Why People Love Working at Goldman Sachs—It’s Not Just the Money

The Vampire Squid is still beloved . . . by its employees

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Despite the long hours and grueling culture of working on Wall Street, Goldman Sachs’ employees there still love the place. The bank just ranked #45 on Fortune Magazine’s 100 Best Companies to Work For list, and it’s not just about the money. (Though the average employee sill does rake in $380,000 per year). Here are five reasons why Goldman Sachs is still an “awesome place” to work:

1. The Perks: Most companies that grace Fortune’s list offer eye-popping perks, and Goldman is no different. The investment bank offers its employees meditation classes as part of its “resiliency week” as well as “tai chi club, five-times-a-week Pilates, bubble tea in the café, a champion dragon-boating team, lectures from visitors such as Derek Jeter, and an all-night scavenger hunt for charity.”

2. An Inclusive Culture: The hyper-edcuated elite Goldman recruits tend to be pretty open minded about social issues, so Goldman’s inclusive culture is a plus. On the day the Supreme Court overturned the defense of marriage act, Goldman flew a rainbow flag at its headquarters, and the bank boasts more than 80 affinity networks for minority employees, including an LGBT group.

3. You Can Work From Home: On average, 30% of its employees are working remotely.

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4. Goldman’s Friendly to Young Parents: Investment banking has a reputation for long work weeks and unforgiving hours. That lifestyle can be tough on anybody trying to start a family, and Goldman has done its best to accomodate workers in that position. According to Fortune

“To U.S. employees, it offers a paid four-month maternity leave for both biological and adoptive mothers, and at headquarters and in Jersey City it supplements that with an infant transition program that provides up to 40 days of free onsite care. There’s also backup child care at most locations — at 200 West, there’s even a little rock-climbing wall for kids, which not only is good exercise but may provide training for the corporate ladder.”

The company also launched a new initiative called Returnship, which is focused on helping young mothers and other former employees return to the bank after taking lengthy career breaks.

5. It’s Not as Cutthroat as You Might Think: Goldman attracts the best of the best, most of whom didn’t get where they are by playing nice. But executives at the bank stress that they recruit heavily for folks who understand the benefits of working collaboratively. Here’s Fortune: 

Dane Holmes, a 43-year-old partner who runs investor relations, came to the firm in 2001. He says the collaborative culture — he calls it a collective — is starkly different from that of other Wall Street firms. “I think it takes everybody a while to get it,” he says. For many on Wall Street, he says, it’s not natural to help a colleague with a P&L — and for hypercompetitive folks not used to sharing, he says, that can be a jolt. “You come here and you start to realize that that behavior keeps getting you smacked,” Holmes says.

For more, see the full list here.