American Express: Deciding on a hybrid work model after the COVID-19 Crisis (B)

In the fall of 2021, after leading his team through 18 turbulent months of the coronavirus pandemic, Juan Ortiz, CEO of American Express (Amex) in Spain, and his country executive team (CET) had to address what the new way of working would look like for their team in Spain. After a companywide discussion about what the ?new normal? would look like globally, they were faced with determining to what extent, from the perspective of Amex Spain, employees should adopt hybrid working arrangements. Their conclusions, along with those from other Amex country offices, would play an important role in formulating the final company-wide policy. In a few days, Juan would need to share Spain?s proposal during a call with Amex?s senior managers worldwide. Their views would be considered before a company-wide decision was made and announced by the global CEO in New York, who had insisted Amex would apply a market-by-market decision under global company principles. Amex?s return-to-office (RTO) strategy would be crucial, since any missteps would impact the company?s overall progress in recovering from the financial effects of the pandemic. The team had been working hard to make Amex Spain a great place to work, and Juan?s leadership team wanted to keep it that way. The Amex management team in Spain discussed and weighed, among other things, the advantages of two versus three days in the office, how to structure new arrangements, and how to bring colleagues back to the office after so many months of working at home. The case discusses how the organization dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic, including the decision not to let any employees go. The case relates to the process of American Express deciding on policies related to working from home after the COVID-19 crisis and the Great Resignation. The case includes the perspective of American Express Spain, and its CEO, Juan Ortiz. It includes links to video materials on American Express as a company, a crucial meeting in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, and American Express receiving an award as the best company to work for in Spain, according to Forbes.