Dying to Work

Intern Dies

Possibly from Extreme Work Schedule

An intern working in the London office of Bank of America Merrill Lynch collapsed in his London home last week, after allegedly working until 6:00 a.m. three days in a row. A post morten has yet to be completed. Police have indicated they view the death as “suspicious.”

The incident has shone light on the extreme work expectations interns in London’s financial markets encounter. In an effort to prove they are worthy of a lucrative position, interns reportedly put in 20-hour days on a frequent basis. Some news reports include references to “magic roundabouts,” where an intern grabs a taxi home after dawn, and leaves the meter running, while he or she dashes inside to shower, change clothes and return to work.

Bank of America Response

Thus far, Bank of America has indicated it will wait to learn the actual cause of the intern’s death before changing its internship program. But at least one group that helps students find internships in finance has lashed out. NBCnews.com quotes Felix Mitchell, co-founder and director of Instant Impact as saying, “Internships should not be an initiation process of low pay, tortuous hours and tasks designed to punish the young person to their limits even of health. They should not be exploited because they are an intern.”

What’s genuinely frightening is that the impact lack of sleep has on work performance is well known. Problems include:

1. Thought processes delayed and the ability to perform tasks that require logical thinking or complex thought hampered.
2. Memory impairment.
3. Learning impaired. When you can’t focus, it becomes virtually impossible to learn.

In my life, I pulled exactly one all-nighter—not to prepare for a final exam, but to complete a project that had been assigned to me at my first post-law school job. I’ve never repeated that mistake. With no sleep, I knew my work performance had been badly affected.

Remember, when you're starting work, you should want to do a good job and impress your boss. But earning a bucket of gold is useless if you’re not alive to enjoy it.

What Do You Need to Know?

Don’t work yourself to death!
 

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