- David Solomon, CEO of Goldman Sachs, responds to complaints made by junior bankers.
- “The company will work hard to give Saturday leave to junior bankers,” Suleiman said in a message to staff.
- In a survey circulating on social media, 13 junior bankers described “inhumane” conditions.
- See more stories on Insider’s business page.
The firm will take into account issues raised by a group of junior bankers who described in an internal survey “inhumane” working conditions, poor mental health and sleep deprivation, the chief executive of Goldman Sachs said.
“This is something that our leadership team and I take very seriously,” Goldom Sachs CEO David Solom said in a voice message sent to staff on Sunday, according to a transcript seen by Insider.
Solomon said the investment bank would work to enforce its “Saturday rule” more strictly, which suggests that junior bankers should not be expected to be in office fees from 9pm on Friday to 9am on Sunday. It will hire employees and relocate to the busiest department of the payroll to ease the workload on junior bankers.
In an informal survey posted on social media, a group of 13-year investment analysts at Goldman Sachs did so much work that they rarely have time left to rain, eat or sleep.
Analysts said they work an average of 98 hours a week from January and sleep an average of five hours a night. All respondents said their working hours have negatively affected their relationship, and they are satisfied with their personal lives at 1 in 10.
An unnamed analyst said, “The deprivation of money, treatment by senior bankers, mental and physical stress … I am taking care of a parent and this is worse than the argument.
read more: Some Goldman anal analysts are fed up with the 98-hour workweek from their bedrooms, assessing the workload of Wall Street junior bankers as a year of WFF.
All 13 respondents said they experienced frequent unrealistic deadlines, and 83% said they experienced frequent oversight or micro-managing. Fifty-five percent said they had sought or considered mental-health counseling because of work-related stress.
At the end of the survey, analysts suggested some management solutions, including capping workweeks at hourly hours and giving junior bankers a Saturday off unless instructed to do so. First-year analysts are often assigned “fast” work on Saturdays, and “incredibly hard to push back,” they said.
Suleiman blamed the stressful situation on the boom in business amid widespread epidemics. He also said that working from home has made work-life balance more difficult.
“Clients are active, and volumes at many of our businesses are at historic historic highs. Of course, epidemics and the combination of all these activities put stress and strain on everyone at Goldham Sachs,” Solomon said. “We know that working people today face a new set of challenges. In this world of remote work, it feels like we have to stay connected 24/7.”
Despite the expectation of annoying hours and heavy workloads on Wall Street – and they are usually offset by hefty paychecks – junior analysts indicated they are likely to stay with the bank if working conditions do not improve.
“Being unemployed is less horrible than anything my body can survive if I maintain this lifestyle,” said one analyst.
