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Based on the most helpful WSO content, the behavior you're describing aligns with some of the common frustrations analysts face in high-pressure environments like investment banking. VPs and senior bankers often assign late-night deliverables due to the nature of the work, client demands, or internal deadlines. However, assigning tasks at midnight with a 9am turnaround, especially leading to 40-hour stretches, is extreme and reflects poor management or lack of consideration for the team's well-being.
This type of behavior isn't unique to Goldman Sachs or any specific firm—it can happen across the industry. Some threads on WSO highlight similar situations where junior bankers are pushed to their limits, often due to poor planning or unrealistic expectations from senior staff. While it's hard to pinpoint the exact VP in question without more details, the broader issue of burnout and overwork in IB is well-documented.
If you're dealing with this, it might be worth discussing with your associate or team to find ways to manage expectations or push back on unreasonable timelines.
Sources: https://www.wallstreetoasis.com/forum/investment-banking/vp-giving-fake-deadlines?customgpt=1, Death from Overwork (Karōshi) in Finance, David and Goliath: The Boutique and The Bulge Bracket, WFH Should be the Default in IB, Investment Banking Hours - What to Expect?
Hard to tell but definitely something worth looking into. I got started on a list and have so far been able to narrow it down to every VP at the firm based on an initial description. Let me know if you guys have any ideas
I don't know how it works at other teams or banks but in my IB days, the VP was working just as many hours as the analyst / associate with the added pressure of being largely responsible for the outputs. If they did log-off earlier, it usually meant going to bed 2 hours earlier to wake up 2 hours earlier to review/make tweaks before sending out to seniors/client.
Those VPs you could understand / work hard for cause they did their best to lessen your burden or were sharing in your pain, but I would flip out if a VP was consistently logging off at like 8pm and I was pulling near all-nighters
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