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What have BofA and JPMC done regarding excessive work hours? Based on BofA's value of "delivering responsible growth," these excessive hours don't seem very responsible, so it is in their best interest to take some action. On the contrary, JPMC's value of "career growth" makes their choice of action a little less clear. But it seems both banks have taken steps to limit excessive hours, varying slightly in their approach.
Prior to this event, BofA had a system in place to prevent and monitor workers' burnout, known as the "bankers diary." Employees who worked in excess of 100 hours a week are said to have received a wellness check-up with their respective HR department. However, according to WSJ's report, these rules were often not followed, and in most cases, junior bankers' supervisors told their subordinates to report much fewer hours than they worked. This ended up backfiring and is one of the key reasons this controversy began.
After media attention focused on the misreporting of worker hours, BofA released an update to their timekeeping tool. This update mandates the daily logging of hours for junior bankers in the US, replacing the prior weekly system. The update also requires more detailed accounts of work assignments and ongoing deals. Additionally, it gives the worker the option to report their workload capacity on a scale of 1 to 4. A BofA spokesperson had this to say: "We successfully piloted this improved technology platform earlier this year to help our team more efficiently serve our investment banking clients" (WSJ).
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Similarly, JPMC is enforcing an 80-hour cap for workers, similar to New York state's limits for medical residents. Following the death of Lukenas, Jennifer Piepszak, the co-CEO of JPMC, said, "There is nothing, nothing that is more important than the health and well-being of our employees." With this rule, workers will be unable to work more than 80 hours a week, preventing excessive hours. However, there will be certain exceptions for specific situations such as live deals or emergencies. This new rule is going into effect alongside existing protections, which include having time off from Friday evenings to Saturday at noon and one full weekend every quarter. Workers will need to report their hours themselves, a usual practice in the industry.
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