Ex-worker sues Goldman Sachs, claims his role caused ‘mental health’ issues

LONDON: A former executive of Goldman Sachs has sued the investment bank over a “dysfunctional” workplace culture, claiming that his role caused “mental health” issues during his time at the firm as he was “working excessive hours”.

Ian Dodd, 55, former global head of recruiting at Goldman Sachs International, is suing the bank for one million pounds in London, according to court documents seen by the Financial Times.He started working in November 2018 but became unwell in 2019 and left in 2021.

According to Dodd, one year after starting at Goldman Sachs, he became ill due to excessive work pressure. He also claimed that it was common to see employees “express distress” by crying and “sobbing throughout meetings”.

In addition, he accused the bank of overworking him and expecting employees to work long hours in his lawsuit — accusations that the firm has also faced previously, the report said. However, the bank denied such accusations.

“As with many workplaces, there were occasions when colleagues were upset, for a variety of reasons (sometimes unconnected with work and sometimes connected with work), but it is denied that such instances were frequent or usual,” reads Goldman’s defence filing.

“It is denied that there was a ‘culture of divisiveness’ or unpleasant infighting at the Defendant, whether as alleged or at all”, it added.

The bank also denied Dodd’s claims that “sobbing through meetings” was “common behaviour” or that there was a “consistently high level of emotion” running through team meetings, according to the report.

Moreover, the bank denied allegations of “displays of general agitation” by employees and a “culture of bullying at the defendant” in its court defence document.

Goldman Sachs also claimed that Dodd “was not required to work excessive hours”, adding that he was “provided with appropriate reasonable advice and support” and it denied the bank “knew or ought to have known that the Claimant was becoming unwell”, the report mentioned.

According to the bank, colleagues advised Dodd not to overwork, and one advised him to reduce his travel and schedule time to go to the gym.