Jamie Dimon, the CEO of JPMorgan Chase, recently shared something surprising about the way he handles his phone at work. In short, he keeps it quiet, hidden, and mostly ignored. But that’s just the start of his views on focus, workplace distractions, and even work-from-home culture. In an interview with CNN, Dimon said he doesn’t get phone notifications at all. “So if you text me during the day, I probably don’t read it,” he admitted.
Jamie Dimon explains why his phone stays mostly silent at work
Dimon, who is 69, said he doesn’t walk around with his phone in his hand. When he moves across the building or sits in meetings, his phone stays in his office. The only exception is his children. He gets alerts only if his kids text him, and that’s where he draws the line. “I don’t have notifications,” he said. “The only notifications I get is from my kids. That’s it. When they text me, I get that,” he added.
Dimon shared that before every meeting, he reads all the material so he can give his full attention. “When I’m walking around the building and going to meetings, I don’t have it on me. It’s in my office,” he said. “When I go to my meetings, I did the pre-reads and I’m 100% focused on us, what you’re talking about, why you’re talking about it, as opposed to I’m distracted and I’m thinking about other things,” Dimon told CNN.
This isn’t the first time Dimon has spoken about phone etiquette. At Fortune’s Most Powerful Women Summit in October, he said using phones or tablets in meetings is “disrespectful” and “wastes time.” “If you have an iPad in front of me and it looks like you’re reading your mail or getting notifications, I’ll tell you to close the damn thing,” he said. He believes meetings should have a purpose and that checking emails midway is a big red flag.
A 2023 survey, cited by CNBC, found Americans check their phones about 144 times a day. However, not everyone agrees with Dimon. IBM CEO Arvind Krishna told CNN that he doesn’t mind if people check messages during very large meetings. He said huge meetings are more about sharing information than deep discussion.
Jamie Dimon criticises remote work
Dimon, who has been the CEO of JPMorgan Chase for over two decades, also holds strong opinions about working from home, especially when it comes to younger employees. Earlier this year, an audio clip leaked in which he told JPMorgan staff that he was tired of hearing complaints about returning to the office five days a week. “Don’t give me this s— that work-from-home Friday works.
He said when he calls people on Fridays, nobody answers, and he’s had enough of that. “I call a lot of people on Fridays, and there’s not a goddamn person you can get a hold of … I’ve had it with this kind of stuff,” he said, before adding, “hey’re here, they’re there, the Zooms (Gen Z), and the Zoomers don’t show up.”
He also accused some managers of abusing work-from-home freedom by checking emails or sending texts during Zoom meetings instead of paying attention. According to Dimon, this slows impacts creativity, efficiency, and basic respect.
For years, people have wondered if Dimon would enter politics, maybe even as president or Treasury secretary. He’s never given a clear yes or no. But this week, he shut down the rumours. He said he doesn’t want to run for president or join a cabinet. “Neither,” he said. “This is my perch. I can do it well and help make the world a better place.”
