Junior bankers at Goldman Sachs say they are facing “inhuman” conditions at the investment bank, including 100 weekly hours of work and “abuse” of colleagues that has seriously affected their mental health.
The responses of survey respondents – 13 US investment bank analysts – shed light on the strenuous demands of first-year analysts, a group that features some of the most brilliant recruits hired by Goldman annually.
The survey, presented to the bank on slides in February, is already circulating on Twitter. Its content suggests that at least one division of Goldman Sachs is still struggling with the long hours of work and the high-pressure culture that was exposed when a 22-year-old analyst at the bank committed suicide in 2015.
The 11-page presentation features “quotes from selected analysts,” in which trainees describe an office environment reminiscent of scenes from the recent fictional HBO TV series, Industry, which depicts the lives of new employees at a state bank branch United in London.
One said, “There was a point where I wasn’t eating, showering or doing anything other than working in the morning until after midnight.”
“Sleep deprivation, treatment by senior bankers, physical and mental stress … I have been to an orphanage and this is arguably worse,” said another anonymous researcher.
Sources within the bank confirmed that the survey was conducted by the junior analysts themselves and presented internally before starting to circulate online.
This will raise questions about whether the banks just spoke out to correct certain workplace demands. In 2013, Moritz Erhardt, 21, an intern at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, was found dead in a shower in his London apartment. He had worked for 72 consecutive hours and died of an epileptic seizure.
The 2015 death of a Goldman Sachs analyst was by Sarvshreshth Gupta, who complained about working 100 hours a week and working all night.
Survey analysts said that, on average, they worked 95 hours a week, but up to 105 hours in mid-February, when the survey was conducted. The group said they could only sleep five hours a night after going to bed, around 3 am.
Most said they also faced abuse in the workplace. A small proportion were often cursed or shouted, while at least half were ignored at meetings or faced unjustified public criticism, they said.
The entire group said the difficult conditions “negatively affected” their relationships with friends and family and severely affected their physical and mental health. Most said they would quit their job in six months if conditions did not improve.
“This is beyond the level of ‘hard work’, this is inhumane, it is abuse,” said one in the survey.
Commenting on the survey, Goldman said: “We recognize that our people are very busy, because business is strong and volumes are at historic levels. A year at Covid, people are very tired, which is why we are listening to their concerns and taking several steps to resolve them. “
It is understood that Goldman has been engaging with research analysts. He said he was also transferring employees internally to help his busiest departments and applying a policy of not working on Saturdays.