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Key Takeaways JPMorgan is piloting a system that cross-checks junior bankers’ self-reported hours with data from keystrokes, video calls and meetings.
The bank will send junior investment bankers weekly summaries comparing their timesheets with digital activity logs.
JPMorgan frames the monitoring as a “wellbeing” initiative designed to increase transparency and encourage conversations about overwork.
Junior bankers are notorious for working long hours, regularly clocking in 100-hour workweeks. Now, JPMorgan is making it more difficult for them to lie about their hours, deploying new surveillance technology that tracks every keystroke, meeting and video call these young employees make.
JPMorgan is debuting a new pilot program that determines whether the hours claimed by junior bankers on their timesheets align with their activity, according to a recent report from the Financial Times. Employees will receive a weekly report comparing their self-reported hours with their computer footprint. The report will not be used in performance reviews.
“Much like the weekly screen time summaries on a smartphone, this tool is about awareness — not enforcement,” JPMorgan said in a statement to the Financial Times. “It’s designed to support transparency, wellbeing, and encourage open conversations about workload.”
JPMorgan isn’t the first employer to monitor workers’ activity. Companies like Dell and Goldman Sachs track everything from ID badge swipes to keyboard strokes.
Although the idea of employers monitoring employees’ online activity might raise concerns for many workers about surveillance, the pilot initiative intends to curb overwork among junior staff. The effort reflects a broader trend across Wall Street firms seeking to protect employees from the risks associated with heavy workloads.
Junior investment bankers were working excessively
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