Citigroup banned internal calls from Zoom on Fridays in an effort to prevent employees from working poorly while working from home.
Jane Fraser, the newly appointed CEO of the megabank, announced the “Friday without zoom” policy in a company memo, along with other measures aimed at addressing “the relentlessness of the pandemic workday”.
“We are a global company that operates across multiple time zones, but when our work regularly spills over into the night, very early in the morning and on weekends, it can prevent us from fully recharging, and that is not good for you, nor ultimately, for Citi, ”Fraser wrote in Monday’s memo that Citi provided The Post.
Fraser – the first woman to lead a large Wall Street bank – said she initially resisted cutting video calls, but changed her mind after hearing colleagues around the world complain about “zoom fatigue”.
While Friday’s calls within Citi are audio only, Fraser noted that employees will still need to meet with regulators and video customers.
She also asked employees to avoid scheduling calls outside of traditional working hours before the pandemic and to use their vacation days. Fraser is leading by example – she said she will take a few days off later this month, “knowing that I will be back with a fresher brain”.
The bank will give all employees a day off on May 28, which Fraser declared a company holiday called “Citi Reset Day”.
Citi is not alone in trying to combat the exhaustion that plagues Wall Street bankers after a year of working remotely.
Goldman Sachs chief David Solomon vowed to make sure the team got off on Saturdays after a group of junior analysts complained that 100 weekly hours of work affected their physical and mental health.
But Solomon also emphasized the importance of working long hours, telling subordinates on Sunday that going “an extra mile” for customers “can really make a difference in our performance.”
Citi eventually plans to reduce the remote work that apparently left employees running out of breath, according to Fraser’s memo, which was first published by Financial News.
Most of the bank’s jobs will be “hybrid” jobs after employees are vaccinated, meaning that people in those positions will go to the office at least three days a week and work from home up to two days a week, Fraser said.
Some jobs will be completely remote after the pandemic, but others, such as those at bank branches or data centers, cannot be done externally, she said.
“Although the pandemic has shown us how versatile our colleagues can be for many of our roles, we strongly believe that there are several material advantages to being physically together,” wrote Fraser.