Swiss banking giant UBS has resisted following remote working hawks like JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs, who’ve mandated a full return to office. It has, however, taken a leaf out of another rival’s approach.

In an internal memo circulated on Thursday, first reported by Finews, UBS told staff they would be required to work from the office at least three days a week. In addition, the bank told its 115,000 employees that they would no longer be able to work from home on a Friday followed by a consecutive Monday.

“Our working approach is office-centric with flexibility, and we ask our employees to be in the office at least three days a week. Spending enough time in the office with colleagues fosters innovation, collaboration, and team productivity,” a UBS spokesperson told Fortune.

The approach is similar to that of Deutsche Bank last year, which, in calling staff back to the office, drew a new line in the sand by banning remote Fridays and Mondays. 

Many workers operating under a hybrid model opt to come into the office between Tuesday and Thursday, working their Mondays and Fridays remotely. Fridays in particular have proved popular among both bosses and employees as the remote day of choice.

The hawkish voices in the remote vs. in-office debate argue this trend has created a habit of lower productivity around the weekend as employees slow down into Saturday or ramp up more slowly to a Tuesday. Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe ordered his staff back to the office full-time in May last year when he realized email activity plunged on a Friday when most employees were remote.

One problem companies like UBS are more publicly happy to address is space. Many firms vacated office space during COVID-19 in order to cut costs when remote work looked like a permanent solution. 

UBS is no different. In London, the company has consolidated staff at its Broadgate HQ, where it sublet space during the height of remote working, after it also chose not to renew its lease at 1 Golden Lane. During that time, the company also integrated employees from the newly acquired Credit Suisse into its offices, putting a further crunch on space. A move to choose between a Monday and Friday should regulate attendance through the week.

Companies have also been left frustrated by thousands of square meters of office space going unused on the more unpopular Mondays and Fridays.

UBS’s move to balance out office working across the week is understood to be a move to better manage its office space. Deutsche Bank gave the same reasoning last year, with CEO Christian Sewing saying the motivation was to “spread our presence more evenly across the week.”

The latest policy introduced by UBS remains much more liberal than the group’s competitors in the banking sector, most notably JPMorgan. The group mandated a full RTO mandate that began in March. Already, though, staff have complained about inadequate space, poor Wi-Fi, and unwell co-workers.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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• Facebook has announced a new monetization program for creators. Facebook Content Monetization is meant to lure creators from TikTok as the company looks to build out its flagship social media property.

With the threat of a TikTok ban fading for now, Facebook is ramping up efforts to get creators to post their work on its platform.

The company has announced a new monetization program that will let creators make money simply by sharing photos and videos on the Facebook site. (Instagram has its own monetization program.)

Applications are being accepted at this website for the program’s beta. And at least one member of that beta program claims to have made $5,000 so far posting videos he would have normally posted without financial incentives.

Facebook has already sent invitations to one million creators to join the beta program, but is looking to expand it. Earnings will be based on engagement, total views, and plays. Public videos, reels, photos, and text posts are eligible to earn money.

Facebook has, for months, been trying to win the attention of creators. While Instagram has a healthy creator community, Meta’s flagship property has had trouble attracting them. In January, the company offered a $5,000 bonus to creators with an existing presence on other social platforms. TikTok remains the most popular destination for creators, but the lingering threat of that platform disappearing has made several of them diversify their outlets.

Over the course of the next year, the new Facebook Content Monetization program will replace Ads on Reels, In-Stream Ads and the Performance bonus programs. As part of the change, the company is streamlining its dashboard for creators to make it easier to see how their monetization efforts are going.

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

Consumers are forgoing bags of Doritos and packs of cigarettes as convenience stores across the U.S. face sales declines. It’s another sign of stress for Americans, who are dealing with ever-changing tariff policies, fears of stagflation, and a potential recession.

Sales volume at U.S. convenience stores dropped 4.3% in the year ending Feb. 23, according to data from Circana, a Chicago-based market-research firm, and first reported by the Wall Street Journal. Refrigerated and frozen products, tobacco, and general food sales saw some of the steepest declines.

The sales slip comes as working-class and middle-class households are pulling back spending and overall consumer sentiment is dropping due in part to President Donald Trump’s ongoing trade war and fast-changing tariff policies. Top CEOs like JP Morgan’s Jamie Dimon are becoming increasingly worried about the possible inflationary and recessionary effects of the president’s evolving policies.

There are other factors at play, like higher gas prices, WSJ reported. Though the cost is coming down now, it has been elevated, meaning people have less to spend on a quick snack or drink inside a gas station’s convenience store. And some consumers are looking for healthier options.

And it’s not just convenience items. Consumers say they are planning to pull back discretionary spending in a number of areas, according to McKinsey & Co., including apparel, footwear, and electronics. In general, Americans have less in their checking and savings to absorb higher prices.

That said, Jeff Lenard, vice president of media and strategic communications at the National Association of Convenience Stores, says some of the lost consumer dollars stores are experiencing in packaged food is going toward prepared food in the stores, so not all is lost. Still, he says consumer sentiment is not strong and stores “really need to fight for customers.”

This story was originally featured on Fortune.com

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