Balancing Faith and Finance: How Tragedy is Pushing Wall Street to Rethink Work Culture

Do you want to be an investment banker, but you're scared you won't be able to keep Shabbos and excel at work? If so, then baruch Hashem, Bank of America and J.P. Morgan recently limited the number of hours a week you can work. Unfortunately, these banks did not put limits on hours out of the goodness of their heart, but for a different reason entirely.

On May 2, Leo Lukenas III, a former Green Beret and investment banker at Bank of America, passed away from a fatal heart attack at the age of 35. Lukenas had been working multiple 100-hour work weeks, which is over 14 hours a day, 7 days a week. An autopsy later found that he died from a clot that formed in a coronary artery.

The Wall Street Journal ran an investigation speaking to many former bankers who have quit after being asked to lie about the number of hours they worked. One former banker interviewed was a woman named Yuliya Luvish. Luvish was “living the dream,” as some might say. While at Smith College, Luvish accepted a job offer at Bank of America and everything seemed to be progressing perfectly. But, she quit in 2022 after working in the Chicago office for three years. In Chicago, it was not uncommon for senior bankers to ask her and other employees to work until 5 a.m. One night, after working until 4 a.m. at the office, Luvish finally headed home in a taxi. Just as she thought she could relax, her boss reached out, requesting additional changes to a proposal. She was told it was for a client and she should leave a printed copy for the senior staff, who would come in later that morning. Unfortunately, Luvish didn’t receive compensation for her efforts, because the senior bankers had instructed her and her co-workers to lie about their number of hours worked.

Another banker who was asked to falsify his hours was Roy Wang. Wang worked as a junior investment banker in Tokyo. Roy claimed he carefully logged all of his overtime hours, but when human resources told his bosses he was working too much, he was told only to report as many hours as the bank’s policies allowed. Wang says he continued to work at least one all-nighter every week. After his doctor reported that his cholesterol had spiked to unhealthy levels, Roy was forced to leave his job.

Our former Green Beret-turned-investment banker Leo Lukenas III was almost out the door as well. A friend of Lukenas named Douglas Walters, a managing partner at GrayFox Recruitment, told reporters that Lukenas informed him in March that he wanted to leave Bank of America because of the rigorous hours. Walters continued, saying that Lukenas did not raise any health concerns with him but was looking for new work conditions. 

Walters recalled Lukenas talking about his work ethic. Lukenas excelled in a competitive culture and “would never say no” to assignments. However, Lukenas asked if it was normal to work 110 hours a week. Lukenas even complained about having too little time to spend with family. Walters and Lukenas were working on an application for an associate position at a “boutique” investment bank in New York where he would have been happier.

Unfortunately, Lukenas passed away before applying to this new position. Soon after Lukenas’s death, Wall Street workers took to social media. They started exposing the toxic work culture they too faced on Wall Street. Bank of America employees even spoke about doing a walkout in an effort to bargain for better working conditions, however, it never happened.

Fast forward to today and you can see how Lukenas’ death affected Wall Street. Bank of America recently unveiled a new tool in the company’s timekeeping software that requires junior investment bankers to log their hours daily instead of weekly. Junior bankers must now disclose the deals they are working on and which senior bankers are overseeing them. Human Resources will also be flagged if anyone works more than 80 hours a week and they will be forced to intervene. Additionally, all employees will have a “protected weekend day of no work”.

JPMorganChase has also instituted an 80-hour work week with exceptions for live deals. As well as a “pencil down” period between 6 p.m. on Friday and noon on Saturday. Additionally, in the U.S. everyone will have one protected full weekend off every three months, plus holidays, not including their guaranteed time off.

Last of the three banks making a change is Goldman Sachs. Goldman did not put a formal cap on the hours one can work in a week but they did create “Protected Saturday.” Protected Saturday is an initiative where there is no work from 9 p.m. on Friday until 9 a.m. on Sunday with some unnamed exceptions.

The tragic death of Leo Lukenas III has shed light on the grueling demands placed on Wall Street workers in today's day and age. The reforms by major banks such as Bank of America, JPMorganChase and Goldman Sachs are positive steps forward toward addressing the toxic work culture that has long plagued the industry. However, while these changes offer hope for more humane working conditions, they also highlight the need for continuous monitoring and enforcement to ensure that employees can thrive both personally and professionally and create a more positive workplace environment for our coming future.

Photo Caption: Many investment bankers have previously been expected to work multiple 100-hour weeks.

Photo Credit: Unsplash