Interns At Barclays Were So Tired, They Had To Take A 'Toilet Nap'

One of the big stories on Wall Street lately has been the investment banks cutting back the amount of hours their junior employees have to work.

Long hours on Wall Street for junior bankers came under scrutiny after 21-year-old Bank of America intern Moritz Erhardt died last summer. Unconfirmed reports said Erhardt had worked consecutive all-nighters.

So far, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, JPMorgan and Credit Suisse have started giving their junior level employees Saturdays off.

Former Wall Street interns told the Wall Street Journal that they would work exhaustive 100+ hour weeks. Those interns looking for a reprieve during the day had to get creative.

Some Barclays interns told the Journal that they would take naps on the toilet in the office. It's called a "toilet nap."

Here's how it works, according the Wall Street Journal: [via Here Is The City]

Summer interns at Barclays PLC in Hong Kong in 2011 say they had to get creative to find time for sleep. Exhausted from hours of nonstop work, the interns would sneak into a bathroom stall, plug headphones into their smartphones and set the alarm, in hopes of stealing a few precious minutes of shut-eye, according to several former interns who worked for the bank in the summer of 2011. Some dubbed it the "toilet nap."

A Barclays spokeswoman, while declining to discuss the specific incident, said: "We are constantly evaluating our analyst program to ensure that it is a challenging and rewarding yet balanced experience."

Fascinating.