David Solomon, the CEO of Goldman Sachs, speaks at the Bloomberg Global Business Forum in New York, September 25, 2019.
Shannon Stapleton | Reuters
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon addressed junior bankers’ complaints about increased workload in a message to employees after the results of an internal survey in which an employee called conditions “inhumane” went viral.
“Let me say to everyone, and in particular to our analysts and employees, we recognize that people who work today face a new set of challenges,” Solomon said in a speech note to Goldman employees on Sunday evening.
“In this remote world, it feels like we need to be connected 24/7,” he said. “All of us – your colleagues, your managers, our division leaders – we see that. 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 freshman analysts and first reported by CNBC, showed employees noticing burnout after 100-hour workweeks and demanding bosses during a boom in deals driven by specialty acquisition companies or SPACs.
SPACs raise capital on an IPO and use the proceeds to list and disclose a private company.
Goldman Sachs previously enacted a policy designed to protect weekends where junior bankers were not expected to be in the office from Friday evening to Sunday morning.
Amid allegations of the company’s crushing workload, Solomon reiterated Goldman’s commitment to protected Saturdays and pledged to take “further action.”
“We are strengthening enforcement of the Saturday rule. We are accelerating our efforts to hire new junior bankers to Investment Banking. … We are also more selective about business opportunities we pursue, and we are working to automate certain tasks in our business,” Solomon said, according to a speech memo transcript reviewed by CNBC.
The investigation was conducted after a group of disaffected analysts banded together, according to people familiar with the matter.
The disagreement stemmed from the bank’s technology, media and telecom team, a large group that people say was at the center of the SPAC-fueled IPO storm.
Solomon said the bank strives to be a “workplace where people can freely share their concerns,” before adding that increased work volume is “good news,” as it is an “opportunity to engage with our customers as much as we do right now. interesting things to work. “
“In the coming months there will be times when we will feel more stretched than others, but just remember, if we all go the extra mile for our client, even if we feel like we are reaching our limit, it can really make a difference in our performance, ”added Solomon.