London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 28, 2026

'We need to get Monday back' and get people in the office earlier in the week, says the CEO of the world's largest insurance marketplace

'We need to get Monday back' and get people in the office earlier in the week, says the CEO of the world's largest insurance marketplace

John Neal was talking to the FT about getting brokers and underwriters back on Lloyd's trading floor earlier in the week.
Corporate leaders who are desperately trying to get their employees back to the office are finding that it's still hard to get people to show up on Mondays.

"Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays are busy," John Neal, CEO of the world's largest insurance marketplace Lloyd's of London, told the Financial Times in an interview published Wednesday.

"We need to get Monday back," Neal told the media outlet, summing up a challenge in getting employees back to the office at the start of the week.

He was talking about getting brokers and underwriters back on Lloyd's trading floor — where deals for specialist insurance policies — such as marine insurance and body parts insurance — are struck.

It's not the first time Neal is calling for a return to the office after employees were in a prolonged remote working situation during the pandemic.

"I think it's massively important for younger workers to experience in-person trading," Neal had told The Telegraph in September 2021. "We have the best talent in the world in London in the insurance industry, but we need to be with that talent to help develop them so the next generation can be better than my generation. We have a responsibility to the next generation," he added, per the UK-based newspaper.

A Lloyd's spokesperson told Insider it needs both a "thriving physical space" and a fully integrated digital offering for the marketplace of the future it's building.

Corporate leaders across the board are now pushing back against remote work, with some echoing Neal's sentiment that the arrangement isn't ideal for the development of young workers, because they hurt their opportunities for learning, socializing, and networking.

David Solomon, Goldman Sachs CEO, who once called remote work "an aberration," told CNBC in October 2022 it was especially important for younger employees to show up in the office. "We have an organization where 50% of the people are in their 20s. They come to Goldman Sachs to learn, to meet people, to interact," he told the broadcaster.

"It doesn't work for young kids, it doesn't work for spontaneity, it doesn't really work for management," JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon told CNBC's Squawk Box on January 19.

Other high-profile executives who want their employees back in the office include Citadel CEO Ken Griffin, Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman, Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, and Tesla CEO Elon Musk.

While Lloyd's Neal may have been referring to employees in the UK, the experience across the Atlantic is similar.

Office occupancy across 10 metro cities in the US peaked at an average of 58% on Tuesdays and Wednesdays and was just over 50% on Thursdays in February — far leading the occupancy rates of 46% and about 30% for Mondays and Fridays, Kastle Systems, an office security firm, said in a March 6 report.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Millions of UK Benefit Recipients Receive Payments Early Ahead of August Bank Holiday
UK Prime Minister Meets Northern Ireland Leaders in Belfast Over Budget Crisis
Crypto Tax Gains Reach One Point Three Eight Billion Pounds Among UK Investors, HMRC Data Shows
UK Corporate Confidence Rises to Highest Level Since March, Lloyds Survey Shows
Mike Ashley Attacks UK Government Business Rates and Cost-of-Living Policies
Scottish Universities Face Two Hundred Million Pound Annual Funding Gap, Report Warns
Entertainment Figures Urge UK Government to Protect People From AI Voice Cloning
Manchester Airports Group Confirms Customer Data Breached in Cyberattack
Seven Charged Over Vandalism at Donald Trump’s Turnberry Golf Resort in Scotland
Nearly 23,000 UK Households Expected to Move Home on Busiest Day of 2026
UK Benefit Payments to Arrive Early Ahead of August Bank Holiday
Reform UK Pledges to Replace GDPR and Cut Tax Administration Red Tape
Andy Burnham Launches Work Experience Plan for One Million Young People Outside Education or Work
Andy Burnham Faces Labour Backlash After Dropping Support for Political Donations Cap
Andy Burnham Announces UK-Wide Summit With Leaders of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland
Met Office Warns of Heavy Rain and Flood Risk Across England and Wales After Summer Heat
Bank of England Warns AI Adoption Could Reduce Demand for Automatable Jobs
UK Confirms National Salmonella Outbreak With More Than 200 Cases
UK Airports Handle Record 81 Million Passengers Despite Middle East Disruption
Ofgem Raises UK Energy Price Cap by Four Percent to £1,723
Cyber Attack Hits Customer Data Systems at Manchester, Stansted and East Midlands Airports
TSA Unveils Major Airport-Security Overhaul as It Drops Gold+ Privatization Plan
CIA Chief Warned Russia Against Attacking NATO in Secret Moscow Mission
Raheem Sterling Charged With Dangerous Driving After Lamborghini Crash
The Secret Dolly Parton Kept Until Her Death: "She Was Much Sicker Than She Let On"
Middlesbrough House Fire Kills Woman and Seven-Year-Old Girl
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Return to UK Amid Renewed Media Attention
Raheem Sterling Charged With Dangerous Driving After London Collision
Greenpeace Threatens Legal Action Over Crown Estate Offshore Wind Leasing
Nvidia Revenue Surges to Ninety-Six Point Two Billion Dollars on Artificial Intelligence Demand
Meta Agrees to Global Youth Safety Changes Following Multi-State Legal Settlement
UK Government Plans Autumn Summit With Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish Leaders
CMA Caps Veterinary Prescription Fees at Twenty-One Pounds
Thames Water Pilot Records Forever Chemicals at Thirteen Times the Legal Limit
Kent Meningitis Outbreak Reaches Thirty-Four Confirmed Cases
Forty Children Missing From UK Asylum Accommodation Remain Unaccounted For
UK Court Upholds VAT on Private School Fees
US Designates Palestine Action as Foreign Terrorist Organization
UK Approves Massive New Chinese Embassy Complex in London Amid Security Concerns
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Visits Kyiv and Offers Cruise Missile Designs to Ukraine
Glacier Collapse, Not Earthquake, Triggered Deadly Nepal-Tibet Flood
Andy Burnham Drops Plan to Cap Political Donations
Conservative Leadership Contest Intensifies as Robert Jenrick Attacks Kemi Badenoch
French-Born Defence Secretary Wes Streeting Condemns Homophobic Abuse Since Taking Office
UK Government Delays Commercial Robotaxi Rollout in London Over Regulatory Gaps
NHS Complaints About Autism and ADHD Care Waiting Times Triple Over Five Years
UK Government Launches 10,000 Work Placements for Young People With Sainsbury's
NHS England to Offer Free At-Home Cervical Cancer Screening Kits
EU Biometric Border Checks Cause Delays of Up to Five Hours for British Travellers
US Imposes Economic Sanctions on UK-Based Protest Group Palestine Action
×