Investor says young Australians seeking work-life balance are ‘soft’

A controversial article from the outspoken investment manager Christopher Joye has sparked outrage among young Australians.

A controversial article by Christopher Joye, an outspoken investment portfolio manager and columnist for the Australian Financial Review, has sparked outrage amongst young Australians.

In a recent piece, Joye labelled Millennials as “soft” for prioritising a healthy work-life balance over sacrificing their social lives for their careers.

He proudly recounted his past experiences of working late into the night for major corporations during his youth. He also boasted about enduring over 90 consecutive all-nighters and going without sleep for several days while employed at Goldman Sachs in London back in 2000.

According to Joye, Australia’s high inflation rates necessitate a “radical attitudinal change” for Millennials who — according to him — have supposedly never encountered economic hardships like high inflation or prolonged recessions.

“In my first 12 months of work at Goldman Sachs in London in 2000, I pulled more than 90 all-nighters - that is, I worked two days consecutively without sleep,” he wrote.

He further suggested that the pursuit of excellence, as observed in top-tier sports, military, and professional teams, contradicts the ideals of work-life balance cherished by individuals in their twenties and thirties.

The investor contended that a potential recession in Australia could serve as a wake-up call for Millennials, showing them the true requirements for “world-class performance”.

In a surprise to absolutely nobody, young Aussies ridiculed the investor for boasting about spending sleepless nights working for a giant corporation.

Anecdote from my AFR column today: “For Australia’s inflation rate to subside, we will also need more productivity to rationalise the brisk rates of wage growth. This will in turn demand radical attitudinal change from entitled millennials who have never experienced high…

— christopher joye (@cjoye) May 12, 2023

While some individuals on Twitter seized the opportunity to get stuck into Millennials, many members of the younger generation expressed their anger over Joye’s attack on those striving for a healthy work-life balance. Several argued that companies exploiting their staff by demanding all-nighters is unacceptable.

One person remarked, “You shouldn’t need world-class performance to have a roof over your head. Pulling 90 all-nighters in a year sounds like a truly shocking way to live, to be honest.”

Another added: “Work-life balance is not ‘soft.’ It is the smart thing to do. It need not be sacrificed for world-class performance.”

One individual rebutted Joye‘s notion, stating, “Sorry mate, twenty-somethings and thirty-somethings aren’t going to sacrifice themselves on the altar of capitalism. But you’ll always have your time in London, though!”

Joye labelled Millennials as ‘soft’ for prioritising a healthy work-life balance over sacrificing their social lives for their careers.

A millennial shared their personal experience, saying, “I‘m significantly happier focusing on life rather than work. Why should I? The system is rigged, and I’ve seen little benefit from working tirelessly. Now, I prioritise spending time with my young family while doing only the bare minimum at work.”

Another person concurred, stating: “Minimum wage, minimum effort, homie.”

Amidst the debate, one worker pointed out that Goldman Sachs compensates junior staff quite well, with individuals in the “analyst to associate” bracket in London earning between $130,000 to $260,000 AUD per year, including bonuses and benefits.

They emphasised that expecting investment banking work ethic for a McDonald‘s salary is unrealistic.

However, some individuals agreed that Millennials might benefit from a reality check or at least curbing their indulgence in avocado toast.

One person remarked, “As an intergenerationally-punched Boomer, I tend to agree with Chris. When I was in public accounting, I received the 80-hour workweek memo every tax season. Partners now struggle to accommodate ‘the soft work-life balance ideals of twenty- and thirty-somethings.’”

Young Aussies ridiculed the investor for boasting about spending sleepless nights working for a giant corporation.

Originally published as Investor says young Australians seeking work-life balance are ‘soft’