Jane Fraser, CEO of Citigroup, told staff she is banning internal video calls on Fridays, encouraging staff to set boundaries for a healthier work-life balance and setting a company-wide holiday called Citi Reset Day as pandemic fatigue takes its toll of employees.
Fraser, who took over from predecessor Mike Corbat this month, told staff of the changes in a memo sent to its 210,000 employees around the world Monday afternoon, an informed person said.
The blurring of the lines between home and work and the brutality of the pandemic workday have taken its toll on our well-being, “Fraser said in the memo.” It’s just not sustainable. Since a return to a new normal is still a few months away for many of us, we need to reset some of our working methods. “
The Citigroup memo was sent the day after Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon was forced to speak to his staff after an internal poll of freshman analysts reported by CNBC last week went viral. The study detailed the harsh working conditions at the main investment bank, including employees’ health concerns about working more than 100 hours a week, as well as more mundane issues such as ignoring young bankers in meetings.
Fraser said that while Zoom meetings with customers and regulators will still take place on Fridays, employees will hold meetings over the phone to give employees a break from non-stop video conferencing.
Jane Fraser, chief executive officer for Latin America at Citigroup Inc., smiles at the Milken Institute Global Conference in Beverly Hills, California, USA on Monday, April 29, 2019. The conference brings together leaders in business, government, technology and philanthropy, academia and the media to discuss actionable and collaborative solutions to some of the most important questions of our time. Photographer: Kyle Grillot / Bloomberg via Getty Images
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She also designated Friday, May 28, as a company-wide holiday called Citi Reset Day, encouraging employees to only schedule calls on what would be considered traditional working hours. Parts of the memo were previously reported by Financial News.
“If our work regularly spills over into nights, very early mornings and weekends, it can keep us from fully recharging, which is not good for you and ultimately not for Citi,” Fraser said.
She also explained the framework for what the work will look like at Citigroup, the third largest bank in the US by assets, once employees return to their offices. Like other bank leaders, including Solomon, Fraser claimed that having employees, especially junior, work together in an office environment is valuable.
Most employees will be designated as hybrid workers who spend at least three days a week in the office while logging in from home up to two days a week, she said. Branch offices will remain in Citigroup locations, and some features will remain remote, although Fraser called those features “somewhat rare.”
The pandemic “has opened doors to new ways of working and has shown that we can adapt to and even thrive in the face of adversity,” Fraser said. “Nothing should stop us from building a bank that wins, a bank that advocates excellence and a bank that has soul.”