"Starting Salary 260 Million Won" but No Work-Life Balance... Employee Who Worked 100 Hours a Week Dies

35-Year-Old Banker Dies After Working 100 Hours a Week
Wall Street: High Pay and Harsh Work-Life Balance Coexist
Measures Include 80-Hour Weekly Limit and Mandatory Vacation Use

Photo unrelated to the article. Source=Pixabay

Major banks on Wall Street in the United States, known for their starting salaries in the hundreds of thousands, are considering limiting the working hours of junior employees.

Recently, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that JP Morgan, the largest bank in the U.S., is reviewing plans to cap junior bankers' working hours at 80 hours per week. Earlier in May, a 35-year-old Bank of America (BOA) employee who was working over 100 hours per week on a $2 billion acquisition deal passed away. The autopsy revealed that the cause of death was acute myocardial infarction due to a blood clot in the coronary artery. Following this, voices within the company raised concerns about excessive workloads, high work intensity, and the company's complacent attitude toward employee protection.

After the incident, major financial institutions on Wall Street have been revising their guidelines regarding working hours. BOA, for instance, reportedly plans to implement a new time management system while more closely monitoring how junior bankers spend their time. They have changed their policy so that if weekly working hours exceed 80, it must be reported to the HR department. If working hours extend beyond this, the company intervenes to require the employee to take mandatory leave.

JP Morgan has limited weekly working hours by rank to a maximum of 80 hours. This aligns with the standard working hours applied to hospital residents in New York State. WSJ stated, "Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan, is reflecting on what lessons can be learned from the death of the banker."

Meanwhile, investment banks on Wall Street offer starting salaries of $200,000 (approximately 274 million KRW). Every year, thousands of young people are drawn to the industry by the high pay and prestige, but most are known to suffer from mental and physical distress due to long working hours.