Two of Wall Street’s largest investment banks, JPMorgan and Bank of America, are implementing measures to address the industry’s notorious overwork culture, following the death of a former Green Beret turned investment banker. The incident has reignited scrutiny over the excessive demands placed on junior staff.
JPMorgan has introduced its first-ever cap on working hours for junior bankers, limiting them to 80 hours per week in most cases. This policy supplements existing measures, including a “pencils down” period from 6 p.m. Friday to noon Saturday and one guaranteed full weekend off every three months. However, the 80-hour limit may not apply during live deals.
A typical 80-hour workweek for a junior banker could involve working six days from 8:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. with brief breaks for meals, or seven consecutive days of 11-hour shifts. These hours remain double the average 40-hour workweek for most American workers.
Bank of America, where junior bankers’ hours are already officially capped at 80 but often exceed this limit, is introducing a new timekeeping system to monitor workloads more closely. US-based employees will now be required to log their hours daily, specifying the deals they are working on and identifying supervising senior bankers.
This move comes after the death of Leo Lukenas III, a former Green Beret and Bank of America investment banker, who reportedly worked over 100 hours a week on a $2 billion deal. Lukenas’s death, attributed to a blood clot, has spotlighted the ongoing issue of overwork in investment banking.
This isn’t the first time Bank of America’s working conditions have come under scrutiny. A decade ago, an intern died after working multiple consecutive all-nighters, prompting the bank to review and cap working hours. Despite these measures, junior bankers have reported to the Wall Street Journal that they continue to endure grueling 100-hour weeks, often under pressure to underreport their hours.
In response to Lukenas’s death, Bank of America issued a statement reinforcing its expectation that employees adhere to working hour limits. A spokeswoman added that disciplinary action had been taken in cases where policies were violated. Senior bankers have also been instructed to monitor workloads more rigorously going forward.
JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has acknowledged the tragedy and said the bank is reviewing its policies to learn from the incident. These developments underscore a broader effort across the banking sector to address long-standing criticisms of its overwork culture.
