cc-by-sa/2.0 – © Robert Lamb – geograph.org.uk/p/5660477
In response to growing concerns about the demanding work culture in investment banking, industry giants JPMorgan and Bank of America are implementing new measures to curb excessive working hours for junior bankers.
JPMorgan is introducing an 80-hour weekly cap for most junior investment bankers, while BofA is rolling out a new timekeeping tool to monitor work hours more closely, according to the Wall Street Journal.
These changes come in the wake of allegations that junior bankers were instructed to falsify their work hours, the report stated.
The investment banking industry, long renowned for its potential to generate immense wealth and prestige, has come under scrutiny for its grueling work culture. This relentless pursuit of success comes at a steep price for junior bankers. They often find themselves caught in a cycle of extreme working hours and poor work-life balance, putting in upward to 100 hours per week, in an effort to get noticed and climb the corporate ladder.
While senior dealmakers enjoy more flexible schedules, their younger counterparts are frequently burdened with tedious, time-consuming tasks that keep them tethered to their desks late into the night.
Extreme Work Culture
The stark contrast between the allure of the profession and its harsh realities came into focus following the death of a bank employee earlier this year.
Leo Lukenas, a 35-year-old former Green Beret and associate at BofA who worked on transactions for financial-services companies, died of an “acute coronary artery thrombus” on May 2, according to the New York Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
The coroner’s report did not explicitly connect Lukenas’ work hours to his death. However, an executive recruiter informed Reuters that the banker had reported working in excess of 100 hours per week.
Douglas Walters, a managing partner at GrayFox Recruitment, had been in contact with Lukenas, who was reportedly looking for a new position with a less intense workload. Walters informed the news outlet that Lukenas had inquired whether a 110-hour work week was considered typical in the financial industry.
At the time, BofA had a system in place to monitor burnout, internally known as the “banker’s diary.” Employees who worked more than 100 hours a week were said to have received a wellness check-in with human resources. However, a WSJ investigation alleged that the rules were frequently disregarded, and in certain instances, supervisors instructed their subordinates to misrepresent their actual working hours.
The bank recently introduced an update to its timekeeping protocol that mandates the daily logging of hours for junior staffers based in the United States, replacing the previous weekly system. This enhanced tool, which goes live next week, requires detailed information about ongoing deals, work assignments and supervising senior bankers. Additionally, it allows junior bankers to indicate their workload capacity on a scale of 1 to 4, providing a more comprehensive and real-time view of their work commitments.
“We successfully piloted this improved technology platform earlier this year to help our team more efficiently serve our investment banking clients,” a BofA spokesperson told the WSJ.
Following the death of Lukenas, Jennifer Piepszak, co-CEO of the commercial and investment bank at JPMorgan, told investors, “There is nothing, nothing that is more important than the health and well-being of our employees.” Piepszak acknowledged the passing of the BofA employee, stating that his untimely death was both “tragic and incredibly sad.”
JPMorgan’s executive management met with the head of human resources to address this issue, according to CEO Jamie Dimon, as the bank looked inward at its own work-life balance initiatives, Reuters reported.
JPMorgan’s new 80-hour weekly cap mirrors New York state’s restrictions for medical residents. While exceptions will be made for critical situations like live deals, this move builds upon existing protections, such as guaranteed time off from Friday evening to Saturday at noon and one full weekend every quarter. The bank will continue to track hours through self-reported time sheets, a common practice across the banking industry.
In 2021, a group of 13 first-year analysts made a slide-deck presentation detailing their work experience at Goldman Sachs. A Working Conditions Survey, which polled the self-selected analysts, circulated on social media and revealed they had been working over 95-hour workweeks.
The bankers expressed frustration about receiving only five hours of sleep, typically beginning around 3 a.m. The junior analysts reported experiencing “workplace abuse,” which they claimed negatively impacted their mental and physical well-being.
As a result, Goldman Sachs CEO said the investment bank would enforce its “Saturday rule,” which would not require employees to work from 9 p.m. Friday to 9 a.m. Sunday, except in certain circumstances
“This is something that our leadership team and I take very seriously,” Solomon said in a voice message sent to staff.
Source: Forbes
