Wells Fargo juniors made a presentation asking for free meals

Following February's presentation by 13 Goldman Sachs analysts looking for a lift to their work-life balance, it seems that junior bankers at other places are putting their presentational abilities to use too.

Analysts at Wells Fargo, for example, prepared a mini-presentation - currently circulating on Instagram - requesting that their meals are subsidized while they work from home. It too was assembled in the dark days of February. 

In one slide, the juniors argued that although Wells Fargo has implemented "multiple initiatives" to support junior talent and mental health, discontinuing subsidies for meals while analysts work late was a mistake. They said that subsidized meals are supposed to support "productivity and wellness" when juniors work late. Meals are also supposed compensate for juniors' lack of time for cooking after 8pm, and to help banks remain competitive with rivals like technology firms. 

Given that there's now no distinction between the home and the office, and that junior talent is expected to be "constantly plugged in" so that "cooking healthy balanced meals" is an impossibility, the analysts said that a meal stipend is an imperative. "Wells Fargo has fallen behind its peers in regards to meal stipends and supporting their junior talent through difficult, co-existing work and life environments." 

This was followed by the slide below, laden with logos from rival banks which do offer meal subsidies. 

A spokesperson for Wells Fargo said the bank is, "committed to a culture that makes personal wellness a priority," and has created a corporate and investment banking well-being taskforce. This is committed to "taking action in four key areas — Mental Wellness, Physical Wellness, Professional Engagement and Social Engagement," and has introduced initiatives including, "protected weekends, pencils down policies and daily personal time, that encourages them to take breaks from work."

The implication is that the bank isn't quite ready to offer employees free meals yet, although the spokesperson said it's "continuing to explore" ways to make wellbeing a priority. 

The stipend may come soon. Deutsche Bank was also criticized by junior bankers for failing to offer free meals during the pandemic, but is understood to have begun making payments recently.  

Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

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