Goldman Sachs lets bosses take as much time off as they want

US bank Goldman Sachs has told its most senior employees that they will be allowed to take as many days off as they want so they can “rest and recharge”.

Under a new “flexible vacation” scheme introduced on May 1, partners and managing directors will be able to “take time off as needed, with no fixed limit on paid rest days,” the Wall Street bank told employees in a memo last month. .

The removal of slack limits for senior bankers will apply globally, but precise details of this new policy for each region would be communicated separately, according to the bank.​

Most junior employees, who will still only be entitled to a fixed number of paid days off, receive a minimum of two extra vacation days per year.

Employees at all levels will be required to spend at least three weeks away from work annually starting in 2023, including at least a full week of consecutive days off.

The changes follow scrutiny of Goldman’s work practices last year, when a group of junior investment banking analysts told management they were working in “inhumane” conditions, averaging 95 hours a week with five hours of sleep. per night.

Analysts presented a slide deck with proposals such as limiting their workweek to 80 hours and respecting an existing policy that junior bankers must not work between Friday 9pm and Sunday morning.

In the April 22 memo to staff seen by the Financial Times, Goldman said it was “committed to providing our employees with differentiated benefits and offerings to support well-being and resilience.”

“As we continue to care for our people at all stages of their careers and focus on the expertise of our partners and managing directors, we are pleased to announce improvements and changes to our global vacation program designed to further support rest and recharge,” he said.

The bank’s new policy follows the practice of “unlimited” vacations adopted by many employers in the tech sector, but less common at financial services companies.

Goldman’s changes come as banks become embroiled in a war for talent that has resulted in massive salary increases and new initiatives to improve work-life balance.

Amounts paid to junior bankers have also risen sharply in recent years with the struggle to retain overworked staff exacerbated by the boom in trading during the pandemic.
​

Citigroup has announced plans for a new investment banking center in the southern Spanish city of Malaga, where junior analysts will be asked to work just eight hours a day and have their weekends protected.

In return, they will receive about half of the starting salary of $100,000 a year (about R$39,000 a month, considering 13th salary) paid to their fellow starters in London or New York.

Translation by Ana Estela de Sousa Pinto