Arthur,
Fascinating! "Those whom the Gods wish to
destroy They first make mad". This lot reminds me
of what we read about those involved in currency,
reparation and debt negotiations between the two
World Wars -- the central bankers particularly.
Of the four main ones, Moreau (for France),
Schacht (for Germany), Norman (for the UK) and
Strong (for the US), three of them weren't far
from being completely bizarre from time to time.
Governmental policies swung around from one
extreme ot another. Even Strong, the only sane
one among them, was frequently incapacitated with
illnesses which can best be described as
psychosomatic (and he died in his 50s on the
operating table). In those times even Keynes
played the currency market so badly that he lost
almost all of his money (that is, about $50
million in present day terms) at one stage and
his family and friends had to hep him out. In
retrospect, the Second World War was almost inevitable.
In addition to the investment banks, given the
present inanities going on within the US Fed, and
the Eurozone, precisely how are the Gods going to destroy us this time?
Keith
At 13:02 17/02/2012, AC wrote:
From: [email protected]
[mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Steve Kurtz
Sent: Friday, February 17, 2012 6:16 AM
To: undisclosed-recipients:
Subject: [Ottawadissenters] Hazard of the Trade: Bankers' Health
Too bad the surviving top dogs control much of
government. They are mutants on the greed/power tail of the Bell Curve.
Steve
"For fear of being exposed, the banks prohibited
her from detailing the exact size of the study
group, attrition rate and precise start date."
* WSJ HEALTH & WELLNESS
* FEBRUARY 15, 2012
Hazard of the Trade: Bankers' Health
By
<http://online.wsj.com/search/term.html?KEYWORDS=LESLIE+KWOH&bylinesearch=true>LESLIE
KWOH
Add investment banking to the list of things
that could be dangerous to your health.
A University of Southern California researcher
found insomnia, alcoholism, heart palpitations,
eating disorders and an explosive temper in some
of the roughly two dozen entry-level investment
bankers she shadowed fresh out of business school.
021512meanstreetbanking_512x288.jpg
WSJ's Leslie Kwoh stops by Mean Street to point
out that it might be time to add investment
banking to the list of activities that could be
hazardous to your health. Image: Scott Youtsey for The Wall Street Journal.
Every individual she observed over a decade
developed a stress-related physical or emotional
ailment within several years on the job, she
says in a study to be published this month.
Investment banking has long been a beacon for
ambitious people who crave competition, big
money, steak dinners and paid-for town-car
service. The 100-hour workweek, these ironmen
and ironwomen tell themselves, is just the opening ante in a high-stakes game.
But investment bankers, salespeople and traders
are only human. Under the immense stress of
their jobs, many suffer personal and emotional
problems that escalate into full-blown crises,
with some bankers developing conditions that
linger long after they have left the industry.
Of course, no one is being drafted into high
finance. Aspiring Wall Street stars sign up for
the punishing hours with eyes open. What's more,
the study's small size and the lack of a control
group raise questions about how closely the
findings apply to the broader population of
roughly 267,000 would-be masters of the universe.
But Lindley DeGarmo, 58 years old, a former
director at Salomon Brothers who left the
finance industry in 1995 to become a pastor,
recalls how managers often worked the younger
hires to exhaustion. "The culture was very much
that these were dogs' bodies," he says.
John Chrin, a former managing director at
<http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=jpm>J.P.
Morgan Chase & Co. who left the firm in June
2009 to pursue an executive-in-residence
position at Lehigh University, recalls seeing
junior staff gain 30 or 40 pounds within a
couple years on the job. When he worked at
Merrill Lynch & Co., now a unit of
<http://online.wsj.com/public/quotes/main.html?type=djn&symbol=BAC>Bank
of America Corp., he recalls that one managing
director ordered a chauffeur to turn on the air
conditioning even though it was out of order,
causing the car to burst into flames. The
managing director then threatened to have the
driver fired. Bank of America declined to comment.
"Maybe the job amplifies some of the tendencies
that were already there," he says.
The USC study began a decade ago at two Wall
Street banks that granted access on the condition they remain anonymous.
Alexandra Michel, an assistant management
professor at USC's Marshall School of Business,
shadowed the bankers at the officesitting next
to them, following them to meetings, mirroring
their hours and even pulling all-nightersfor
more than 100 hours a week during the first
year, about 80 hours a week during the second
year, and then followed up with in-person interviews.
By the fourth year of the study, many bankers
were a mess. Some were sleep-deprived; others developed addictions.
The study will be published in the next issue of
the Administrative Science Quarterly, due out later this month.
During their first two years, the bankers worked
on average 80 to 120 hours a week, but remained
eager and energetic, she says. They typically
arrived at 6 a.m. and left around midnight.
By the fourth year, however, many bankers were a
mess, according to the study. Some were
sleep-deprived, blaming their bodies for
preventing them from finishing their work.
Others developed allergies and substance
addictions. Still others were diagnosed with
long-term health conditions such as Crohn's
disease, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis and thyroid disorders.
One mild-mannered banking associate spoke about
exploding in rage at a cab driver after
unsuccessfully attempting to open a locked door
from the outside: "I became so furious that I
kept banging against the windows like crazy,
swearing at the poor guy. And then I turned
around and saw that a managing director was
watching with his mouth open. I was so ashamed."
Meanwhile, company "perks" offered to employees,
such as take-out meals and car service, had
gradually blurred the lines between work and life.
One vice president described work as a
never-ending nightmare, waking up every morning
and wishing the day before "was just a bad
dream." Another vice president said he was so
worried others might notice his drinking problem
that he would "keep losing half of what they are saying."
By the sixth year, the participants, now in
their mid-30s, had split into two camps: the 60%
who remained "at war" with their bodies, and the
remaining 40% who decided to prioritize their
health, meaning they paid more attention to
sleep, exercise and diet and set limits on how
much they allowed work to consume them.
Roughly one-fifth of the bankers left the
profession, she adds. For fear of being exposed,
the banks prohibited her from detailing the
exact size of the study group, attrition rate and precise start date.
Bankers are at higher risk for burnout and
mental-health problems due to the volatility in
their profession, says Alden Cass, a New
York-based clinical psychologist who specializes
in counseling Wall Street professionals. In a
study of 26 stockbrokers he conducted a decade
ago, Mr. Cass found nearly one-quarter had
clinical levels of depression, more than three
times the rate among the general population.
That was when the economy was booming and
compensation levels were high, he adds.
Recent turmoil on Wall Street has served to
heighten stress levels. That makes the roughly
40 patients who stream into Mr. Cass's midtown
office each week appear even more anxious and high-strung than before.
Most seek help after their personal
relationships are affected by the job. Some are
addicted to prescription drugs like Adderall or
Ritalin. To cope, they resort to
"depersonalization," a feeling of numbness
toward the rest of the world. A few have been suicidal.
Many have neglected their health for so long
that Mr. Cass gets them to go for physical check-ups.
"There's a reason you don't find an awful lot of
old investment bankers," says Mr. DeGarmo, the
former Salomon Brothers director. "It's a tough life."
Write to Leslie Kwoh at
<mailto:[email protected]>[email protected]
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Keith Hudson, Saltford, England http://allisstatus.wordpress.com
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