David Solomon, the CEO of Goldman Sachs, speaks during the Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York, September 25, 2019.
Shannon Stapleton | Reuters
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon addressed junior bankers’ complaints about the increased workload in a message to employees after the results of an internal survey in which an employee called the conditions “inhumane” had spread.
“Let me tell everyone, and in particular our analysts and associates: we recognize that people working today face a new set of challenges,” Solomon said in a voice note to Goldman employees on Sunday night.
“In this world of remote work, it looks like we have to be connected 24 hours a day, 7 days a week,” he said. “All of us – your colleagues, your managers, our division leaders – see this. We are here to provide support and guidance. This is not easy and we are working hard to make it better.”
The survey, conducted by a group of first-year analysts and reported for the first time by CNBC, showed employees watching the 100-hour workweek and exhausted bosses exhausted during a business explosion fueled by special-purpose procurement companies or SPACs .
SPACs raise capital in an initial public offering and use the proceeds to grab a private company and make it public.
Goldman Sachs previously instituted a policy that sought to protect weekends, where junior bankers should not be in the office from Friday night to Sunday morning.
Amid claims of the company’s overwhelming workload, Solomon reiterated Goldman’s commitment to protecting Saturdays and promised to take “other action”.
“We are strengthening the application of the Sabbath rule. We are accelerating our efforts to hire new junior bankers from all investment banks. … We are also being more selective about the business opportunities we seek and we are working to automate certain tasks in our business, “Solomon said, according to a transcript of the voice memo revised by CNBC.
The survey was carried out after a group of disgruntled analysts got together, according to people familiar with the matter.
The disagreement originated in the bank’s technology, media and telecommunications team, a prominent group that is at the center of the IPO storm fueled by SPAC, according to the population.
Solomon said the bank’s goal is to be a “workplace where people can share their concerns freely”, before adding that a greater volume of work is “good news” as it is an “opportunity to work with our customers. on so many interesting things now “.
“In the coming months, there will be times when we will feel more overwhelmed than others, but remember: if we all take one more step for our client, even when we feel that we are reaching our limit, it can really make a difference in our performance, “added Solomon.