How Wall Street tries to keep junior hours in check, from weekly guidelines to 'pencils down' periods

• Wall Street firms have a range of policies to monitor junior bankers' notoriously long hours.
• The first quarter of 2026 saw record M&A volume, which could push up hours.
• Here's how banks, from JPMorgan to Citi, try to keep tabs on how much juniors are working.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has said that people will probably be working 3.5 days a week within a few decades, but in the meantime, many of his own bankers are still logged on far more than the typical 40 hours.

Junior bankers, known as analysts and associates, work notoriously grueling hours across firms, which have come under renewed scrutiny in recent years. (A boutique bank, Centerview Partners, narrowly evaded a trial in February that would have put analysts' hours on the witness stand.)

Deal volume in 2026 suggests that bankers will have a lot to keep them busy this year: M&A volume topped $1.2 trillion in the first quarter, thanks to a slate of megadeals, according to LSEG data. Though the number of deals fell year over year, deal volume jumped 26%, according to the data.

Record dealmaking is part of what sparked conversations about working hours during the pandemic. Concern spiked again after Leo Lukenas III, a 35-year-old investment banking associate at Bank of America who had helped close a $2 billion acquisition, died in 2024.

Though some banks introduced new policies at the time — and have continued to tweak them as recently as last month — juniors' hours may not have changed much. Data from recruiting firm Odyssey Search Partners found that junior bankers worked as much in 2025 as in 2022, the last time the survey of 300 first- and second-year analysts went out. Those working at bulge-bracket banks reported an average of 81 hours a week.

Brianne Sterling, the head of investment banking at the recruiting firm Selby Jennings, said juniors' hours haven't changed meaningfully, but that young employees are working on more live deals, which tends to make the job more exciting.

"We're hearing people working a lot of hours, but we're not hearing tons and tons of bankers complaining about it," she said.

Some banks have guidelines for weekly hours or "pencils down" periods when juniors aren't expected to work. Still, Sterling said they often aren't effective, since they include carve-outs when bankers and clients are negotiating transactions in real time.

"Ultimately, if there's a client demand, the client demand does come before anything else. When there's a lot of live deals, unfortunately, whoever's in charge of Baker hours probably has a lot of those override requests," she said.

Still, Sterling thinks that banks have become more conscious of retaining bankers beyond their two-year analyst rotations and taking care of staff. Most young bankers, she said, also know what the hours will be when accepting the job.

While many firms have introduced AI into bankers' workflows, Jennings said she hasn't yet heard that the technology is transforming the number of hours employees work. Some, however, have told her that they hope AI can eventually reduce hours, or at least hours spent on menial tasks.

Here's how some of Wall Street's biggest banks monitor their junior employees' hours, from protected weekends to electronic tracking systems.

JPMorgan

In March, JPMorgan piloted a new tool to electronically track junior bankers' hours, which will soon be rolled out to the broader population. The estimate is based on digital activity, like scheduled meetings, Zoom calls, and desktop use, and will serve as a point of comparison for the hours juniors log manually.

"Much like the weekly screen time summaries on a smartphone, this tool is about awareness—not enforcement. It's designed to support transparency, well-being, and encourage open conversations about workload," a spokesman said in a statement.

The nation's largest bank uses an 80-hour weekly workload guideline for junior bankers, with exceptions for certain circumstances, including live deals. Juniors get one full protected weekend off every three months and protected holiday long weekends. They also have a mandated no-work period from 6 pm on Friday to 12 pm on Saturday, with exceptions.

Bank of America

Bank of America introduced a tool in 2024 to better track junior bankers' weekly hours and flag when they exceed 80.

A year later, the bank elevated the role of its chief resource officers, who oversee juniors' workloads and career development. Under the new structure, senior bankers at the director level and above hold the position permanently, rather than midlevel bankers, who previously held it temporarily.

Goldman Sachs

Juniors at Goldman Sachs aren't expected to be in the office from 9 pm on Friday to 9 am on Sunday, under the firm's "Saturday rule" as part of the effort to ensure they're not working too many hours.

A spokesperson told Business Insider that the bank's management monitors junior staffing and activity, and "regularly adjusts the workloads of our teams."

Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo monitors analysts' and associates' weekly hours, which team leads review each week. They try to reassign work during busy periods, a spokesperson confirmed to Business Insider.

Analysts and associates are expected to step away from work from Friday evening to midday Saturday, and all bankers have protected holiday long weekends. Junior employees have additional discretionary protected weekends, the spokesperson continued. Any exceptions to the weekly "pencils down" period and protected holidays need approval.

Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley monitors excess workflow, and a source familiar with the policies said the firm continually updates policies to address any situations that require a more in-depth or personalized approach.

Have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at atecotzky@insider.com or Signal at alicetecotzky.05. Use a personal email address and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.