Bank appoints long-time employee Ryland McClendon to 'support success' of associates
JPMorgan Chase has named Ryland McClendon to helm its newly established role aimed at looking after junior bankers following growing concerns about overworking in the workforce, according to reports.
CNBC reported last week that JPMorgan appointed McClendon to be its new global investment banking associate and analyst leader.
In her new role, McClendon will be responsible for leading the organisation's associates and analysts globally, The Guardian reported, citing a memo from JPMorgan.
"She will help to support their wellbeing and success, as well as equip and enable them to deliver for our business, clients and each other," the bank said in the memo.
McClendon is a long-time employee of JPMorgan with a service spanning 13 years in the bank, according to her LinkedIn profile.
Her appointment comes amid growing criticism against Wall Street banks following recent workplace deaths allegedly linked to overworking.
The company has since begun introducing an 80-hour working week to junior bankers in a bid to prevent them from overworking, according to various reports.
The Guardian reported that one of McClendon's first tasks will be to assess how the bank will implement the new internal weekly working cap on junior bankers.
Persisting overworking problems
JPMorgan has 330,000 employees across the world, according to The Guardian, which further reported that it plans to hire more junior bankers to lighten employees' workloads.
Overworking has been reported as a persistent problem in the industry which has allegedly led to fatalities among employees.
In May, Bank of America employee Leo Lukenas III passed away from acute coronary artery thrombus. According to reports, Lukenas had reportedly worked 100 hours per week, and he passed away days after working on a team that completed a $2-billion merger.
While there are no direct links between Lukenas' overworked status and the cause of his death, there have been various reports linking acute stress to thrombosis.
Bank of America has been reported to introduce a new timekeeping tool in the wake of Lukenas' death, with the measure aimed at preventing overworking among employees.