Goldman Sachs gives senior staff unlimited holiday

Investment bank Goldman Sachs has been in and out of the news during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Back in March 2021, chairman and CEO David Solomon made his views about long-term remote working clear, when he described it as an “aberration”.

In an interview with TIME a year later, Solomon reiterated this view by saying: “For us, that doesn’t mean that people can work from wherever they want to on whatever schedule they want to.

“There might be businesses that work that way, but ours is a collaborative team-oriented apprenticeship business.”“There might be businesses that work that way, but ours is a collaborative team-oriented apprenticeship business.”

The investment bank has also come under fire for its overworking of junior bankers, and a severe burnout crisis.

In response, Solomon noted that the bank would get stricter on overworking (particularly on Fridays and weekends).

While Goldman Sachs’ president and chief operating officer John Waldron shared that the bank would up its mentoring programs and rely on technology to automate tasks to free up staff for ”value-additive” tasks to help improve the working culture.

Increasing vacation days at Goldman Sachs

But now Goldman Sachs has gone one step further. In a leaked memo seen by Business Insider, the bank revealed it has implemented unlimited paid time off for senior staff.

As of 1 May, senior staff at the bank are allowed "to take time off when needed without a fixed vacation day entitlement."

The memo continued: “As a firm, we are committed to providing our people with differentiated benefits and offerings to support wellbeing and resilience.

"As we continue to take care of our people at every stage of their careers and focus on the experience of our partners and managing directors, we are pleased to announce enhancements and changes to our global vacation program designed to further support time off to rest and recharge.""As we continue to take care of our people at every stage of their careers and focus on the experience of our partners and managing directors, we are pleased to announce enhancements and changes to our global vacation program designed to further support time off to rest and recharge."

Back in August, the bank announced that from 1 January 2023 all of its employees “will be expected to take a minimum of 15 days (three weeks) away from work in a given calendar year, or your required minimum if greater”.

This was announced in a memo written by chief human resources officer at Goldman Sachs Bentley de Beyer, and is particularly relevant for US staff who previously had a ten-day vacation allowance.

As part of the new policy, workers are being forced to take "at least one week of consecutive time off” and will be unable to carry over their unused leave into the following year.

Goldman Sachs' move comes on the back of other banks and consultancy firms announcing more time for employees to reset and recharge to tackle burnout.

For example, last year Citigroup gave employees an extra day off to reset, as well as introduced Zoom-free Fridays, while PwC has announced it will close its offices for two weeks every year to help employees recharge.

PwC's UK employees will also be allowed to leave work early on Fridays during the summer to improve their wellbeing.

This begs the question: could more time off to reset and recharge be a solution to the ‘Great Resignation’? Remember, burnout is a leading cause of the ‘Big Quit’. Ultimately, employees no longer want to work themselves into the ground, instead they want a proper work-life balance.