\n<\/p>\n
Junior bankers are notorious for working long hours, regularly clocking in 100-hour workweeks. Now, JPMorgan is making it more difficult for them to lie about their hours, deploying new surveillance technology that tracks every keystroke, meeting and video call these young employees make.\u00a0<\/p>\n
JPMorgan is debuting a new pilot program that determines whether the hours claimed by junior bankers on their timesheets align with their activity, according to a recent report<\/a> from the Financial Times. Employees will receive a weekly report comparing their self-reported hours with their computer footprint. The report will not be used in performance reviews.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMuch like the weekly screen time summaries on a smartphone, this tool is about awareness \u2014 not enforcement,\u201d JPMorgan said in a statement to the Financial Times. \u201cIt\u2019s designed to support transparency, wellbeing, and encourage open conversations about workload.\u201d<\/p>\n JPMorgan isn\u2019t the first employer to monitor workers\u2019 activity. Companies like Dell and Goldman Sachs<\/a> track everything from ID badge swipes to keyboard strokes.\u00a0<\/p>\n Although the idea of employers monitoring employees\u2019 online activity might raise concerns for many workers about surveillance, the pilot initiative intends to curb overwork among junior staff. The effort reflects a broader trend across Wall Street firms seeking to protect employees from the risks associated with heavy workloads.<\/p>\n Working long hours is the norm in investment banking. According to a 2023 survey<\/a> by the finance community site Wall Street Oasis, first-year investment bankers reported working an average of 77.12 hours per week and sleeping just 5.98 hours per night. Some bankers have claimed that businesses can demand as much as 120 hours per week<\/a>. In comparison, the average American works 34 hours a week<\/a>.<\/p>\n However, Wall Street\u2019s demands on junior investment bankers have begun to ease in response to the death of a junior employee. Two years ago, 35-year-old junior banker<\/a> Leo Lukenas III, who had reportedly put in 110-hour weeks for a month while working at Bank of America on a $2 billion acquisition, died from a blood clot.\u00a0<\/p>\n Though the coroner\u2019s report didn\u2019t tie his death to overwork, the incident led the investment banking industry to reevaluate its hours and oversight structure.<\/p>\n JPMorgan\u2019s keystroke monitoring tool is the latest sign that banks are cracking down on overwork.\u00a0<\/p>\n Last year, Bank of America tasked some senior bankers with ensuring that junior employees work a maximum of 80 hours per week. Working 80 hours a week means clocking in at around 7 a.m. and leaving the office at around 8:30 p.m., six days a week.\u00a0<\/p>\n It is the same hour limit JPMorgan implemented two years ago. The bank also has a \u201cpencils down<\/a>\u201d rule, which bars work from 6 p.m. Friday to noon Saturday and guarantees that staff get one full weekend off every three months. Live deals are exempt from the rule.\u00a0<\/p>\n The average base salary for an investment banker in New York is $160,086, according to Indeed<\/a>. The salary range for a JPMorgan junior investment banker was $134,000 to $186,000 per year, per Glassdoor<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Junior bankers are notorious for working long hours, regularly clocking in 100-hour workweeks. Now, JPMorgan is making it more difficult for them to lie about their hours, deploying new surveillance technology that tracks every keystroke, meeting and video call these young employees make.\u00a0<\/p>\n JPMorgan is debuting a new pilot program that determines whether the hours claimed by junior bankers on their timesheets align with their activity, according to a recent report<\/a> from the Financial Times. Employees will receive a weekly report comparing their self-reported hours with their computer footprint. The report will not be used in performance reviews.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cMuch like the weekly screen time summaries on a smartphone, this tool is about awareness \u2014 not enforcement,\u201d JPMorgan said in a statement to the Financial Times. \u201cIt\u2019s designed to support transparency, wellbeing, and encourage open conversations about workload.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nJunior investment bankers were working excessively<\/h2>\n
Banks are enforcing rules to prevent overwork<\/h2>\n
Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n
\n