Whiny Bankers Anonymous

It’s a sad time for young investment bankers. Having made their way on to the fast track to considerable fortune, these millennial sods are now unhappy that they are working so hard. As it happens, they are working very long hours, just as their forebears did. But, they are millennials, so they complain about it. They belong to a generation of whiners. The only thing that was missing from the PowerPoint presentation was an assertion of the wonders of work/life balance.

Keep in mind, the millennial generation has by now taken over America’s newsrooms. They have a considerable say in the running of the New York Times. Currently, they are running it into a ditch. But, they do not care. They are principled.

Of course, journalism is a dying profession. The Times barely stays afloat. Goldman Sachs, however, is a thriving institution. In fact, it is making so much money that it is preparing to move its asset management division to Palm Beach, FL.

So, its junior analysts have formed something of a cabal. They are not trying to take over the firm, but they are complaining about how much they have to work. And besides, they are being disrespected. Fancy that.

Brooke Masters reports the story for the Financial Times (link unavailable):

The PowerPoint presentation in which 13 young Goldman Sachs analysts complained that they were overworked and disrespected has divided opinion sharply.

It ought to be fairly obvious that they have just shot their careers in the foot, so to speak. No bank needs a coterie of whiners. Many more senior figures dismissed their complaints:

“Snowflakes,” scoffed one bank executive, remembering that he too worked 95 hours a week when deal flow was high. So what if 92 per cent of them felt “ignored” in meetings: “They’re 22 years old and have been working less than a year. What can they add?” Jim Cramer of CNBC was equally snarky: “if they can't live on four hours [sleep] they should be miserable,” he tweeted.

Opinion was divided, of course:

But others called the long hours a “form of hazing” and argued that Wall Street culture must change to diversify workforces and compete for top talent.

What does it mean to diversify the workforce? It’s a sly insertion on the author’s part which does not tell us anything about the diversity of the whiners. Does the bank hire to fill diversity quotas? Or does it hire the best, giving everyone a fair chance? 

One suspects that Masters is implying that women do not like working 100 hour weeks—understandably, of course—and that the workforce must ensure that no one else can work long hours either. Of course, this assumes that the women who are looking for more work/life balance are top talent.

The bank CEO, David Solomon tried to show sensitivity. If he had not, it would have been a PR nightmare:

Goldman Sachs’ chief executive David Solomon tried to split the difference in a tape-recorded message to staff over the weekend. “We want a workplace where people can share concerns freely,” he said, promising stricter enforcement of an existing ban on requiring junior bankers to work on Saturdays. But he asked staff to continue to “go the extra mile for our client, even when we feel that we’re reaching our limit”.

Funnily enough, the banking business is doing very well, thank you. And yet, millennial religious beliefs do not value hard work. Apparently, they do not value getting ahead. So, Masters calls it all a high-paid sweat shop. This in contrast to many businesses that are low paid sweat shops.

The divisions underscore three things. Despite reform efforts after a Bank of America intern died of an epileptic seizure in 2013, investment banking remains something of a high-paid sweat shop. Millennial and Gen Z workers are more willing to challenge their bosses than their predecessors. And the Covid-19 pandemic has made the ensuing conflict much worse.

As it happened, the fault does not lie so much in the long hours as it lies in the isolation imposed by the lockdowns. About that we are in full sympathy, because many people, from children on up to seniors are suffering from the social isolation imposed by the lockdowns.

Financial and professional services firm are on a tear in areas connected to equity capital markets: initial public offerings, mergers and acquisitions and private equity. Complaints are rising about burnout and overwork, although few match the 11-page Goldman slide deck for detail. At the Wallstreetoasis website, one person wrote: “At UBS, it’s the same here. Want to die.” Junior employees at the private equity firm Apollo griped they were “paid to grind”. And an associate at the US law firm Latham & Watkins told the Financial Times that work “has pervaded every waking (and sometimes sleeping) moment”.

And,

Covid has only roiled this toxic stew. With most white-collar professionals still working from home, the lines between work and home are further blurred. Remote work also removes the social benefits of long hours: camaraderie, contact with senior bankers, even bragging rights. Instead of sharing late-night takeaway with work buddies, many analysts are living at home and fending off concerns from protective parents.

Remote work has been a disaster for banks and other businesses that rely on an apprenticeship model. Many of the youngest workers, including the complaining Goldman analysts, have never met their bosses in person. Juniors feel less connected to the institution, and seniors find it hard to judge when underlings are struggling.

Worse yet, today’s millennials are especially sensitive to abuse. They are easily triggered and believe that it their therapeutic right to speak truth to power. 

The Daily Mail explains some of their torments, from being managed to hearing swear words. Surely, they have earned their position as snowflakes:

Meanwhile, 83 percent of respondents said they had experienced 'excessive monitoring or micromanagement'. 17 percent said they 'frequently encountered shouting or swearing'.

A majority of the analysts claimed they felt like they had been a victim of workplace abuse, while three-quarters said they had sought or considered counselling due to stress. 

They are obviously not long for the world of investment banking. And they are saying that the future of the American investment banking business is in doubt:

The outpouring comes as most workplaces are already struggling with clashes between senior managers and millennial and Gen Z workers who refuse to sit quietly in their allotted places. “There is less tolerance for abuse and more of a sense that when you experience abuse you should speak up,” says one senior Goldmanite who expresses a sneaking sympathy.

That’s one reason why many senior bankers, Solomon included, are pushing to get people back to the office. And there is a mad dash on at Goldman, UBS and elsewhere to hire more junior bankers to help share the load….

That would be money well spent.