Beautiful Virgin Islands

Thursday, Oct 30, 2025

Goldman Sachs: Bank boss rejects work from home as the 'new normal'

Goldman Sachs: Bank boss rejects work from home as the 'new normal'

Goldman Sachs boss David Solomon has rejected remote working as a “new normal” and labelled it an “aberration” instead.

Mr Solomon said the investment bank had operated throughout 2020 with “less than 10% of our people” in the office.

His eagerness for workers to return to the office is at odds with many other firms, who have suggested that working from home could become permanent.

Mr Solomon suggested that it does not suit the work culture at Goldman Sachs.

“I do think for a business like ours, which is an innovative, collaborative apprenticeship culture, this is not ideal for us. And it’s not a new normal. It’s an aberration that we’re going to correct as soon as possible,” he told a conference on Wednesday.

"I'm really not looking forward to going back into the office," Tom, a 35-year-old who works in urban planning, told the BBC.

He has enjoyed being more involved with his young children during the pandemic. But his employer is quite "stubborn" about wanting him back in five days a week.

"I have found the lack of understanding and support from the older generation of directors, as well as their eagerness to just go back to offices and not learn lessons really difficult."

He says his employer seems to assume there will be someone at home to cover childcare and other day-to-day demands, whereas the tech industry, where his wife works, allows more flexibility.

Tom is now looking for a new job that will offer him more choice.

"The best-case scenario for me would be two days in the office - to get that connection with colleagues - and two to three days at home."

In particular Mr Solomon was worried about an incoming “class” of about 3,000 new recruits, who wouldn’t get the “direct mentorship” they need.

“I am very focused on the fact that I don’t want another class of young people arriving at Goldman Sachs in the summer remotely,” he said.

Although he thought the Covid-19 pandemic had helped push the adoption of digital technologies and created ways for the investment bank to run more efficiently, Mr Solomon thought it would not lead to huge changes over the longer term.

“I don’t think as we get out of the pandemic the overall operating mode of the way a business like ours operates will be vastly different,” he said.

Within the finance sector, it appears Mr Solomon is not alone.

In September, JP Morgan’s chief executive Jamie Dimon said that working from home has had a negative effect on productivity.

Barclays boss Jes Staley also expressed hope recently that the vaccine would allow employees to return to the office.

However, more recently Lloyds Banking Group said it planned to cut the amount of office space it uses by 20% within three years, and HSBC has announced a 40% cut in its office footprint.

Permanent work from home?


Tech companies, also appear to be more enthusiastic about work from home arrangements.

Microsoft, Facebook and Twitter have all said staff would have the option to work from home permanently.

Facebook has suggested that up to half of its staff could work remotely within five to ten years.

But the social media giant has also hinted that remote workers might receive lower pay, as their expenses would be less away from San Francisco and Silicon Valley.


How to combat back pain while working from home


Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
UK and Vietnam Sign Landmark Migration Deal to Fast-Track Returns of Irregular Arrivals
UK Drug-Pricing Overhaul Essential for Life-Sciences Ambition, Says GSK Chief
Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie Temporarily Leave the UK Amid Their Parents’ Royal Fallout
UK Weighs Early End to Oil and Gas Windfall Tax as Reeves Seeks Investment Commitments
UK Retail Inflation Slows as Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since Spring
Next Raises Full-Year Profit Guidance After Strong Third-Quarter Performance
Reform UK’s Lee Anderson Admits to 'Gaming' Benefits System While Advocating Crackdown
United States and South Korea Conclude Major Trade Accord Worth $350 Billion
Hurricane Melissa Strikes Cuba After Devastating Jamaica With Record Winds
Vice President Vance to Headline Turning Point USA Campus Event at Ole Miss
U.S. Targets Maritime Narco-Routes While Border Pressure to Mexico Remains Limited
Bill Gates at 70: “I Have a Real Fear of Artificial Intelligence – and Also Regret”
Elon Musk Unveils Grokipedia: An AI-Driven Alternative to Wikipedia
Saudi Arabia Unveils Vision for First-Ever "Sky Stadium" Suspended Over Desert Floor
Amazon Announces 14 000 Corporate Job Cuts as AI Investment Accelerates
UK Shop Prices Fall for First Time Since March, Food Leads the Decline
London Stock Exchange Group ADR (LNSTY) Earns Zacks Rank #1 Upgrade on Rising Earnings Outlook
Soap legend Tony Adams, long-time star of Crossroads, dies at 84
Rachel Reeves Signals Tax Increases Ahead of November Budget Amid £20-50 Billion Fiscal Gap
NatWest Past Gains of 314% Spotlight Opportunity — But Some Key Risks Remain
UK Launches ‘Golden Age’ of Nuclear with £38 Billion Sizewell C Approval
UK Announces £1.08 Billion Budget for Offshore Wind Auction to Boost 2030 Capacity
UK Seeks Steel Alliance with EU and US to Counter China’s Over-Capacity
UK Struggles to Balance China as Both Strategic Threat and Valued Trading Partner
Argentina’s Markets Surge as Milei’s Party Secures Major Win
British Journalist Sami Hamdi Detained by U.S. Authorities After Visa Revocation Amid Israel-Gaza Commentary
King Charles Unveils UK’s First LGBT+ Armed Forces Memorial at National Memorial Arboretum
At ninety-two and re-elected: Paul Biya secures eighth term in Cameroon amid unrest
Racist Incidents Against UK Nurses Surge by 55%
UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves Cites Shared Concerns With Trump Administration as Foundation for Early US-UK Trade Deal
Essentra plc: A Closer Look at a UK ‘Penny Stock’ Opportunity Amid Market Weakness
U.S. and China Near Deal to Avert Rare-Earth Export Controls Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Justin time: Justin Herbert Shields Madison Beer with Impressive Reflex at Lakers Game
Russia’s President Putin Declares Burevestnik Nuclear Cruise Missile Ready for Deployment
Giuffre’s Memoir Alleges Maxwell Claimed Sexual Act with Clooney
House Republicans Move to Strip NYC Mayoral Front-Runner Zohran Mamdani of U.S. Citizenship
Record-High Spoiled Ballots Signal Voter Discontent in Ireland’s 2025 Presidential Election
Philippines’ Taal Volcano Erupts Overnight with 2.4 km Ash Plume
Albania’s Virtual AI 'Minister' Diella Set to 'Birth' Eighty-Three Digital Assistants for MPs
Tesla Unveils Vision for Optimus V3 as ‘Biggest Product of All Time’, Including Surgical Capabilities
Francis Ford Coppola Auctions Luxury Watches After Self-Financed Film Flop
Convicted Sex Offender Mistakenly Freed by UK Prison Service Arrested in London
United States and China Begin Constructive Trade Negotiations Ahead of Trump–Xi Summit
U.S. Treasury Sanctions Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro over Drug-Trafficking Allegations
Miss USA Crowns Nebraska’s Audrey Eckert Amid Leadership Overhaul
‘I Am Not Done’: Kamala Harris Signals Possible 2028 White House Run
NBA Faces Integrity Crisis After Mass Arrests in Gambling Scandal
Swift Heist at the Louvre Sees Eight French Crown Jewels Stolen in Under Seven Minutes
U.S. Halts Trade Talks with Canada After Ontario Ad Using Reagan Voice Triggers Diplomatic Fallout
Microsoft AI CEO: ‘We’re making an AI that you can trust your kids to use’ — but can Microsoft rebuild its own trust before fixing the industry’s?
×