Normally the last to receive compensation benefits, first-year investment bank analysts at Goldman Sachs will now receive a nearly 30% wage increase after an internal working conditions survey was leaked to the public.
Within the survey, junior bankers from the US reported working an average of 98 hours per week and experiences abuse from colleagues.
- 100% of the respondents disclosed that they frequently experienced unrealistic deadlines.
- 92% of respondents admitted they were either shunned or ignored during meetings.
- 50% said they experienced unwarranted and invalid public criticism.
Open-ended statements from respondents included:
- “Being unemployed is less frightening to me than what my body might succumb to if I keep up this lifestyle”
- “There was a point where I was not eating, showering or doing anything else other than working from morning until after midnight”
- “My body physically hurts all the time and mentally I’m in a dark place”
Goldman Sachs reported profits of $5.5bn for the second quarter of 2021, which was their second-highest profit on record (only to be surpassed by the first quarter of 2021). The bank continuously generates the highest investment banking fees among its competitors and has only experienced greater success after its latest surge of merger & acquisition deals.
The financial industry as a whole is known to be stressful largely due to the challenge of the work in conjunction with the sheer amount of it, particularly the case for analysts. Not to mention, the banking industry faces immense pressure as automation and artificial intelligence technologies continue to develop.
While Goldman Sachs has a 4-star rating indeed in terms of compensation, the survey exposed a serious lack of work-life balance and above-average levels of stress within the current working culture.
In response to the survey, a spokesperson from Goldman Sachs told Forbes via email that the organization recognizes that their people are busy due to the success and strength of the business as volumes have reached historic levels. They further included the COVID pandemic as a heightening factor.
David Solomon, Goldman’s chief executive, also responded stating that he is taking the complaints seriously and plans to increase hiring and reinforce the company’s no-work-on-Saturday rule.
The exposure of the grim working conditions for bankers has sparked significant controversy within the financial industry and potentially even a new minimum wage.
Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Barclays have all followed suit and increased the salaries of their first-year analysts.
Other rival banks have additionally increased perks for their employees. Credit Suisse recently offered once-off bonuses of $20,000 and employees at Jefferies were given free Peloton bikes worth almost £2,000.
Compensation aside, several of the respondents noted within the survey that if working conditions stayed the same they would most likely leave the company within six months. For organizations to be successful and retain talent, they will need to find sustainable long term solutions to reduce the amount of stress within their working culture.
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