Hopefully you won't be seeing as many junior bankers nodding off on your subway commute. UBS is following in the footsteps of fellow investment bank Goldman Sachs in providing more flexibility and work-life balance to its investment banking employees. UBS is allowing bankers to take 2 hours of personal time a week to lower stress levels and workloads. The move is in combination with another initiative called "Rotation 100" allowing 100 junior bankers to take temporary stints in different regions or sectors to keep employees happy.
"Our industry is often criticized for poor work-life balance, so we asked our employees to come up with ideas and find solutions to the issues that matter to them," the 53-year old banker told Reuters in an interview. Most banks struggle though to translate flexibility into viable policies as multi-billion deals are typically signed at night after days of non-stop negotiations, with junior bankers typically bearing the brunt of the work.