Goldman Sachs CEO praised the group of disgruntled junior investment bank analysts who expressed concern about their workload to management last month, pledging to ease the pressure on employees.
“It’s great that this group of analysts went to their management,” David Solomon sent to bank staff in a voice note Sunday night. “We want a workplace where people can share their problems freely.”
In response, the CEO said that the bank will increase the application of the ‘Saturday rule’ to prohibit junior bankers from working, among other things, from Friday at 21:00 until Sunday morning.
“We are accelerating our efforts to appoint new junior bankers in investment banking, and we are transferring bankers internally to business lines where activity levels are highest,” he said. “We are also more selective about business opportunities that we pursue, and we are working to automate certain tasks in our business.”
Solomon emphasized how working from home increased the stress of an already stressful business. ‘In this world of remote work, it feels like we need to be connected 24/7. We all – your colleagues, your managers, our department leaders – see us. . . It’s not easy, and we’re working hard to make it better. ”
Although many sectors of the economy have been closed or restricted by the pandemic, capital markets have been very active over the past twelve months, with debt issuance and initial public offerings at or near historical highs.
Solomon’s remarks came in response to the distribution of a slide deck entitled ‘Working Conditions Survey’, which a small group of junior investment banking analysts submitted to Goldman’s management in February. The deck outlined 95 hours of work weeks, little sleep, effervescent treatment by senior bankers and employees’ low opinion of the Wall Street firm.
The 13 self-selected analysts surveyed rated their job satisfaction and the company at an average of two out of ten. One wrote: “I went through foster care and it’s probably worse.”
The slide deck, formatted to look like an official Goldman presentation, has garnered widespread attention on both traditional and social media.
Solomon said he expects Goldman to continue to receive high customer demand and stresses the need to meet the challenge.
“Just remember: if we all go the extra mile for our client, even if we feel we’re reaching our limit, it can make a difference in our performance,” he said.