New York: The heartbreaking essay by the father of a deceased Goldman Sachs analyst Sarvshreshth Gupta has yet again raked the debate over long working hours resulting in high stress levels among youngsters. The 22-year-old Gupta, who had been working with Goldman Sachs for almost a year, was found dead in the car parking next to his apartment in San Francisco about six weeks ago.
The New York Times reported on June 1 that his death was "one of numerous unexpected deaths or suicides of young bankers over the last year" which "has caused a new round of reflection and re-evaluation by Goldman and other Wall Street firms about their work policies just two weeks before a new class of college interns descend on the industry for the summer."
Sarvshreshth's father Sunil published his essay entitled "A Son Never Dies" on May 17, a month after his death.
In his essay, Sunil writes that his son complained about the intense working hours in his career. "Now that he was working he could come to Pleasanton only on weekends. Even when he came, he was tired, and sleepy. 'Papa, I do not get enough sleep. I work twenty hours at a stretch.' During certain weeks, he was working on weekends too. I protested. 'Son you will ruin your health,' I complained. He would say, 'Come on Papa, I am young and strong. Investment banking is hard work'," his father wrote.
According to Sunil, his son quit his job in the third week of March 2015 after saying he had "too much work and too little time. I want to come back home.'
Soon after, though, Gupta rejoined Goldman. "Destiny was marking its time for the family. We had no clue that we were going to be hit by a tsunami, which would uproot our lives, never to be rooted again. By a quirk of fate, he was asked by his company, to reconsider his resignation and under pressure from me, he rejoined."
"Now, I, who had nurtured him, carved him, possessed him, took the fatal decision for him. Why did I ask him to continue? Why didn't I ask him to come back? What if I had not forced him to continue? What if his company had not given him the window to reconsider his resignation?
These painful questions will never be answered. There is no power in this universe which can undo the tragedy that hit us. Poor son, he re-joined and did his best to come to terms with hard, continuous work, no breaks, no sleep and no respite."
A few weeks later, his son called and said that he was not getting any sleep and had a lot of work to finish.
"April, 16, 2015, 3.10 pm, India time. That is,+ 12.30 hours, California time. He calls us and says, 'it is too much. I have not slept for two days, have a client meeting tomorrow morning, have to complete a presentation, my VP is annoyed and I am working alone in my office.'
I got furious. 'Take fifteen days leave and come home', I said. He quipped 'they will not allow'. I said, 'tell them to consider this as your resignation letter.'
Finally, he agreed to complete his work in about an hour, go to his apartment which was half a mile from his office block and return in the morning."
Soon after, Sunil's son was found dead.
While the details surrounding his death remain murky, it is believed that he may have fallen from his building, according to the Dealbook Sorkin report.
In a statement, Goldman said, "We are saddened by Sav's death and feel deeply for his family. We hope that people will respect the family's expressed desire for privacy during this difficult time."
Stress for young bankers has come under scrutiny in the last two years. This conversation really began back in August 2013 when Bank of America intern Mortiz Erhardt passed away after reportedly working consecutive all-nighters at the bank's London office.
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