Goldman Sachs junior bankers condemn 98-hour working week

First-year banking analysts at Goldman Sachs have said they have worked an average of 98 hours each week in 2021 as they called for a new cap on their arduous workload, according to an internal presentation.

In a set of slides seen by the PA news agency, the junior bankers warn they could quit their roles if the situation does not improve.

The internal survey among 13 first-year analysts shows they worked a mean of 98 hours a week since January and slept five hours a night.

They said they typically went to sleep at 3am, and worked an average of 105 hours in the week the survey was taken – the week ending February 13.

They want the company to introduce a cap of 80 hours’ work each week.

Most surveyed staff members said they are unlikely to stay at Goldman Sachs if working conditions do not change in the next six months.

All 13 workers surveyed said work has negatively impacted on their relationships with family and friends, while more than three-quarters said they have been the victim of workplace abuse.

In the presentation, one respondent said: “The sleep deprivation, the treatment by senior bankers, the mental and physical stress… I’ve been through foster care and this is arguably worse.”

Another said: “I didn’t come into this job expecting 9am-5pms, but I also didn’t expect consistent 9am-5ams either.”

The company has accelerated its hiring plans for junior bankers since the start of the year to help deal with the high level of workloads.

A Goldman Sachs spokesman said: “We recognise that our people are very busy, because business is strong and volumes are at historic levels.

“A year into Covid, people are understandably quite stretched, and that’s why we are listening to their concerns and taking multiple steps to address them.”