Are Investment Banks in the US Known for Inhumane Working Conditions? #InvestmentBanks #WorkCulture #BBs #EBs
Impact of Working Conditions on Health
After hearing about the tragic passing of a veteran BoFA FIG associate, the discussion around the grueling culture in BBs and EBs has gained traction. Reports of employees working 120+ hours per week and expected to come to work right after surgery under general anesthesia have raised concerns.
Geographical Variation in Working Conditions
Many have expressed surprise at the extent to which investment banks are pushing their employees, with some calling the work environment a literal ‘sweatshop’. A common question has emerged: are these inhumane conditions isolated to the US, or are they prevalent in all major BBs and EBs globally?
Expectations vs. Reality in Investment Banking
While a cutthroat and demanding atmosphere is anticipated in the world of investment banking, many are questioning whether the toll it takes on health and well-being is justifiable.
There are lots of differences in culture at various banks, but it’s a transaction oriented client driven business that is lucrative and very competitive between banks. The result of the short turn arounds to effect transactions, hit client demands, and do it better than other smart / competent banks, ends up creating the environment for the hours.
I’m not saying they can’t be better managed, but even at the best managed banks that are staffed with risk (ie heavily), the hours are difficult.
These are somewhat normal conditions but it’s difficult to generalize bank by bank – group by group is a better comparison
Nope. I worked at an EB (pre-COVID) and didn’t pull a single 100-hour week in 2 years. There were a few 70-80h but 80 certainly wasn’t the norm. My friends at other BB/EBs had a similar experience as well. The biggest lifestyle banker was our friend at PWP who worked just 50h+/week on most weeks.
I think banking hours are greatly exaggerated. Obviously some groups are sweaty (my buddy at Moelis was miserable — but worth noting that not everyone in his class was), but it’s not true across the street. Unfortunately, BofA FIG is one of the sweatiest groups that I know of.
I will say there are also some commercial banks that can be brutal.
For example. Guy I used to work with had his dad die. He wanted to take a week off to help arrange the funeral and grieve but he didn’t have the “accrued” time off needed. So he asked his manager about taking it unpaid and his manager denied it saying he had to be back to work and couldn’t even use his PTO. So he got 1-2 days to deal with his dad’s death and then was forced back to work because “they couldn’t do it without him”.
As a PE associate at a giant fund – it’s terrible, actually, it’s horrific and has destroyed many people. I have literally had to fight to be with my father in the hospital as he was removing a major tumor, I’ve had to check myself into the hospital due to shortness of breath, etc.
All of that to say – you are thinking about it very clearly. Full stop, I DO NOT recommend going down the IB/PE path. The pay isn’t as good as it used to be, the hours are just as bad, and at this point, there are much better ways to make similar money with significantly better lifestyle and upside. Investment banking as a profession is not what it used to be, and this death is a result of competition compressing fees and creating understaffed banks with terrible cultures. Again: BARELY any differentiation between banks and funds whatsoever, so the market has gotten more competitive and creating compressing fees. This leads to these idiot senior bankers (who don’t actually know how to operate a business) run associates to the ground in order to hit their goals / division P&L goals…
Do literally anything else – it’s a scam. Do quant finance, statistics, anything that actually adds some value to society. You will be happier
From my experience from when I was an analyst, along with my friends, across a range of different firms and groups, for the most ideal WLB, I would head to banks that are more in the MM & LMM tier, names that come to mind are: Ray-J, Cantor, Canaccord, Leerink, Cowen (now TD), Opp.co, Piper, etc. just to name a few. Obviously there will be some weeks at these places where the long hours are unavoidable but overall my friends that worked at these places seemed to have a better time with a not as stressful demand.
> My question is, are these inhumane conditions just in the US? And are all BBs and EBs like this?
It is not just the US, that said BofA is known for having some of the worst hours. Many of the junior level deaths have come from them, eg a high profile case in London a decade ago where they actively chose not to tell an intern that they had a return offer as to not have their motivation end up just for that intern to die following a 72 hour straight shift.
You will have significantly better hours at other banks, however outside of small-cap M&A / regional boutiques you will still always be working hours that are detrimental to your health.
It varies greatly on your group, market conditions, and what you’re staffed on. I was in a BB M&A group in 2014 and was staffed on several multibillion dollar transactions that saw me working 120 weeks several times. 100 hour weeks were not uncommon, and the average was probably 80.
Leaving before 10pm was considered luxurious, but any enjoyment you got out of it was quickly replaced out of the fear and anxiety that the staffer would notice and put you on another deal.
Contrast that with friends I had at other banks and in different groups who had entirely different experiences. It all depends.