take on extra risks to promote a culture that prized 'empathy' for customers and their staff.
And then there was this about so many of the bank’s employees being allowed to work remotely from a former banker, “Some people moved to Las Vegas or a cabin in the woods and did the digital nomad thing.”
Now while what happened at Silicon Valley Bank doesn’t mean that working remotely is all going away, other major companies have shifted into hybrid schedules working in the office on some days each week and working from home on others.
But this is another sign of how the three years of the COVID pandemic have shaken things up and the way we do things, and maybe forever.
(PHOTO GETTY IMAGES)