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&lt;p&gt;Here’s something you might not know if you’ve never worked on Wall Street: No recent college or b-school grad accepts a job on Wall Street thinking they’re going to work 40 to 50 hours a week, only surprised to find out that what they in fact signed up for was 80 to 90 hours a week. However, many new grads who accept jobs on Wall Street, knowing full well they’ll be working more than 80 hours a week, are often surprised to find out that, in exchange for those hours, they’re under-trained, underappreciated, and underpaid.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Which brings us to Vault’s latest &lt;a rel=&quot;noopener noreferrer&quot; href=&quot;/blogs/in-the-black-vaults-finance-careers-blog/25-best-investment-banking-firms-to-work-for-in-2025&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Banking Survey&lt;/a&gt;. This past fall, we asked nearly 2,800 banking professionals to rate their firms in numerous workplace categories, including benefits, compensation, hours, career development, quality of assignments, vacation policies, and work/life balance. And what numerous bankers at many of the top banking firms tell us is that work/life balance has less to do with how many hours they work each week and more to do with how they’re treated and compensated for their time. In fact, bankers tell us there’s a strong positive correlation between work/life balance and the following five factors.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1. Meaningful Work&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Bankers tell us in large numbers that they don’t mind working long hours (some even welcome it—true story) as long as they’re gaining great experience. And on Wall Street, great experience typically equals working on live transactions. Yes, when you’re working on live, complex, industry-altering transactions (large M&amp;amp;A deals, IPOs, restructurings, etc.) you’re going to be lighting up that midnight oil quite a bit. But listen to these bankers at three different firms (all which rate highly when it comes to &lt;a rel=&quot;noopener noreferrer&quot; href=&quot;/best-companies-to-work-for/banking/best-banking-companies-to-work-for/work-life-balance&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;work/life balance&lt;/a&gt;) talk about the long hours when those long hours are spent on live deal work:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;“You work hard, but you’re rewarded with interesting, thought-provoking work in the most complicated situations. We’re on the forefront of industry-defining transactions across both M&amp;amp;A and restructuring.”&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;“Given the high standards and complex nature of the projects, everyone spends a considerable time working, but the work we perform is interesting and impactful, and there’s an emphasis on performing meaningful deal-oriented work rather than internal marketing work.”&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;“My group is very busy, and we’re typically staffed on multiple live deals. This means the hours you’re putting in are adding meaningfully to your career development. There’s definitely a trade off, but given the level of experience, the hours are worth it.”&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2. Hybrid Work&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;There’s a huge push right now inside top tech firms, top law firms, and top banking firms to get employees back in the office five days week, making the office what it was pre-Covid. Thing is, very few people (outside the C-suite) want to work like it’s 2019 anymore. Which doesn’t mean they need to be fully remote, but it does mean they need to be able to enjoy the hybrid life from time to time. And those Wall Street firms that understand what their people really want in the way of some WFH time will make a lot of progress when it comes to creating happy teams willing to put in the long hours. Consider these three quotes by banking professionals at three different high-ranking-work/life balance firms:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;“The hybrid work policy is fantastic—it’s in touch with today’s world, it increases quality of life, and it’s a real competitive advantage for recruiting and retaining talent. Most groups honor the remote month and protected weekends policies.”&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;“We work a lot of hours, but you’re allowed to work from home in the evenings and Fridays. As long as work gets done, people aren’t tracking your activity—there’s not much of a ‘face time’ culture.”&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;“We’re able to work remotely on Fridays, which is really helpful for work/life balance, and able to work remotely before Thanksgiving and between Christmas and New Years, letting people spend time with their families while still working.”&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;3. Real PTO&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;On Wall Street, there are two kinds of PTO: Fake PTO (where using all your vacation days is frowned upon and when you “take” vacation you still have to work) and Real PTO (where you’re encouraged to take vacation and unplug while on it because your employer knows you just worked 90-hour weeks back-to-back-to-back and so need a real break to come back energized). As for the Real thing, here are some of the &lt;em&gt;pleased with their work/life balance&lt;/em&gt; bankers speaking about that benefit (which, of course, shouldn’t be a benefit but a standard offering):&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;“Weekend hours are audited, and senior bankers are held accountable if junior teams have been working unnecessarily (which very rarely happens). We observe protected Saturdays, people are encouraged to take vacation, and teams provide robust coverage so your vacations are uninterrupted.”&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;“We have tremendous respect for time off and vacation. We’re encouraged to fully take work off when we take time out of the office. This is encouraged so that we come back to work feeling ready to get back into it and tackle the coming challenges head on. Teams cover for one another to ensure people can take the time they need.”&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;“The hours can be long, the deadlines tight, and schedules get blown up—but you know your team always has your back. And once the crisis is past, staffing and senior leadership work diligently to make sure you get a break to recover.”&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;4. A Little Appreciation&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;This one should be easy to offer, but you’d be surprised at how hard it is for some banking firms. Young bankers who work hard sometimes understand that, due to client demands, their next vacation is months away, or their next WFH day will be a few weeks out. In the meantime, what they simply need is &lt;em&gt;an acknowledgment&#160;of their hard work&lt;/em&gt;. That is, a little appreciation—and, perhaps, the ability to squeeze in a short break until a longer break can be had. This appreciation can go a long way toward cultivating a culture that bankers want to be a part of. Here are some of those professionals who do greatly appreciate the appreciation they receive (and who also rate their firms highly in work/life balance):&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;“There’s an appreciation for hard work and empathy when working longer hours enough to ensure you make up for it with some downtime. There’s also an open discussion about morning routines, allowing employees to go to the gym, for example, at a reasonable hour. And social engagements are encouraged for team bonding.”&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;“Rather than build out specific policies, the firm rewards bankers who genuinely care about their teams. Our people know they’ll be listened to and taken seriously if they need a break. From the founders on down, the firm wants to foster an environment where people can see themselves staying for a long time.”&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;“People work very hard at the firm, but people are people here. Senior leaders are understanding of outside commitments and responsibilities, especially when people have young families. There are long nights and weekend work, which comes with the territory, but teams are pretty understanding. They don&#39;t try to create unnecessary work and try to be considerate of your weekends.”&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;5. Above-Average Comp&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Last but certainly not least is compensation. And yes, junior bankers generally earn much higher comp packages than their peers in other professions. However, there’s a market wage on Wall Street (which all bankers are fully aware of), which means there’s an above-market wage and a below-market wage (both of which all bankers are also fully aware of). And perhaps it comes as no surprise but the quantitative and qualitative data we collect in our annual Banking Survey shows that the &lt;a rel=&quot;noopener noreferrer&quot; href=&quot;/best-companies-to-work-for/banking/best-banking-companies-to-work-for/compensation&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;firms with the best pay&lt;/a&gt; are also typically those considered the best for work/life balance. Here are three bankers at three different firms, all of which rank among the top five in work/life balance in our latest rankings:&lt;/p&gt;&lt;ul&gt;&lt;li&gt;“I’m very satisfied with the firm’s compensation package and great family benefits like egg freezing, parental leave, backup childcare, etc.—which makes for a better work/life balance and eliminates some of the stress of being a working parent.”&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;“We truly have an incredible compensation package here. And the firm has prioritized mental health, providing free therapy services to all employees and their dependents. It’s clear the firm values its talent and wants us to feel invested in and supported.”&lt;/li&gt;&lt;li&gt;“We offer an industry-leading compensation package with top-tier benefits, free breakfast and lunch in-office, a generous expense policy, and the cash compensation is the highest across Wall Street.”&lt;/li&gt;&lt;/ul&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;A Final Note&lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;All of the above noted and quoted, burnout is real—and can certainly happen even if you’re appreciated, valued, well paid, and able to take a real break once in a while. Also, the hours are indeed long on Wall Street—and considered by many banking professionals to be one of the biggest negatives of their jobs. (It is one thing to accept a job understanding that it will require 80 hours a week and another to actually work those 80 hours a week, week after week.) And so, it’s important for junior banking professionals to regularly monitor their physical and mental well-being. Just as it&#39;s important for senior bankers to regularly monitor their treatment of their junior teams. The bottom line is unhealthy cultures lead to unhealthy employees, which ultimately lead to&#160;unhealthy&#160;bottom lines.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Derek Loosvelt is the editorial director at Vault.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

Derek Loosvelt

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