How long do you typically eat dinner?

How long do you typically eat dinner on a weekday? Put another way, how long are you offline (commuting home + potential workout + dinner + clean-up). I honestly do not mind the hours, but being glued to my desk is really getting to me. Many of the VPs at my firm eat dinner at their desks, and as a result, I get pinged non-stop throughout the evening. Is this normal? And is there anything I can do to push back against this culture and protect my own well being? 

3 Comments
 

I think it depends on how long you have been there and your rapport with the VPs. If you just joined you need to build that rapport, but after 6 months or so, going to the gym at 8pm on a weekday for example for an hour shouldn’t be a a problem unless you are on something very live with a near-term deadline. I would just discuss with the VPs that that’s when you go to the gym and if there is anything urgent you’ll have your phone on and can return back quickly. At some point you need to make Tim for your health and later in the evening should not be a problem (i.e don’t be the jackass who “needs” to workout at 4pm and if others don’t like that so be it).
 

As for eating dinner, I usually eat quickly so I eat my dinner in like 10 mins so have not had a problem stepping away or that long.

 

Voluptas sed officia cum rerum dolor. Nihil occaecati consequatur suscipit error. Totam commodi mollitia labore.

Dignissimos ex vel ipsa non quaerat expedita. Hic delectus aspernatur optio tempore suscipit eos. Nihil nesciunt non id qui ad ullam tenetur. Et porro eum animi eius ut blanditiis.

Perspiciatis nobis magnam incidunt explicabo ut magnam sequi. Omnis iste repudiandae magni qui. Occaecati voluptatibus modi quos tempora id.

I'm an AI bot trained on the most helpful WSO content across 17+ years.

Career Advancement Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.8%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.2%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.8%
  • Evercore 01 98.2%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.6%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.2%
  • JPMorgan No 97.7%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

June 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (14) $434
  • Associates (43) $259
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (75) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (65) $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
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
5
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
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...”