JP Morgan Chase has started to compare the hours junior investment bankers claim to have worked against logs on its IT system.
The US bank said it would begin issuing reports to junior bankers that compare computer-generated estimates of their work weeks against their self-reported time sheets as part of a pilot scheme.
The company said it planned to roll out the programme more widely across its investment bank, with IT estimates based on employees’ weekly digital activities including video calls, desktop keystrokes and scheduled meetings.
“Much like the weekly screen time summaries on a smartphone, this tool is about awareness, not enforcement,” JP Morgan said in a statement. “It’s designed to support transparency, wellbeing, and encourage open conversations about workload.”
In 2024, JP Morgan appointed a senior banker to oversee the wellbeing of junior staff, and has since curtailed weekend work for younger employees. The bank has also capped the working week for younger staff at 80 hours.
Technology to monitor employees, known as “bossware”, has become increasingly commonplace in financial services since the increase in working from home triggered by the Covid pandemic. However, some workers have argued that it violates their privacy. The banking industry has also been tougher than others in mandating back-to-the-office policies post-pandemic.
The investment banking industry has a long history of brutal workloads and punishing hours, matched by six-figure salaries even for entry-level roles.
Two years ago, a junior banker at Bank of America, Leo Lukenas III, who worked at Bank of America, died of a blood clot having previously cited work weeks of more than 100 hours.
In 2013, Bank of America Merrill Lynch intern Moritz Erhardt, 21, was found dead in a shower at his London flat after working 72 hours in a row.
Two years later, Goldman Sachs told summer interns to make sure they went home before midnight, and not to come back to the office before 7am – which is still potentially a 17-hour day.
During the pandemic a small group of newly hired investment banking analysts at Goldman Sachs compiled a slide deck showing they were working 100-hour weeks and facing abuse from colleagues affecting their mental and physical health.
“Management monitors junior banker staffing and activity levels and regularly adjusts the workloads of our teams,” Goldman has said.
