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Goldman Sachs underlings say gruelling, 100-hour weeks have damaged their health – and they claim the relentless grind has pushed them closer to ditching their coveted jobs at the Wall Street giant.
The gripes come from a disgruntled group of 13 first-year analysts in Goldman’s investment banking unit who surveyed themselves about their work woes – and then organised them into a detailed PowerPoint presentation that has since spilled onto social media.
The leaked slide show, which was shared with managers, includes testimonials of working 20-hour shifts that one worker called “inhumane”.
“What is not OK to me is 110-120 hours over the course of a week! The math is simple, that leaves four hours for eating, sleeping, showering, bathroom and general transition time. This is beyond the level of ‘hardworking,’ it is inhuman/abuse,” the analyst complained.
“The sleep deprivation, the treatment by senior bankers and physical stress… I’ve been through foster care and this is arguably worse,” another added.
“My body physically hurts all the time and mentally I’m in a really dark place,” yet another said.
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The report even includes bar charts showing the analysts’ deterioration from job stress. Before they arrived at Goldman, the analysts rated their mental and physical health on a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the healthiest, at 8.8 and 9, respectively. Since then, those numbers have plunged to 2.8 and 2.3, respectively, according to the bar charts.
In conclusion, the analysts suggested solutions such as maxing out their work weeks at 80 hours and avoiding last-minute changes to presentations for client meetings – a dig at Wall Street’s constant “please fix, thanks” culture.
“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 safeguarded personal time that we get,” they wrote in the presentation.
Wall Street is known as an industry with long hours. But during the pandemic, with no set time to clock in and clock out, complaints of not having time for basic needs like eating and showering are on the rise.
“I didn’t come into this job expecting a 9am-5pm’s,” said one survey respondent. “But I also didn’t expect consistent 9am-5am’s either.”
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In response, Goldman is enacting new measures that include forgoing some business to help keep the workload more manageable, according to a Bloomberg report that cited an unnamed Goldman executive.
“We recognise that our people are very busy, because business is strong and volumes are at historic levels,” said Nicole Sharp, a spokeswoman for Goldman Sachs. “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.”
Goldman Sachs did not return requests for additional comment.
Anger has been bubbling at Goldman after a report earlier this week that Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon has been living the high life while his employees toil day and night.
Mr Solomon recently jetted off for weekend getaways seven times in as many weeks on Goldman’s private Gulfstream jet – including four trips to the Bahamas – according to an explosive report by Bloomberg.
At the time, Goldman rep Jake Siewert pushed back on the report, saying Mr Solomon practices what he preaches.
“When he’s away for a weekend, David continues to work, pays for his travel, follows COVID protocols and is back in the office first thing on a Monday morning,” Mr Siewert told Bloomberg.
This story was originally published on the New York Post and is republished here with permission
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