Washington, September 11: United States President Donald Trump, who is pushing for resumption of economic activities to offset the impact of recession, lauded investment banking firm JPMorgan Chase for directing its traders and sales employees to return to office from September 21. Trump said the option of working from the official premises is way better than working from home. Work from Home a New Normal in COVID-19 Pandemic, But Hits Productivity and Work Performance, Say Residents in India's Financial Capital.

"Congratulations to JPMorgan Chase for ordering everyone BACK TO OFFICE on September 21st. Will always be better than working from home! (sic)," Trump posted on social media.

The premises of JPMorgan, along with most other establishments providing non-essential services, are shut in the United States for the last six months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Most of the employees were extended work from home option to minimise the risk of the virus transmission.

See Donald Trump's Tweet

In a conference call on Wednesday, however, the top rung of JPMorgan leadership decided to bring employees back to the office. The decision is apparently aimed at improving their productivity.

JPMorgan's head of global markets Troy Rohrbaugh and head of sales and research Marc Badrichani reportedly asked the senior managers, during the video-conference, to bring their teams back to office from September 21.

Trump, in his several election rallies, has reiterated the resolve to minimise the curbs and restart the economy. He has put the onus on states led by Democratic Party Governors for continuing the lockdown which has led to "economic hardship". Even as the President is focusing on relaxing the restrictions, the US continues to remain the worst-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. The country tops the chart in terms of total caseload and fatalities.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 11, 2020 05:09 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).