‘Don’t they know it’s the weekend?’ No more annoying Friday calls for Dubai Citi bankers

DUBAI: It is one of the most tiresome habitual intrusions for bankers and finance professionals from Dubai to Riyadh — the Friday phone call from a colleague in London or New York who doesn’t realize it’s the weekend.
But the end may be in sight — for Citi employees at least, after CEO Jane Fraser banned internal video calls on Fridays and encouraged vacations in a bid to buck up the spirits of pandemic-jaded employees.
Citi employs more than 200,000 people globally and a long-established presence in the Middle East.
In a memo to Citi’s workers, Fraser revealed plans to “limit video calls on Fridays to clients only (or Thursdays where applicable); scheduling business calls during what we once considered normal working hours (weekends are for resting); and encouraging people to take holiday,” Bloomberg reported.
The firm will also create a company-wide day of rest — May 28 — the “Citi Reset Day,” it emerged.
Other banks are following a similar path.
On Sunday, Goldman Sachs boss David Solomon also pledged to do more to keep younger bankers out of the office on Saturdays. Earlier researchers at the bank compiled a report that showed on average, first year analysts at the bank were working 95 hours per week and sleeping for five hours each night.
Jefferies is also among the big financial employers re-thinking working practices, rewarding younger employees with fitness perks including Peloton bikes.