Goldman Sachs Latest Blunder Highlights Big Need For Change
Goldman Sachs’ latest PR mess is a wake up call for workers and investors alike. Here’s what the news means for your finances…
Under intense criticism from their own staff, Goldman Sachs’ CEO announced in March 2021 that the company would make a renewed effort to “try” to give employees one day off per week.
Overworked & Underpaid
Suffering extreme burnout, their team members have been protesting against working extreme 100 hour plus work weeks, seven days a week. In some cases as much as 120 hours a week. It seems the lure of working for big named companies isn’t often what it seems to be. Workers often find they barely have four hours a day to cram in sleep, commuting, and personal hygiene. Forget any family time.
The real kicker is that according to Glassdoor and Salary.com, these employees at big prestigious firms like this aren’t making much either. Entry level analysts who have finally earned a place after taking on all of those student loans and spending years studying can hope to only make between $54k and $78k a year. Maybe a little more if you get to move up to being a junior analyst.
That’s just $15 an hour based on a 100 hour work week. Maybe half of that on a starting salary. It’s barely minimum wage. Only about half to a quarter of what is needed to afford an average apartment in California or New York. Barely enough to afford a place to live in even the cheapest states like AL, TN and MS.
The Reality of Large Corporations
This isn’t just a Goldman issue either. It’s reasonable to expect that this is pretty widespread among big companies. Though perhaps slightly scarier when you consider these are people tasked with financial advice, on no sleep, and barely able to pay their own bills.
If you are in this situation yourself, there is little time for side hustles or to hunt for a better job. There are of course better ways to live and work. Or at least to set yourself up for future financial success and more time freedom.
Future Financial Success
If you’ve been trying to save and invest for retirement, that is a good start. Just make sure you are balancing the risks of your job stability and company, with solid assets and passive income. Investments that will be there when you need them, and can perhaps start making you money while you sleep, so that one day soon you don’t have to work so much.
This issue also highlights the need for even more workforce housing. That may be more affordable projects in big metro areas. Or in new areas where workers and corporates are relocating. Whether it is renovating commercial buildings and repurposing them as housing, or acquiring rental property communities, there is clearly a lot of demand.
The key is to begin by finding a way to invest passively, and let the experts in this area grow your investments and income while you work those crazy hours, so that you won’t have to for too much longer.
