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Bank intern's death raises questions over workaholic race to wealth

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"...The German intern allegedly worked for 72 hours without sleep ...A Bank of America spokesman said the bank was waiting for the facts about Erhardt's death before deciding whether to review its internship program...."

Really. So, knowing that interns are being pushed to work for 3 days straight without a break isn't enough reason to question your company's work ethics? For shame.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

To insanely greedy people, the only ethical thing to do is to collect as much wealth as possible.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

To insanely greedy people, the only ethical thing to do is to collect as much wealth as possible.

Unfortunately, not everyone is born rich, and not all of us can work in Hollywood and make 7 figures for a few month's work. Most of us have to work for every penny or yen we get, and if what we get is not sufficient, we must work more. There is nothing wrong with this, it takes hard work to become successful. And, believe it or not, some people like what they do, the money is not their primary motivation. Necessity is the mother of invention, do you think Steve Jobs started Apple than for any other reason to satisfy his insane greed? And how about the other companies at which most of us work?

I have worked in finance for some time, and in my early days I sometimes never left the office, I took a shower in the company fitness center. Money couldn't have been that important, as I had no time to spend it. In the early days you work hard, then eventually you begin to work smart.

I have a lot more respect for those who work 100 hours a week to make a life for themselves and their families than those who do as little as possible for their pay. My "insane greed" is satisfied by being paid money by people who value my products and services enough to pay for them. I don't hold a gun to their head and steal their money, they ask me for what they want, and they pay for it. With my insane income, I buy food at restaurants, clothes and shoes at department stores, furniture at furniture shops, and travel tickets at agencies and airlines. My insane greed helps to pay the salaries of a great many people.

We need more people who will work hard to satisfy their greed, not less.

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

Working "all nighters" is quite normal in banking and finance and city law firms in London. Many people burn out / fall ill and quit / change professions.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

living for work or work for living, human life is for more important then anything else

2 ( +2 / -0 )

A lot of the long hours are due to bank staff unable or unwilling to tell a client, or potential client, that an answer first thing next morning is not a practical proposition, and could they kindly wait until the afternoon? They are terrified of losing a client or even worse, a bonus.

Time really is money...

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Really. So, knowing that interns are being pushed to work for 3 days straight without a break isn't enough reason to question your company's work ethics? For shame.

No one is pushed to do anything. You are free to walk out the door anytime you like.

When I was younger, I was in the Army, and there were numerous times I worked 100 hours straight. Training exercises in cold weather with no winter clothes, and little or no food. Navigation courses which were long and difficult, and could not be completed if one slept for more than 2 hours per day. I certainly didn't go through this for the princely $900-a-month they paid me. I was free to stop or quit whenever I liked, they even had hot food and drinks to encourage people to quit. They didn't want people who wouldn't be able to give 110% if the need arose.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

We should wait to find out why that 21 year old intern died. Chances are he was in poor shape physically and may have had a bad heart. I'm not advocating extreme working behavior here. The stress factor and the lack of sleep could of course have led to his death. This should be a warnings to interns as well as bank officials.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The German intern allegedly worked for 72 hours without sleep in the Bank of America’s investment banking division.

... and what was his error rate? I'm sure it was astoundingly high after even 24 hours without sleep. Therefore someone else would be needed to check his figures and decisions... but if they're similarly sleep deprived then you need another person... and so on.

... and for these sleep-deprived zombies they pay 20% more than people who have the self-esteem and common sense to just utter those magic words, "I'm tired and I'm making mistakes. I'll see you all tomorrow.".

To me this just highlights the systematic idiocy of the overpaid idiots in banking who equate working hard with working smart.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

“People push themselves because they want an offer with the bank and the chance of a great career and great money,” said one former intern from a major U.S. bank who secured a job after the summer. “This is a golden path.”

It's like the 1980s never went away...

1 ( +1 / -0 )

people that do this are just morons

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Necessity is the mother of invention, do you think Steve Jobs started Apple than for any other reason to satisfy his insane greed?

http://vimeo.com/31813340

http://www.atarimagazines.com/creative/v9n10/178_9250_Apples_for_the_teac.php (donation of computers to CA schools)

If you wish to chase the fiat money and throw yourself under the bus then that is your own foolish choice.

Suicide Banking and Broker Zero:

$2 million dollars in profits trading airline put options was never collected from an Alex Brown brokerage account. Who is the mystery broker who died trying to profit from 9/11 inside information? Evidence suggests that at least one broker working in the WTC on 9/11 was trading on inside information.

="Broker Zero" kept trading and went down with the World Trade Center.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

"We need more people who will work hard to satisfy their greed, not less."

No what we need is a balance, if you feel it's more important to spend time at the office then to spend it with family and friends then YOU do not have balance in your life. It's great to want to work to improve you and your families lives but if you are working 100 hrs a week how much is your family being deprived of your love, attention and RESPECT.

I've never understood 2 things in the "career" world.

1 We live in a world where we have doctors and financial workers working themselves for too long at many hard hours, just want I want a man who's been up for 72hrs handling my health or wealth.

NO, IT"S STUPID!

You can't trust someone like that. My mother is having cancer cells removed in 1 week, I do not want some doctor who's working on his 12 surgery in 72hrs working on her. No thank you. And as for the financial workers, human error is expanded when you're up for long hours, please don't screw up with my money or my companies money.

I want people helping me being well rested and of sound mind thank you very much!

2 People spend more time on the job with acquaintances than quality time with their loved ones. I don't get it. In an interview once I told by boss that I don't live to work, I work so that I can live and spend time with my son. He told me I had the wrong attitudes, I told him to go home and ask his wife the same thing. The next day he apologized to me and told me how his wife agreed with me. You go to work after seeing your family what, 10-20 min in the morning, spend 8-9 hours with those said acquaintances, come home an hour before your kids go to bed. What are you teaching them, "my parents love their job more than me."

I just don't get it. I think we should put families before greed.

bec

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Centering your mind on money is a neverending struggle. Finding what makes you happy and learning to enjoy the small, precious things that life has to offer is truly the way to live.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

FoxConn workers sleep on site in dorms and then if they decide jump out the window they are caught by one of the formidable security nets.

-These "banks" could easily use the same technology to easily get 16-20hrs a day out of their youngest and least corrupt labor. =No more throwing yourself under the bus trying to escape.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

these foolish companies put these interns in these positions b/c they know they want the full time job once their internship is over - appeasing the boses, doing all the grunt work, showing how hard a worker they are

The body needs sleep - you can't expect to be at 100% with only sleeping for 3 hours over a 4 day period.

It's criminal the way these companies treat these employees.. BUT, they know that if they quit, they can easily find someone else to fill the void. Changes must be made and I hope the family of this employee comes down hard on Bank of America

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Work to satify your own needs, not the needs of others.

The Japanese word "shigoto" has two parts one is "serve others" and the other is "thing". I think that it is a good example of how our lives are dictated to by others around us and the social values we are expected to conform to.

When will people realise that having lots of things will not make us happy. Modern humans may be pyhsically healthy but how about mentally?

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It is so sad. It is sad world and sad people: the worship of money.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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