Middle-aged bankers relax; 26 year olds pull 60 hour work weeks
Everyone’s working long hours in banking, but some work longer hours than others. You might think that it’s young guns pulling all the extra shifts in attempts to climb the ladder while the veterans relax. That's true... to an extent.
In our end of year 2022 survey, 1,500 banking professionals across eight different age groups gave us insights into the number of hours they work each week. It's not exactly as you'd expect.
26-Year-Olds Bankers Working The Most Hours
Yes, young bankers work a lot. But it’s not the youngest age bracket working the most, it’s the one above them. 26 to 30-year-old bankers work an average of nearly 61 hours a week, narrowly higher than the 60 worked by 20-25 year olds.
Some work a lot more. One UBS analyst told us he's working 110 hours a week. He says he's been “top ranked for 3 years,” and that a relentless schedule has been necessary to maintain that success.
Some work a lot less. One mid-20 something in asset management says he averages 40 hours per week. This is his norm: “it’s constant and I enforce it.”
56-Year-Olds working more than most
With the two youngest age brackets unsurprisingly taking the two top spots, the over-56s are also unusually hard-working. They told us they put in an average of nearly 55 hours each week, with those hours being surprisingly consistent among our older respondents.
One MD for a confidential firm worked 65 hours in a week, the highest of this age group. He said his hours had risen due to “more business this year than last.”
Few finance professionals in their mid-50s had more time to relax last year. An exception was an MD in Paris, who said his hours fell to 45 per week due to a change in the number of countries he was responsible for.
Bankers take it easy in their early 40s
Bankers who work the least are aged between 41 and 45. This was the only age group to average a workweek below 50 hours.
Not all middle-aged bankers were taking the easy route, however. One private equity VP said his hours had increased to 70 a week due to under staffing issues, while a female Citi MD in New York told us 75 hours per week was her norm. She added, however, that she is “considering leaving the industry for something more fulfilling.”
Have a confidential story, tip, or comment you’d like to share? Contact: alex.mcmurray@efinancialcareers.com in the first instance.
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Photo by John Moeses Bauan on Unsplash
