Goldman Sachs people have six weeks left working from home

First JPMorgan, now Goldman Sachs. After Jamie Dimon summoned his people back to the office on a rotational basis from early July last week, Goldman CEO David Solomon has now issued a similar summons to Goldman's staff.

We've published the full memo, from Solomon, COO John Waldron and CFO Stephen Scherr, below. 

Fundamentally, it says Goldman staff have around six weeks left of homeworking if they're in the U.S. and around seven weeks if they're in London. Unlike JPMorgan, Goldman doesn't seem to be committing to a flexible schedule of 'rotations' in and out of the office thereafter, although the memo says Goldman will, "consider the potential for rotational schedules, where applicable, as we manage capacity in our offices and progressively return."

Solomon's hard stop on homeworking follows comments made today by JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon on homeworking. Working from home, “doesn’t work for people who want to hustle, doesn’t work for culture, doesn’t work for idea generation…," said Dimon. "By September it’ll look like just it did before. We are getting blowback about coming back internally but that’s life.” 

Next Steps in Our Return to Office Journey

We are now more than a year into navigating the myriad of challenges posed by COVID-19, and we remain attentive to the difficulties our people are experiencing. In India and Latin America, the devastating rise in the number of infections and deaths is leading to new lockdowns and significant strain. In other locations where progress has been made, such as parts of Asia Pacific, many of our offices are nearing a full return. Several locations in the US and UK are welcoming an increasing number of colleagues.

While each community is at a different stage of managing through the pandemic, we continue to be encouraged by the rollout of vaccines in a number of jurisdictions, as well as by the effectiveness of the health and safety protocols we have put in place across Goldman Sachs campuses to protect our people. Building on this momentum, we are focused on progressing on our journey to gradually bring our people back together again, where it is safe to do so, and are now in a position to activate the next steps in our return to office strategy in the following locations: 

•           In the US, we ask those who have not yet done so to make plans to be in a position to return to the office by Monday, June 14

•           In the UK, we ask those who have not yet done so to make plans to be in a position to return to the office by Monday, June 21

Additional information on your team’s specific return to office framework will be forthcoming from your regional and divisional leaders in the coming weeks as conditions and capacity considerations shift.

We know from experience that our culture of collaboration, innovation and apprenticeship thrives when our people come together, and we look forward to having more of our colleagues back in the office so that they can experience that once again on a regular basis. We will also welcome nearly 5,400 interns, analysts and associates over the coming months, who will be joining us in person and look forward to forging close bonds with their colleagues and living our culture first-hand. 

As we advance on this journey, we will need to stay nimble and flexible, adapt our plans to the specific needs of each location as the environment evolves and be guided by our people-first approach:

Health and Safety: Since the onset of the pandemic, our top priority has been the health and safety of our people. In addition to investing in our facilities and maintaining appropriate health and wellness protocols, we have created an independent medical advisory board comprising experts from leading hospitals who will help guide our efforts. As a reminder, the firm also offers employees a half-day of paid time off for each dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and COVID-19 Family Leave to accompany dependents who are getting vaccinated.

Flexibility: We remain committed to giving our people the flexibility they need to manage both their personal and professional lives. If you are unable to return to the office in accordance with your office’s and division’s return to office framework, please discuss with your manager (or with Wellness if you have a specific health issue). We will also continue to consider the potential for rotational schedules, where applicable, as we manage capacity in our offices and progressively return. Additionally, to support you and your family, we will extend the deadline to use COVID-19 Family Leave to September 30, 2021.

Moving Forward Together: We will carry what we have learned during the pandemic into the future to become an even stronger firm. For example, we will continue to leverage technology to adapt how we collaborate together and serve our clients. We are also evolving our office spaces, including enhancing common areas on many of our campuses and expanding access to outdoor spaces, where possible, and are looking to provide other amenities.

We remain committed to listening to our people to understand how we can continue to best support you, and we are proud of how everyone at the firm continues to step up in the face of considerable difficulties. Thank you for your hard work, flexibility and dedication as we continue to navigate this unique and complex landscape. 

David M. Solomon

John E. Waldron

Stephen M. Scherr

Photo by Veri Ivanova on Unsplash

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