Do most people leave banking because of the work or lifestyle?

Absolutely lifestyle. Think many people actually find the work interesting but lifestyle becomes more important after you make a bonus or two and realize the money isn't lifechanging enough to justify giving up your whole life. Most of the analysts I see don't really mind the work (tedious, but any junior role is) but it's the absolutely insane level of detail and hours that get them

It is likely that people leave the banking industry for a variety of reasons, including both work-related and lifestyle factors.

In terms of work-related factors, some common reasons for leaving the banking industry might include a lack of job satisfaction, a lack of opportunities for advancement, a high level of stress or pressure, or a lack of work-life balance.

Lifestyle factors can also play a role in a person's decision to leave the banking industry. For example, someone might leave the industry if they are looking for more flexibility in their schedule, or if they are seeking a change of pace or a different type of work environment.

Ultimately, the reasons for leaving the banking industry will vary from person to person and will depend on their individual circumstances and priorities.

I'd say it's a combination that starts with lifestyle and is accentuated by the work. Having just made Associate, I've started trying to figure out how long I can sustainably keep up working these hours, while trying to maximize income. During this process where I've still been grinding out long weeks, I've begun to take a more constructive, hard look at the probabilities the deals I'm working on will close. When you're working the entire week after Christmas for multiple deals that can sometimes seem like potential pipe dreams given company performance and a desperation precipitated by the market, it really adds a layer of perspective. I haven't really decided what I'm going to do as I just started having these internal thoughts about next steps for me, but leaving would be primarily because of the lifestyle (when you hit a comfortable figure and moving on from an IB salary), but the timing of when this is will be because of how much I become desensitized or apathetic to the work that I'm doing.

Both. For me the work is extremely detail oriented and tedious, which makes me really stressed out on a day to day basis. Plus, I think a lot of the work we do is really unnecessary in the grand scheme of things. For lifestyle, it goes without saying. It sucks always being on the clock 24/7 and having to do work well into the evening. At this point I just want work life balance.

Yes

Lifestyle usually but for people I've seen leave IB/PE at 30+ (skipping the MBA), I've seen it a mix of both the lifestyle and desire to expand their skillset as they don't see themselves as a dealmaker / investor long term.

Personally know a few ex IB/PE guys who seem way happier leaving high finance for strategy / business development / operational roles within private corporates / startups. Usually become C-suite (COO, CFO, CEOs) after 5-10 years if they choose to go to LMM / MM PE sized PortCos.

Understand this is more common at mid or senior levels than junior but what's the ratio of people leaving for WLB reasons vs being pushed out of the firm?

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One another point is that a lot of us myself included are after a position where we might get to make interesting decisions related to investing or not and putting capital at risk. Unfortunately it takes seriously long to get to that kind of position (not including personal trading.) By that point, goals in life might have dramatically shifted, i.e. you have kids now and really just want to spend time with your family or need to be around for them. So it's a little like, what am I chasing here? If you're fortunate and reach that kind of seat, there's a very real chance that you don't get the same kind of fulfillment from it that you envisioned. That being said, plenty of people are able to strike the balance and personally would rather be doing this really interesting thing than not when 35 or later, but just something to consider. 

It’s just the same song and dance over and over and is very disruptive to lifestyle. When you work with reasonable senior bankers at times you can see how it’s possible to stay but then when you work with mediocre or worse bankers you see why it would be better to go. 

I started as an analyst and am now a senior VP. Looking to leave this year. Having zero stability / predictability of schedule gets old. Even periods where I don’t have a lot of work to do the stress levels are through the roof. It doesn’t automatically get better when you’re a VP. Plenty of times I wish I could just have my head down in Excel or PowerPoint rather than just dealing with political BS and theatrics the entire days 

I think it boils down to the people. A lot of people in banking are  seriously neurotic, more than you’d experience in normal life so it may be hard to understand if you’re in school. In general, banking is extremely inefficient. If you’re an efficient person who likes to get things done it’s difficult to comprehend.