Discover Says Workers Will Have Option to Return to Office Soon

(Bloomberg) -- Discover Financial Services said it will start to allow more employees to return to its offices in the coming weeks even as it extended the ability to work remotely through the end of the year.

Discover said in a statement Friday that workers will have the option to return to the office once “each of the company’s major locations has widespread precautions in place to manage higher attendance.” The firm said its offices will not exceed 50% occupancy for the time being and it will work in conjunction with state orders.

“We realize everyone’s circumstances and concerns may differ, and their decision to return on-site is a personal one that we will trust and respect,” Roger Hochschild, chief executive officer of the Riverwoods, Illinois-based company, said in an emailed statement. “As a company we will not rush, nor will we expect anyone to return to the office before they are ready.”

Discover joins rivals like Citigroup Inc. in beginning to craft plans for returning thousands of workers to U.S. offices. Discover has said it moved quickly to equip its employees to work from home beginning in March, including nearly all of its 8,000 call center workers.

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