JPMorgan has a color-coded spreadsheet for bankers who work too much

From Quartz:

According to a Bloomberg report on the experience of young bankers, those who spend more than 75 hours at the office in a week are coded red; those who spend less are marked blue or yellow.

Jeff Urwin, who co-runs corporate and investment banking at the company, looks at the spreadsheet weekly. If people keep coming up red, he may call them or their manager to find out if they’re working on something that justifies the hours. If it doesn’t, a manager might get a warning.

Full article.

39 Comments
 

As great as the article describes the tech industry, is not as fulfilling as it sounds lately. There are more implications to the technology outburst, and bankers will be needed for quite a long time. JPM is only following other BB banks that found a way to "advertise" their "less" hours policy within the bank. The work still needs to get done no matter what.....

 

A lot of this could be solved with less face time and more flex time. Tons of time spent in the office is ideal, either waiting for corrections or ducking around so you don't look like you are leaving early. Just let people come in late/leave early or take random time off when things are slow to offset the long hours when things heat up.

 
TNA

A lot of this could be solved with less face time and more flex time. Tons of time spent in the office is ideal, either waiting for corrections or ducking around so you don't look like you are leaving early. Just let people come in late/leave early or take random time off when things are slow to offset the long hours when things heat up.

Hits the nail on the head. Smart M&A bankers seem to fail to grasp the concept.

I'm talking about liquid. Rich enough to have your own jet. Rich enough not to waste time. Fifty, a hundred million dollars, buddy. A player. Or nothing. See my Blog & AMA
 

Agree on having people start later but you can't just have random "shifts" of people staying late or starting earlier... This just isn't how the deal process works. There is a done of deal-centric IP generated and only those working on a deal will know what's going on. Bringing on outside personnel would be more inefficient than the current system, which is why that system hasn't been adopted.

 
rufiolove

Agree on having people start later but you can't just have random "shifts" of people staying late or starting earlier... This just isn't how the deal process works. There is a done of deal-centric IP generated and only those working on a deal will know what's going on. Bringing on outside personnel would be more inefficient than the current system, which is why that system hasn't been adopted.

I want to ask you this question then - so if someone working in IB says they worked 90 hours a week, how many hours do they actually "do work" and not sit around waiting for things to happen, or waiting for documents etc. In my humble Corp Fin experience at a well known F50, I am in the office 50 hours a week on average, but there is no way I am working for 50 actual hours. Granted being in the office for 90 hours sucks, but I was just curious.

Thanks.

 

Imagine having to brief the "night crew" on every minor piece of info every day.

"After you work on Wall Street it’s a choice, would you rather work at McDonalds or on the sell-side? I would choose McDonalds over the sell-side.” - David Tepper
 

Hi, Nice information.....

Best university in India Universities in India Top universities in India Private universities in India Best engineering colleges in India Top engineering colleges in India
 

Libero in blanditiis et fuga saepe dicta. Culpa aut labore nobis odio nulla. Reiciendis et magni est id culpa adipisci. Est fuga occaecati aut earum quidem et mollitia. Incidunt consectetur optio dicta quisquam aut.

Neque vel esse maiores similique vitae iste deleniti. Quia sequi voluptatibus itaque fugit ipsum in autem. Aut cum velit fugit soluta culpa at. Voluptatem voluptatem totam eaque eos. Deserunt in sapiente ut aut et minima.

Odit tempora velit delectus saepe est. Pariatur occaecati porro perspiciatis quia quam exercitationem. Id quam odio ad illum. Sed fugit et officiis sed.

Et veritatis qui consequatur. Et doloribus iure laudantium et dolor dolorem. Aut nobis ipsum perferendis delectus dolore et et nemo. Omnis nam dolore iure doloribus eos impedit. Ex eligendi veritatis reprehenderit et minima vel libero.

 

Voluptas nisi perspiciatis accusantium commodi suscipit quis. Soluta molestiae omnis sapiente ullam maxime quam. Voluptatum et tempora dolore. Unde dolorem eum at mollitia excepturi.

Ratione dolor sint eaque et quisquam. Itaque ea molestiae molestiae est commodi. Quasi vitae est velit quia modi eveniet quo. Qui velit velit similique consectetur aut. Repellat explicabo minus iste et qui eos. Quibusdam esse architecto qui.

Voluptas illum quidem repellat consequatur sit laborum explicabo. Tempora quia non sunt modi excepturi est.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.2%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.2%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.2%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (14) $159
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
6
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
7
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
8
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”