Junior Goldman Sachs bankers have begged to work just 80 hours a week, after a leaked survey highlighted how “inhumane” expectations were leading to mental health issues among staff.
In a presentation titled “Working Conditions Survey”, a group of 13 first-year analysts at the investment banking giant revealed the stresses of being a junior banker. Their complaints included being forced to put in 100-hour weeks and facing “workplace abuse” from management. This led to worsening mental and physical health and poorer relationships with family and friends, they said.
“Inhumane”: Respondents in the survey had worked an average of 108-hours - equivalent to working 9am to midnight Monday to Sunday.Credit:Generic office worker picture from 123rf.com
The analysts shared their findings with managers and proposed solutions including capping working weeks at 80 hours and avoiding last-minute changes to presentations for client meetings.
They added that Goldman’s Friday night and Saturday “exemption policy” needed to be respected.
“Junior bankers should not be expected to do any work after 9pm Friday or all day Saturday without a pre-approved exception, as that is the only safe-guarded personal time that we get,” they wrote in the presentation.
The findings were so serious that the Wall Street behemoth is enacting new measures, including potentially forgoing new business to balance workloads.
“There was a point where I was not eating, showering or doing anything else other than working from morning until after midnight.”
Junior Goldman Sachs analyst
Since the beginning of the year, the firm has also accelerated its hiring of junior bankers in its investment banking division to try to spread the burden.
A Goldman spokesman said: “We recognise that our people are very busy, because business is strong and volumes are at historic levels. A year into COVID, people are understandably quite stretched, and that’s why we are listening to their concerns and taking multiple steps to address them.”