Morgan Stanley Execs Are Pushing Junior Bankers To Get Back Into The Office

At a time when junior bankers are being coddled more than ever on Wall Street, Morgan Stanley’s CEO James Gorman has a stern message for his young employees: get into the office.

Chris O’Dea, a Morgan Stanley managing director, said on a conference call to employees last week: “If you’re 21 to 35, you are nuts not to be in the office all the time.”

Executives at the bank are pushing for their younger employees to ditch Zoom in favor of suiting up like the old days and getting into the office, the NY Post reported this week. 

Gorman said earlier this year he would be “disappointed” if staff wasn’t back at their desks by Labor Day. He also threatened a pay cut for those who didn’t come back to the office.

While the bank hasn’t officially mandated a return to the office, most employees have chosen to return. Banks like Goldman aren’t taking chances and have reinstituted mandatory office time. 

Gorman said this summer: “I fundamentally believe the way you and I develop our career is by being mentored and by watching and experiencing the professional skills of those who came before us. You can’t do that sitting at home by yourself — there’s a limit to Zoom technology.”

It looks like the attitude on Wall Street could be shifting away from coddling junior bankers, which banks have been doing ever since rogue Goldman Sachs employees made and publicized a slide deck about how tough working conditions were at the bank.

Gorman may be taking his cues from Cantor Fitzgerald’s CEO, Howard Lutnick, who was the first to vocally push back on junior bankers this past summer. Lutnick said that junior bankers complaining about long hours and stressful demands should “rethink their career choice”.

Lutnick’s comments followed 13 junior bankers at Goldman complaining about their workload earlier this year in a slide deck that was released to the public. They claimed to be working 100 hour weeks and experiencing declining physical and mental health. The public scrutiny caused other banks to offer bonuses and rewards to retain their younger talent.

Recall, earlier this year, we noted that Evercore was now paying its junior bankers up to $120,000 per year. Second year analysts at Evercore will make $130,000 and third year analysts will make $140,000. 

Guggenheim has also raised its first year analyst pay to $110,000. First-year analysts across the global corporate and investment banking, markets, and research at Bank of America will now receive $100,000 per year, up from $95,000. Second year analysts will make $105,000 per year and third year analysts will make $110,000. 

Months ago we also noted that Jefferies announced it was going to be raising pay for its first year analysts in the U.S. to $110,000. The bump in pay is a raise of $25,000 from their previous starting salary of $85,000 per year. Second year analysts will make $125,000, up from $95,000 and third year analysts, called associates, will move up to $150,000 per year from $125,000. 

Lutnick said it best this summer: “Young bankers who decide they’re working too hard — choose another living is my view. These are hard jobs.”