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A workplace survey recently revealed that, on average, first-year analysts at Goldman Sachs said they have been working 98-hour weeks since January of 2021 and during the week ending on February 13, analysts averaged 105 hours of work. One analyst was even quoted saying “I’ve been through foster care and this is arguably worse.” So, how did Goldman respond to the survey? They sent fruit baskets and snack boxes to junior bankers.
Interestingly enough, the fruit and snack boxes were sent to bankers in London, which is odd given the survey was based around working conditions at Goldman Sachs in the United States. Apparently, once the survey was revealed, UK staff members said they too were facing burnout. It’s unclear whether or not Goldman Sachs employees in the U.S. have received any sort of bonus or a stupid fruit basket they’re immediately going to throw away.
This truly is incredible. Forget a cash bonus, maybe a random long-weekend, or x-amount of expense funds to treat yourself to a nice dinner or something. Nope, Goldman went with the old fruit basket tactic straight out of ‘The Office.’
According to The Guardian, Goldman hadn’t directly offered any gifts or bonuses, plus the company didn’t even pay for the fruit baskets, managing directors footed the bill.
Rival banks saw this as an opportunity to show that their workplaces are far better than Goldman and treat their employees to actual bonuses.
According to Business Insider, investment bankers at Credi Suisse are getting one-time $20,000 bonuses for their workload during the pandemic. Jefferies is offering 1,124 junior workers Apple products and workout equipment including Peloton bikes. Citigroup introduced a company-wide holiday on March 28 called ‘Citi Reset Day.’
These are great moves from the rival banks. They’re keeping their employees happy and flexing on Goldman with positive PR.
According to the Goldman Sach survey, prior to starting at the company, the average mental health for analysts was at 8.8 out of 10, while they said their physical health was a 9.0. At the time of the survey, those rates had dropped to a 2.8 and 2.3, respectively. It’s safe to say the fruit baskets didn’t change that.