Citigroup’s CEO Jane Fraser Calls For Zoom-Free Fridays

Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser told her staff that she is banning internal video calls on Fridays, encouraging employees to set boundaries for a healthier work-life balance, CNBC reports.

Additionally, Fraser will be instituting a firm-wide holiday on May 28 called "Citi Reset Day" as pandemic fatigue takes a toll on employees.

Fraser said in the memo, ″The blurring of lines between home and work and the relentlessness of the pandemic workday have taken a toll on our well-being. It’s simply not sustainable. Since a return to any kind of new normal is still a few months away for many of us, we need to reset some of our working practices.”

Fraser said that Zoom meetings with clients and regulators will still happen on Fridays, but employees will conduct internal meetings over the phone to give them a break from nonstop video calls. Fraser encourages workers to only schedule calls during traditional working hours.

“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,” Fraser said.

Once more employees return to offices, Fraser laid out the system for what work will look like at Citigroup. She discussed the value in having employees -- particularly junior ones -- working together in an office setting.

Most employees will be hybrid workers who spend at least three days a week in the office while working from home up to two days a week. Branch workers will continue to remain at Citigroup locations, with some rare roles continuing remote work.

The Citigroup memo was sent the day after Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon was forced to address his staff after an internal survey of first-year analysts went viral. The survey detailed brutal working conditions at Goldman Sachs, including employees’ health concerns about working more than 100 hours a week.