Citigroup enforces Zoom-free Fridays in wellbeing push
Citigroup workers will be spared from Zoom meetings on Fridays as part of a wellbeing push by the bank’s new boss.
In a memo to staff chief executive Jane Fraser said she was introducing the video call veto after it “became apparent we need to combat the ‘Zoom fatigue’ that many of us feel”.
Fraser also announced a company-wide holiday on Friday 28 May, replicating a similar move by her predecessor last year.
“The blurring of lines between home and work and the relentlessness of the pandemic workday have taken a toll on our well-being,” the boss wrote in a message to staff, which was first reported by Financial News.
It comes days after a group of junior bankers at Goldman Sachs complained of “inhumane” treatment and workplace abuse as they racked up 100-hour weeks.
The bankers said their working hours had negatively impacted their relationships with family and friends and led to a deterioration in their mental health.
Goldman Sachs has since vowed to reinforce its rule that junior bankers are not allowed to work on Saturdays.
The move at Citigroup is one of the first changes implemented by Fraser, who took over as chief executive earlier this month.
The Scottish banker, who has served at Citi for 16 years, is the first female boss of a Wall Street bank.