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Young Bankers Express Worry Over Early Night Offs And Dark Days Ahead

Finance

Young Bankers Express Worry Over Early Night Offs And Dark Days Ahead

This year will possibly be a real downer for banker bonuses.

Over the years, the banking industry gained recognition for its rigorous activities. Advisory and underwriting work inevitably piles up, and junior bankers aren’t alien to groaning under strain. The number of tasks given had emerged a rebellion by Wall Street workers who couldn’t find time to eat or even shower. 

Accordingly, underlings at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. had put together a presentation begging bosses to cut weekly hours to just eighty. 

Young Bankers Express Worry Over Early Night Offs And Dark Days Ahead
via Unsplash

Fast forward to now, Goldman Sachs Group Inc., alongside other banks, are beginning to become flexible, giving their workers time off. So far, the finance industry rookies are enjoying their freedom, but some are concerned about what it means for their future careers. According to an interview with ten young bankers, anxiety is simmering in Wall Street’s kinder era for incomers.

While they’re enjoying the boats and bars, lackluster work, the prospect of shrinking bonuses, layoffs, and plummeting global remains a thought. 

Young Bankers Express Worry Over Early Night Offs And Dark Days Ahead
via Unsplash

“As you enter this period of market uncertainty, it can be a little unsettling for a workload to decline,” Matt Walicki, a 24-Year-Old banking analyst at Mizuho Americas, reportedly said. Walicki added that the intense months of 2020 set a benchmark, making him all the more grateful for the time to play tennis or golf.

He further stressed: “It’s a slower flow of deals than we’ve seen and I think that’s shifted the nature of the work.” On a boat under the Statue of Liberty, young Morgan Stanley colleagues recently sipped champagne and smiled. Also, two Citigroup Inc. banking analysts left the company’s headquarters to have a drink across the street. 

The abovementioned was practically unthinkable a year or two ago, but as it appears, young investment banking analysts who came close to burning out in 2021 now have enough free time to take in Broadway shows. 

Young Bankers Express Worry Over Early Night Offs And Dark Days Ahead
via Unsplash

All these might amuse the veteran bankers who savor the non-stop grind and have mocked pleas for work-life balance. But young bankers aren’t complaining about the advances they’ve made but are anxious about building their careers without big deals, even if they are pulling in beginners’ salaries that were bumped over $100,000.

Of the Citigroup analysts [pictured], they claimed their hours haven’t been bad as they work from ten in the morning to 10 at night with breaks to get a drink. 

Young Bankers Express Worry Over Early Night Offs And Dark Days Ahead
via Bloomberg

The analysts, who asked not to be identified, admitted that they work well into the night only about once a month, which is more fun except when they worry about rumors of falling bonuses. Of the new work-life balance tradition, a senior Citigroup banker had allegedly been happy to notice juniors fleeing for days. Joanna Levy, a 1st-year analyst at Solomon Partners, hadn’t had a ton of downtime, but things are slower.

For instance, the banker who often heads to Broadway at night is currently focused on pitching rather than dealmaking. As a result, she’s not feeling challenged or satisfied and is unsure if she will stay or just leave. Elsewhere, not all young people on Wall Street enjoy a calmer summer. A private-wealth analyst at a big global bank has been going on dates and thinking about launching a wellness company. 

Also, a first-year analyst at Morgan Stanley has been enjoying rock-climbing in a Queens gym and singing Karaoke in Koreatown, even though the job is more boring than she would prefer. 

Young Bankers Express Worry Over Early Night Offs And Dark Days Ahead
via Unsplash

However, it’s reported that not everyone in banking has free time as a first-year investment banking analyst at Bank of American Corp still works long hours. But a second-year analyst told her friends she had it better than they did, meaning when she worked weekends, she began by noon on Sundays instead of 9 a.m. Overall, recruitment has seemed quieter, which makes her and her friends nervous.

Some bankers are gaming out how the landscape of the finance industry will change in the year ahead, and if more analysts stay, there will be more to compete against when it’s time for their first promotions.

Young Bankers Express Worry Over Early Night Offs And Dark Days Ahead
via Unsplash

In 2021, Wall Street’s overworked young bankers raised their voices in a way few industry rookies had dared, telling bosses they were miserable and exhausted. In response, their salaries were raised, and they were also promised weekend free time. And since then, dealmaking has been hindered by market volatility, recession fears, and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with revenue plummeting 43% across the five biggest US banks. 

This month’s report has warned this year will be a real downer for banker bonuses. Last month, a top exec at Goldman Sachs cited a difficult operating environment when he warned the bank would slow hiring velocity. 

Young Bankers Express Worry Over Early Night Offs And Dark Days Ahead
via Unsplash

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