We have said many times in this blog that a crisis media management incident can come in different forms.
Perhaps one of more overlooked causes is employees complaining about their working conditions.
But one organisation found itself at the centre of a media and social media storm recently after staff raised concerns about “inhumane” working conditions.
A group of junior analysts put together a professional-looking presentation that detailed their experiences at Goldman Sachs.
The “Working Conditions Survey”, which was leaked on social media, showed staff believed they worked around 100 hours a week on average.
They also complained of being ignored in meetings, being given unrealistic deadlines and that work was impacting their mental and physical health.
The survey, which you can see here, also warned that most would not recommend Goldman Sachs as an employer and that many would not stay unless working conditions improved.
Some of the starker employee responses included:
“My body physically hurts all the time and mentally I’m in a really dark place.”
“I can’t sleep anymore because my anxiety levels are through the roof.”
“The sleep deprivation, the treatment by senior bankers, the mental and physical stress… I’ve been through foster care and this is arguably worse.”
Leaked staff survey results from Goldman Sachs (cannot vouch for veracity but are being shared online). https://t.co/1gicq64l2A
— Sharon O'Dea (@sharonodea) March 18, 2021
Beyond bleak. pic.twitter.com/ruNOwyyo1F
It is important to point out that the feedback – and proposed solution of an 80-hour limit on the working week - came from a relatively small group of 13 first-year analysts.
But it identified significant issues and received extensive media coverage:
Young Goldman Sachs bankers ask for 80-hour week cap BBC News
Goldman Sachs junior bankers warn bosses they could quit over '98-hour' working week Sky News
Goldman Sachs staff revolt at ‘98-hour week’ The Times
Tired Goldman Sachs underlings beg to work ‘just’ 80 hours a week, instead of 100 New York Post
Goldman’s First-Year Bankers Beg to Work Only 80-Hour Weeks in Stinging Deck Bloomberg
So how did the investment bank respond to the story?
Well, all the coverage I have seen carries the same quote from spokesperson Nicole Sharp.
She said: “We recognize that our people are very busy, because business is strong and volumes are at historic levels
“A year into COVID, people are understandably quite stretched, and that’s why we are listening to their concerns and taking multiple steps to address them.”
How do you feel about that as a crisis media management response?
For me, it lacks much of the elements of CARE (Compassion, Action, Reassurance and Examples we discuss on our crisis communication training courses.
Although, Ms Sharp recognises staff are asked to work particularly hard at the moment, there is little compassion or concern, which seems quite surprising considering the bleakness of some of the comments.
Surely, it would be better to say something like: “It is really concerning to see some of our staff feel this way. Our people do have to work hard, and workloads have increased recently, but no-one should feel they have to work 100 hours a week.”
Similarly, the ‘action’ part is missing. We read that the company is taking “multiple steps” to address the concerns.
But that is vague and in a crisis communication you need details.
Give us some specific examples of these steps you have taken or are planning to take to tackle these issues.
So, Ms Sharp’s statement should have ideally gone on to say something like: “We have already introduced… to try to tackle these issues and we are planning to… over the next few weeks and months.”
Is there anything else that can be learnt from this story?
Well, there may be some lessons for internal communications. Junior analysts putting together and circulating their own survey would suggest they don’t feel they are currently being listened to or that their situation is being reflected by what is being said internally.
But more widely, it is a sign of a greater focus on working conditions and culture, particularly among the larger organisations.
It was only a few weeks ago that Bill Michael, the UK boss of KPMG, had to step down over comments he made during a staff Zoom call where he told consultants to "stop moaning" about the impact of the pandemic and lockdown on people's lives, and to stop "playing the victim card".
To avoid similar crisis media management situations to these examples, organisations and their leaders need to show empathy and kindness and an appreciation of the different challenges people have faced over the past year, together with their concerns about the future.
And, if and when the time comes for a return to the office, they will need to show some skilled persuasion and be prepared for a possible backlash.
Thought should be given to those messages and crisis responses now. We can help you with this.
Our message development and testing courses will help you create and hone those messages and ensure they work before you share them with your audience. And our presentations skills and media training courses will help leaders deliver them with confidence, clarity and authenticity.
One tip we can give you now is those messages and responses must include CARE.
Media First are media and communications training specialists with over 30 years of experience. We have a team of trainers, each with decades of experience working as journalists, presenters, communications coaches and media trainers.
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