AFR columnist Christopher Joye sparks Millennial rage by slamming youth for ‘soft’ work-life balance

A high-flying investor and columnist has sparked outrage after he called millennials ‘soft’ for choosing a healthy work-life balance instead of sacrificing their social life for their job. 

Christopher Joye, an investment portfolio manager and well-known Australian Financial Review columnist, boasted in his most recent article about working well into the night when he was a young man. 

Mr Joye said he pulled more than 90 all-nighters and went without sleep for several days straight while working at investment company Goldman Sachs in London in 2000.

The investor said a ‘world-class performance’ at work was required to bring down Australia’s seven per cent inflation rate – and criticised millennials for choosing a more balanced lifestyle.

His column sparked fury from many millennials who argued Mr Joyce was promoting an unsustainable lifestyle – and that peak performance at work came from getting a good night’s sleep. 

Mr Joye declared that for Australia’s high inflation rate to ease, workers will need to be more productive in order to justify accelerating wage growth

Mr Joye insisted that Australia’s high inflation rates will ‘in turn demand radical attitudinal change from entitled millennials who have never experienced high inflation, high rates or a protracted recession,’ he said.

‘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.

‘World-class sporting, military and professional teams are obsessively committed to excellence, which does not always sit easily with the soft work-life balance ideals of twenty and thirty-somethings.’

The investor said if Australia entered a recession, it might be the shock required to show millennials what ‘world-class performance really requires’.

Goldman Sachs, where Mr Joye worked, has previously come under the spotlight for the demands it places on its staff. 

In 2010, Rolling Stone magazine described the major investment bank as ‘a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money.’

While some Twitter users used Mr Joye’s column to bash millennials, members of the younger generation were enraged by the investor’s attack on those striving for a healthy work-life balance.

Several millennials said a company was exploiting staff by making them pull all-nighters: ‘You shouldn’t need world class performance to put a roof over your head. Pulling 90 all-nighters in a year sounds like a truly shocking way to live to be honest,’ one said. 

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

A third said: ‘Sorry mate, 20 something’s and 30 something’s aren’t going to burn themselves at the altar of capitalism.

‘You’ll always have your time in London though!’ 

Some Twitter users were enraged by the portfolio manager’s attack on a healthy work-life balance, which has become a priority for Gen Z and millennials in recent years

One millennial said he was ‘significantly happier’ focusing on life, rather than work.  

‘Why should I? The system is rigged, I’ve seen little benefit from busting my a** so now I prioritise spending as time with my young family whilst doing only the bare minimum at work. I’m significantly happier,’ he said. 

Agreed another: ‘Minimum wage, minimum effort homie.’ 

A worker pointed out that Goldman Sachs paid junior staff well – with an employee in the ‘analyst to associate’ bracket in London getting paid the equivalent of $130,000 to $260,000AUD, plus bonus and benefits. 

‘Expecting investment banking work ethic for a McDonalds salary is unrealistic,’ they said. 

Mr Joye said a commitment to excellence at work doesn’t always align with the ‘soft work-life balance ideals’ of Australia’s twenty and thirty-somethings (stock image)

Many said all-nighters were proof a worker was being exploited by their company. Others said excellence could only be achieved with a good amount of sleep

However, some agreed millennials needed a kick up the backside – or at least a ban on avocado toast. 

‘As an intergenerationally-punched Boomer, I tend to agree with Chris. When I was in public accounting, I got the 80-hr workweek memo every tax season. 

‘Partners now have a very difficult time staffing around “the soft work-life balance ideals of twenty-and thirty-somethings”.’

Mr Joye currently works as a portfolio manager at Coolabah Capital, an investment company with offices in Sydney, Melbourne and London. 

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Mr Joye for comment via his employer.