NEW YORK (BLOOMBERG) - Goldman Sachs will allow its senior staff to take an unlimited number of vacation days, the latest move by a Wall Street bank to retain talent in a heated job market. 

Partners and managing directors at the New York investment bank can take time off when needed “without a fixed vacation day entitlement”, according to a company memo seen by Bloomberg. Junior employees still have limits on vacation but will be given at least two extra days off each year under the new policy, which was introduced at the start of the month. 

All Goldman employees will be required to take three weeks off each year starting in 2023, the memo said. That includes at least one week of consecutive time off.

The new vacation policy comes more than a year after junior analysts at the bank complained of 100-hour work weeks and declining physical and mental health in “inhumane” conditions. That reverberated across Wall Street, with firms pledging to do more to improve the work-life balance of their staff. 

Competition to retain employees and attract new talent has intensified as companies from Wall Street to Silicon Valley grapple with the renewed focus on work-life balance while seeking to roll back workplace policies implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

Goldman last month ended free breakfast and lunches at the office - a perk to lure staff back to work. The bank has been one of the most aggressive among financial firms to push for a return to office. 

The memo was first reported by the Daily Telegraph.