Goldman Sachs have been in the news again, this time for a former employee’s open letter in the New York Times criticising the ‘Toxic Culture’ that has developed over the last decade.
I’m deliberately going to avoid getting into the moral argument about whether banks should have such financial might and pay telephone number salaries to their employees (I’ll leave that to others). I’m focusing on the level of job satisfaction that an individual can get from working in, or with, this type of firm.
I’ve worked with Goldman Sachs before and several of their financial sector peer group on various commercial fit-out projects. Granted, I have worked with their corporate real estate departments rather than the traders in their core business but I like to think I have a little bit of insight into their culture.
There’s no doubt that Goldman are a tough and demanding organisation. They expect a 24/7 service from consultants and suppliers – 4am phone calls, if not quite the norm, were equally not an unusual occurrence in my experience. Tight deadlines, intensive questioning of everything produced, and a demand for the highest standards and quality at all times are expected as standard when you work with an organisation like this. Make no mistake that these guys are straight-talking, thorough, and direct. They are a ‘business’ in its purest sense of the word.
I definitely wouldn’t recommend a role in, or as a consultant to, a firm like GS to anyone who wants a 9-5 Job, is cruising to retirement, or looking for a quiet life. But then not everyone is. If you’re looking for a challenge or keen to get ahead then you’ll probably gain more satisfaction, confidence, and experience in six months involved in one of their projects than you would in two years on most.
Most of what the employee in question highlights is shocking, but there are 33,000 employees who presumably (on-balance) enjoy working there because they keep turning up every day? Presumably he himself enjoyed the majority of his twelve years at the firm? To be 33 years old and to have worked 12 years at the same company is pretty much unheard of in this day and age.
Whilst much of what is highlighted is shocking, none of it is surprising.
I wouldn’t work with GS expecting time to settle and an easy ride, just the same as I have several clients that I wouldn’t work with expecting a dynamic and energetic experience. Different organisations are a different fit for different people at different times of their lives. I’d suggest that there are many 21 year olds dreaming only of a sports car and six figure salary that went on to realise there’s actually more to life by the time they reach 31.
And If i wake up one day and find that the organisation I’ve enjoyed working for is, in my oppinion, no longer satisfying or in-line with my values then i’ll be sending my letter of resignation to my boss and not a newspaper editor.
Call me old fashioned like that.
