Goldman Snacks: Bank Sends Baskets to Staff Amid “Inhumane” Work Hours | Banking

Goldman Sachs bosses sent boxes of sympathy snacks to overworked young London bankers in response to complaints about “inhumane” 100-hour weeks that affected their physical and mental health.

The one-off baskets, filled with fruit and snacks, were said to have been paid for by general managers out of pocket, as Goldman offered no company-wide giveaways or additional bonuses after a leaked report revealed worries about poor work. conditions earlier this month.

While some junior bankers have said they appreciated the small giveaway, it is paltry compared to the benefits advertised by rival lenders in the weeks following Goldman’s leak.

Jefferies donated 1,124 of its free workout equipment to lower staff, including Peloton bikes worth almost £ 2,000, while Credit Suisse investment bankers receive a one-time bonus of 20 $ 000 to deal with an “unprecedented” workload during the pandemic.

A staff member said Goldman should do more to recognize the grueling demands placed on lower-ranking employees. “What we need is not a gesture of [managers], but of the firm, ”said a London banker.

Goldman Chairman and CEO David Solomon last week addressed a leaked presentation by 13 aggrieved first-year bankers who claimed 100-hour work weeks and abuse by colleagues created “inhumane” working conditions for new employees.

Although the report originated in the United States, recent testimonies from UK staff suggest the problem is widespread and affects staff overseas.

Each London team has around three to six people on burnout sick leave at any given time, according to a banker who spoke to the Guardian on condition of anonymity last week.

Complaints say bank staff are still subjected to the kind of high pressure culture that was exhibited when a 22-year-old Goldman analyst committed suicide in 2015 after complaining of working 100 hours a week and all night long.

It came two years after Bank of America intern Merrill Lynch, 21, was found dead in a shower in his London apartment. He had worked 72 hours straight and died of an epileptic seizure in 2013.

In a company-wide message to staff last week, Solomon said he took recent complaints “very seriously.” He vowed the bank would step up efforts to hire more junior bankers, move staff to stretched teams and strengthen enforcement of a no-work rule on Saturdays.

Goldman declined to comment on the snack boxes.