Memo to junior bankers at Citigroup: You can soon join your friends at other Wall Street banks in taking Saturdays off.
Citigroup said internally on Wednesday that it was making an effort to improve the lives of the analysts and associates in its investment bank, the two lowest employee levels in that division. Those junior bankers are now encouraged to stay out of the office from 10 p.m. on Friday through 10 a.m. on Sunday. Citigroup also said on Wednesday that junior bankers were expected to take all of their annual vacation days.
The new policy follows similar moves by some of the biggest banks on Wall Street. Goldman Sachs recommended last year that analysts take weekends off whenever possible, while JPMorgan Chase plans to ensure that young employees have one “protected weekend†set aside for rest each month.
Credit Suisse recently discouraged analysts and associates from working on Saturdays, while Bank of America Merrill Lynch said that junior bankers should take four days off a month, on the weekends
While these guidelines might seem like punishment to workers in other industries, they are intended as a bit of relief for Wall Street’s junior bankers, who regularly work into the wee hours and sometimes around the clock. For these employees, weekend work is common.
The potential consequences of such a grueling schedule came into focus after the death of a 21-year-old intern in the London office of Bank of America Merrill Lynch last year. His death was determined to have been caused by epilepsy, and unconfirmed reports on social network forums suggested that he had worked through three consecutive nights as part of the internship.
Analysts and associates should not try to get around the new rules by working from home, Citigroup said in its memo. “We do not expect them to log on remotely to work during this time,†said the guidelines, which were reviewed by DealBook.
“However, we would expect that they will continue to check their email in the event that any business critical issues arise,†the bank said.
The policy, which was reported earlier by Dealbreaker, applies to junior bankers in two groups: corporate and investment banking, and capital markets origination. It takes effect on Feb. 7.
