The longest hours in banking are not worked in New York
It's a difficult period to work in finance. Most people are working longer hours, but some are working much longer than others.
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Responses to our 2024/5 salary and bonus survey show that finance professionals in the APAC region had it the easiest last year, with a catch. They worked the lowest hours on average, 48.5, but had the biggest increase in working hours from 2023 when they were working just 47.7. Hours in the UK and Ireland stayed largely flat, but professionals there are still working longer than their mainland European colleagues.
Lower working hours may not appeal without good compensation. North America still blows other regions out of the water for compensation per hour; professionals there earn $139.59 per hour, more than double APAC hourly pay.
Which city has the best work-life balance in finance?
Bankers in Frankfurt are having the worst time, but they might mistake it for the best. While other major financial hubs are seeing their hours skyrocket, German bankers told us their hours had gone down by more than an hour per week. They still worked 53.5 hours per week, though, more than any other city surveyed.
Paris, conversely, saw a huge decrease in work-life balance as staff there reported working an extra two hours per week on average. In London, like the UK, it was broadly business as usual.
Interestingly, Dubai had the best work-life balance but the worst pay (although the city's tax incentives may offset much of that disparity). Given how tenuous a lot of the top jobs in Dubai are, it seems professionals are there for a good time, not a long time.
New York, as you probably expected, comes out on top for hourly pay, but they had to work harder in 2024. Employees there reported working an extra hour per week on average.
Of course, what you're working on can be just as important in determining your work-life balance. Our report also showed that it's good to be a macro trader or work in a hedge fund if you prioritize hourly pay.
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