Goldman Sachs boss David Solomon, who has drawn derision from the rank-and-file over the company’s back-to-work edict, has pulled the plug on “Summer Fridays.”
The Wall Street investment giant recently told staffers the firm will crack down on those who aren’t at their desks five days a week.
“While there is flexibility when needed, we are simply reminding our employees of our existing policy,” human resources chief Jacqueline Arthur said in a statement to The Post.
“We have continued to encourage employees to work in the office five days a week.”
The renewed emphasis comes as Goldman’s
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Wall Street headquarters was described as “totally dead” on Fridays now that interns have gone and a large number of employees opt to work remotely to get an early start on the weekend, sources told The Post.
Solomon, who has been dogged by critical coverage as the bank’s profits have sagged this year, has taken great pride in bringing employees back to the office.
However, the prodding right before Labor Day didn’t sit well with many of the firm’s workers.
“I think David’s really missing (another) trick if he thinks sending out that five-day note at this point will gain friends,” one employee who insisted he has no plans to follow the policy told The Post.
Other sources said it was aggravating that strict attendance would be such a priority when the morale at the bank is already so dismal.
Others noted that Goldman’s relatively high attendance — compared to other banks like Citi
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and JPMorgan
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— hasn’t seemed to benefit the company.
Goldman, whose earnings were down 58% in the most recent quarter, faces multiple investigations into its disastrous handling of advising Silicon Valley Bank before its collapse, took a drastic write-down of its Greensky acquisition and is considering a sale of its investment advisory unit.
Another source said the push from top management was unnecessary since most employees were likely to return on their own accord after Labor Day.
This story originally appeared on Marketwatch
