Goldman Sachs’ unlimited vacation plan ripped by analysts: report

Goldman Sachs’ move to give its senior bankers unlimited vacation time is drawing a skeptical response from analysts – with some calling the move a cynical scheme to boost the bank’s bottom line that won’t actually result in stressed-out workers taking more time off.

The Wall Street giant informed its senior bankers earlier this month that they were free to take as many vacation days as they wanted. All Goldman employees are now required to take at least 15 days off per year, according to the company’s policy.

While the unlimited vacation policy suggested that Goldman was putting a larger emphasis on work-life balance, it will do little to ease the workloads that keep bankers at their desks in the first place, Wells Fargo banking analyst Mike Mayo told the New York Times.

“It sounds psychologically soothing, and it’s part of Goldman’s cultivating a gentler and softer Goldman image,” Mayo said. “The reality is it’s not going to make any difference. It’s like telling a restaurant owner you can have unlimited vacation — will that change how the restaurant owner works?”

Veehtahl Eilat-Raichel, the co-founder and CEO of fintech startup Sorbet – a company that buys out and repurposes unused paid-time-off benefits – reportedly asserted that Goldman’s policy shift was “driven completely by financials.”

By changing the policy, Goldman is no longer on the hook to compensate senior bankers, who comprise less than 5% of its overall workforce, for unused paid time off below the 15-day threshold, a source familiar with the matter told The Post. That’s because those executives are technically no longer accruing vacation days.

Eilat-Raichel told the New York Times that unlimited vacation policies are “positioned as if it’s an amazing benefit for employees, where in fact it actually is really bad for employees and amazing for employers.”

Another analyst, Alliance Consulting president Paul Sorbera, had a more optimistic view of Goldman’s move.

“It’s a great thing — they’re trusting their senior people to do what’s right because they’ve earned their stripes, they’ve put in their time and been successful,” Sorbera told the outlet.

A Goldman Sachs spokesperson said any cost savings from the policy tweak are “incidental” and were not a factor in the decision.

“Unlimited vacation for senior employees means we no longer accrue for vacation in a calendar year. We have not paid out unused vacation days carried over from a prior year service since 2017,” the spokesperson added.

Bentley de Beyer, Goldman Sachs’ global head of human capital management, said the company’s “focus” when rolling out the policy was “on incentivizing our people to take more time off, rest and recharge.”

“We are proud to join with many other companies in introducing a flexible policy that requires a minimum amount of time out of the office to continue to build resiliency and sustained performance,” the executive said.

While senior bankers have unlimited vacation, junior employees are still subject to a cap. However, Goldman provided them with an additional two vacation days.

Goldman unveiled its new vacation policy as it contends with mounting pushback from staffers – with some junior bankers grumbling last year that they were working 100-hour weeks.

“As we continue to take care of our people at every stage of their careers and focus on the experience of our partners and managing directors, we are pleased to announce enhancements and changes to our global vacation program designed to further support time off to rest and recharge,” the company said in a memo earlier this month.

More recently, Goldman employees have complained about the firm’s rigorous return-to-office plan. As The Post reported in March, some junior staffers have threatened to quit over internal pressure to work onsite five days per week.

Meanwhile, Goldman’s top boss David Solomon said earlier this month that more than half of Goldman employees — between 50% and 60% — have returned to the office.

Goldman has also faced scrutiny from employees for cutting back on some perks, such as free lunch and free car rides to the office.