Citigroup banned internal calls from Zoom on Fridays in an effort to prevent employees from running cluttered while working from home.
Jane Fraser, recently co-CEO of the megabank, announced the “Zoom-Free Friday” policy in a note from the company along with other measures aimed at addressing “the relentlessness of the pandemic workday.”
“We are a global company that operates through different time zones, but when our work extends regularly at night, in the morning and on weekends very early on, it can prevent us from fully recharging, and that’s not good. for you or, ultimately, for Citi, “Fraser wrote in Monday’s note, which Citi provided to The Post.
Fraser, the first woman to head a major Wall Street bank, said she initially resisted reducing video calls, but appeared after hearing colleagues around the world complain of “zoom fatigue.”
While Friday’s calls to Citi will only be audio, Fraser noted that employees will still have to meet with regulators and video customers.
He also urged employees to avoid scheduling calls outside of their traditional pre-pandemic work schedule and to use their vacation days. Fraser is setting an example: He said he will take a few days off later this month, “knowing I’ll be back with a fresher brain.”
The bank will give all staff a day off on May 28, which Fraser declared as a company holiday called “Citi Reset Day”.
Citi isn’t alone trying to combat the exhaustion that plagues Wall Street bankers after a year of remote work.
Goldman Sachs chief David Solomon pledged to ensure staff were received on Saturdays after a group of junior analysts complained about 100-hour workweeks affecting their physical and mental health.
But Solomon also stressed the importance of working long hours, telling subordinates on Sunday that going “one more mile” for customers “can make a difference in our performance.”
Citi plans to end remote work that apparently left employees without steam, according to Fraser’s note, which was first reported by Financial News.
Most bank jobs will be “hybrid” roles once employees are vaccinated, which means people occupying these positions will enter the office at least three days a week and work from home for up to two days. a week, Fraser said.
Some jobs will be completely remote after the pandemic, but others like those at bank branches or data centers cannot be done off-site, he said.
“While the pandemic has shown us how versatile our colleagues can be, for many of our roles, we firmly believe that there are several material benefits to being physically together,” Fraser wrote.