Citigroup is to introduce 'Zoom-free' Fridays, as the pressure of working virtually during the pandemic takes its toll on employee well-being.
The policy was revealed in a memo, first seen by Financial News, sent to staff by new boss Jane Fraser, who has also scheduled for a company-wide holiday at the end of May, citing "the need for a reset".
"I know, from your feedback and my own experience, the blurring of lines between home and work and the relentlessness of the pandemic workday have taken a toll on our well-being," she wrote in the memo. "It's simply not sustainable."
The briefing calls on staff to refrain from taking calls outside traditional working hours and on weekends.
"We are of course a global company that operates across time zones, but when our work regularly spills over into nights, very early mornings and weekends, it can prevent us from recharging fully, and that isn't good for you nor, ultimately, for Citi."
Similar actions are being mooted at rival investment bank Goldman Sachs, where CEO David SOlomon has said that he'll try to give junior bankers Saturdays off after complaints about their gruelling 100-hour-a-week schedule became public through a leaked PowerPoint presentation.